The diner scene on the morning after Bloom and Stemmons arrive in Texas was originally shot at a different diner. During the original shooting, they were hit by a tornado and the cast and crew had to huddle together in the kitchen until the tornado passed overhead.
Filming of a death penalty protest scene at the Texas State Capitol was briefly disrupted by the arrival of a group of real political protesters.
The commercial failure and critical mauling of this film effectively ended Sir Alan Parker's career. Despite various attempts he was unable to raise the necessary financing for any further projects and never directed again. He was asked to direct one of the "Harry Potter" films but turned it down saying he "..didn't understand them". In 2016, Parker officially announced his retirement from film directing and died from cancer, in 2020, aged 76.
Many of the protest scenes and scenes inside the penitentiary where filmed on location in Huntsville Texas. All of the extras are local citizens including actual Correctional Officers who simply wore their personal uniforms for filming.
The scene where Gale is drunk in downtown Austin (6th Street) was somewhat improvised and shot with two lights and a camera. "Most of those people aren't extras," Sir Alan Parker said to an audience at the University of Washington.
Alan Parker: briefly appears during the party scene at the beginning of the film - he is seen helping himself to some food.