The cast considered this movie to be an unofficial sequel to L'ultimo contratto (1997). Five actors appeared in both films: John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Bill Cusack, Dan Aykroyd, and Doug Dearth.
The corporation, Tamerlane, refers to Timur, known in the West as Tamerlane. Timur conquered a great deal of central and western Asia in the 14th Century and founded the Timurid Empire and Timurid dynasty.
The character names Ooq-Mi-Fay and Ooq-Yu-Fay, loosely translated from Pig Latin, are "f**k me" and "f**k you".
The An-12B airplane shown at the beginning and end of the movie is owned and operated by Bright Aviation Services, based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Along with some other Bulgarian freight carriers, they are banned from operating in Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and the European Union countries because of their safety record.