Nicole Mowbray is the actual Observer's young journalist who replaced some terms from the secret memo (in the movie due to the use of grammar checker). And she was contacted by the actress who played her, Hanako Footman, to provide more details about the episode.
Janum, Katharine's pet name used by her husband Yasar, means "loved one" or "dear" in Turkish.
The Palestinian actor Adam Bakri plays Yasar Gun, Katharine Gun's Kurdish husband from Turkey who was deported from the UK. At the time of this movie's release, the real Yasar Gun and Katharine Gun lived with their young daughter in Turkey.
When originally announced in 2016, both director and main actors were different. The original director was Justin Chadwick. Natalie Dormer was supposed to play the main character, Katharine Gun. Paul Bettany was Martin Bright. Martin Freeman was a composite of Peter Beaumont (played by Matthew Goode in the actual movie) and Ed Vulliamy. Harrison Ford was supposed to appear as a veteran CIA agent, and also Anthony Hopkins as a retired general.
Latest in a series of films by writer/director Gavin Hood who likes to specialize in the ethical side of complex arguments involved in human violent behaviors.