Christopher Walken's character describes having worked with elephants in the circus when he was a kid. The summer he was 16 years old, Christopher Walken had a job as part of the lion-taming act of a traveling circus.
In one scene, playing on a television in the background, is Billy Crystal dressed as a turkey and Robert De Niro as a pilgrim. The clip is from a post-9/11 commercial to boost New York tourism directed by Barry Levinson. In the ad, the two squabble about their costumes as participants on a Macy's Thanksgiving parade float. Crystal tries to persuade De Niro to trade outfits with him, at one point being reduced to parodying the latter actor's famous line from Taxi Driver (1976): "Are you gobbling at me? Are you gobbling at me?"
While filming, actress Laura Linney was also starring in Breach - L'infiltrato (2007), the fictional film based on the real accounts of former F.B.I. agent Robert Hanssen, who committed the greatest security breach in U.S. history. Both films were shot in Canada at the same time, and Linney would split her week, acting for two to three day stretches on each film set.
Universal originally canceled the release of the DVD in Germany, following complaints about a very poor quality of the dubbing. Nonetheless, after discussions about the Clinton vs Obama US democratic party presidential campaign reached high ratings in Germany, the DVD was at last released in spring 2008.