According to Joe Eszterhas' book "Hollywood Animal," everybody on set was afraid of Debra Winger as she was known for having a difficult temper, but Winger proved the rumors to be wrong. Tom Berenger was so intimidated by her that Winger had to make coffee for him and kid with him the entire time to put him on ease. Winger also spent one entire night playing poker with the crew to ease them. By the end of the shoot everybody was in love with her.
This was one of two movies released in 1988 that were inspired by events surrounding the 1984 murder of Denver radio talk show host Alan Berg. The other was Talk Radio (1988).
The film was based, in part, on the murder of Denver Radio Host Alan Berg, a Jewish lawyer and liberal commentator who was killed outside his home in 1984, in much the same fashion; he was shot with a MAC-10 9mm while getting out of his car. Although not convicted two members of the white supremacist group, The Order, were convicted of violating his civil rights and sentenced to 190 years in prison.