Doing It for the Art: Bruce Willis wasn't paid for the movie. His salary would have nearly doubled the film's budget, and he wanted to work with Terry Gilliam badly enough that he opted for a cut of the box office receipts instead.
Dueling Dubs: The movie has two Latin American Spanish dubs, both made in Mexico. The original dub was recorded in Procineas S. C. L. in 1998, while the redub was made in the studio Audiopost in 2002.
When Cole is drawing blood from himself, the shadow of a hamster in a hamster wheel can be seen on the wall. This scene would normally be shot in 5 minutes, but took a whole day because the hamster would not move, and Terry Gilliam is such a perfectionist that he insisted that even this detail should work as intended. For the rest of the production, Gilliam's perfectionism was nicknamed "The Hamster Factor".
Gilliam admitted he was disappointed with Joseph Melito. The boy was cast based on his expressive eyes, but Gilliam felt he wasn't the right child actor to play Young Cole because he lacked a sense of wonder. He even had a backup on standby if his scenes didn't come off like they should.
Fake American: Actors Emily Hampshire (Jennifer Goines), Demore Barnes (Sgt. Marcus Whitley), and Romina D'Ugo (Max) are Canadian. New Zealander Brooke Williams plays Hannah Jones.
Only So Many Canadian Actors: Like a lot of shows shot in Canada, the supporting cast pops up on a lot of Canadian TV and film.
