According to Ethan Coen, Nicolas Cage was crazy about his Woody Woodpecker haircut and that it reacted to H.I.'s stress level. The bigger the danger he's in, the bigger the wave in his hair gets.
Randall 'Tex' Cobb was not familiar with riding motorcycles prior to filming. While shooting the scene where he rides up to inspect the hole where Evelle and Gale had escaped from prison, he actually crashed into the hole on one of the takes.
Fifteen babies played the Arizona quintuplets in the film. One of the babies was fired during production when he learned to walk. The mother went so far as to put her baby's shoes on backwards in order to prevent him from walking.
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen: [Kubrick] The acronyms "P.O.E" and "O.P.E." spray-painted in the washroom and shown in reverse in the mirror are references to the Stanley Kubrick films Dr. Fantástico (1964) and O Iluminado (1980). The soundtrack prominently features the 9th Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven, also used memorably in Laranja Mecânica (1971).