John Grisham typically signs over the rights to his books and does not participate in film production decisions. For "The Pelican Brief," he campaigned to get Julia Roberts the role of Darby Shaw.
For the scenes inside the White House, the sets created for "Dave - Presidente per un giorno (1993)" were used.
John Grisham wrote the part of Darby Shaw with Julia Roberts in mind. Roberts read the book once it was finished, and agreed to the role without even seeing a script.
The President questions Coal's idea of addressing the nation while wearing a cardigan sweater. This is based on a real-life incident in which then-president Jimmy Carter addressed the nation in a cardigan sweater during the height of the fuel shortages in the 1970s.
Filmed in sequence.