Christy Marx, creator of Jem (1985), said she had no idea a film was going to be made, and was upset that Hasbro did not inform her about it. Her lack of involvement was not permanent however, and she was given a cameo role in the film as the Rolling Stone editor Lindsey Pierce.
Following a disappointing opening weekend of only $1.3 million, the worst opening ever for a major studio film in wide release (2,000+ theaters), Universal pulled the film after only two weeks, giving it one of the shortest theatricals runs ever. Before it was withdrawn, it had grossed just $2.2 million against an estimated budget of $5 million.
Jem's original voice actors, Samantha Newark and Britta Phillips (singing voice), make cameo appearances in the film, as a hairstylist and stage manager respectively.
When the film was originally announced, it was planned as an animation, but later, the decision was made to shoot it as a live-action film.
Director Jon M. Chu and the film's creative team gave the fans of the original Jem (1985) TV series a chance to participate in the film by filming themselves talking about how the show inspired them. Several fans sent in videos, with some of them showing off their Jem memorabilia. However, the filmmakers edited it to make it look like the fans were talking about the film's version of Jem, sparking controversy. The filmmakers defended this decision however, stating that it was a way to pay tribute to the fans and the original series while seamlessly incorporating it into the film's version of events.
