Trivia / City Hall

• Awesome, Dear Boy: John Cusack took the role because he wanted to work with Al Pacino.
• Box Office Bomb: Budget - $40 million. Box Office - $33.4 million.
• California Doubling: While most of the New York City scenes were filmed on location, the interior scenes of New York City's City Hall were filmed in a mansion in Teaneck, New Jersey.
• Method Acting: Al Pacino spent time with former New York City mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins, as well as then-mayor Rudy Giuliani, to prepare for the role.
• Missing Trailer Scene: There's a few of them:
  • Leo, an advisor to Mayor Pappas, telling someone how the city is on edge because of the shooting.
  • A scene implying a romance between Calhoun and Cogan.
  • When Mayor Pappas is delivering his Rousing Speech at the boy's funeral, the trailer has a more subdued take of a couple of scenes.
  • There's a scene of Calhoun playing basketball in the park.
• What Could Have Been: Marlon Brando was considered for Mayor Pappas.
  • Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise, and Brad Pitt turned down the role of Kevin Calhoun.
  • Paul Schrader, one of the credited screenwriters on the film, was originally going to direct it.
• Write What You Know: Ken Lipper, another one of the credited screenwriters on the film, worked as the deputy mayor of finance and economic development under then-mayor Ed Koch.