The pornographic film shown to Pearl is A Free Ride (1915), a real vintage 'stag' film. The film's production is the subject of some debate: It surfaced in the 1970s and was at one point sold by a shady distributor as a hardcore D.W. Griffith from 1915, while silent film historian Kevin Brownlow has posited that it was made in the early 1920s.
Ti West and Mia Goth collaborated on the script via FaceTime during a mandatory 2-week quarantine (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) in New Zealand prior to filming X (2022). They had only hoped A24 would agree to make the film. Fortunately, the project was green-lit before filming began on X.
To prepare for the tone of this movie, director/co-writer Ti West suggested that Mia Goth (Pearl) watch What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Tandi Wright, who plays Pearl's mother, was the intimacy coordinator on X (2022) and was offered the role of Ruth as the shoot on the first film was wrapping up. According to Ti West, she learned German for the role in a hurry and became so convincing in her accent that she fooled two German members of the crew.
Pearl's alligator is named Theda after Theda Bara, who was an American silent film actress, and one of cinema's earliest sex symbols. Viewers may notice a poster of Theda Bara is displayed on the exterior of the picture house that Pearl regularly frequents.