It was long rumored that Denzel Washington was allegedly talked into making this film by his agent. He also allegedly fired him shortly afterwards because of how terrible the reception for it was. However, in 2017 Washington's publicist was asked about this "fact" in a story on the movie at 'The Ringer' and stated for the record that the rumor was not and never had been true.
Movie stars Brian Dennehy, Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper were all considered for the role of Jack Moony according to an interview with producer Steve Tisch published in the 11th June 1989 issue of 'The Los Angeles Times' newspaper. But all of these actors were each busy with other projects. In the end, Bob Hoskins was cast in the role.
Star Denzel Washington demanded he "tone down some of the racism" before he agreed to take the role of Napoleon Stone according to an interview with writer-director James D. Parriott published in the 19th April 1989 issue of 'The Los Angeles Times'. Parriot originally envisioned Stone as "a flamboyant black pimp" but no bankable African-American actor would touch the part.
At around the 1h 24 mins mark, when Crystal and her baby are being forced/pushed back onto the sofa, the statement "Rega, rega" can be heard. This is Hebrew for "wait, wait" or "wait a moment", the translation depending on context. The words are use and pronounced correctly too, with the right inflection that a Hebrew speaker would use.
Debut produced screenplay for a theatrical feature film of television writer James D. Parriott. The film remains his first, final and only ever full cinema movie written by him.
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