Shot over the course of a decade , Bridges filmed '' 12 '' whenever the actors were available and " never imposed a deadline " on the project . Throughout the course of shooting , Bridges captured footage of natural disasters and major political events , including the 1994 Northridge earthquake , the Malibu fires , four lunar eclipses and two eclipses of the sun and the Rodney King riots , which were all included in the film . Bridges explained , " My camera was always loaded and the batteries charged and often it traveled with me in my car to and from work . When there was a disaster , I was always ready to document it . " In a rare twist of fate , nearly all of the original actors cast participated in the entire shoot , despite some road blocks along the way . While on a separate commercial shoot in Minneapolis , Allen Lulu suffered a heart attack caused by Phen-Phen . Additionally , Golde Starger ' was diagnosed with cancer in the middle of the shoot , and thankfully , recovered . " There were divorces and there were babies born . I guess when you look at all the things that could have gone wrong and did n't , I 'm a very lucky man , " Bridges told '' Indie Slate '' . Additionally , Bridges adopted a flexible mentality in regards to continuity . As the actors aged and evolved , the one factor that remained semi-constant was wardrobe . For example , Griffin , who played Filmore , wore the same suite for 10 years . Dramatic hair and weight change was even accounted for in the storyline . The film was shot on 35 mm Kodak short ends using Arri cameras and Zeiss Superspeed prime lenses . The short ends were stock test samples from 1989-1999 . The production used minimal on-set lighting , mostly opting for available light . The camera dolly used throughout the production of the film was actually a homemade dolly that Bridges converted from a baby stroller
1994 Northridge earthquake
1994 Northridge earthquake
12 (2003 film)