According to editor Jay Cassidy, Sean Penn allowed Jack Nicholson to make editing choices for two weeks without Penn's involvement, trusting Nicholson's eye for filmmaking, being a director himself.
The movie concludes with the dedication "For my friend, Henry Charles Bukowski, jr. I miss you. - S.P." Sean Penn was a close friend of the writer and poet.
Final film to unite Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston. The other films were: Vol au-dessus d'un nid de coucou (1975), Le Dernier Nabab (1976), Le facteur sonne toujours deux fois (1981) and L'honneur des Prizzi (1985).
Jack Nitzsche's last film score before he died 5 years later from a stroke.