Trivia / Invasion U.S.A. (1985)

• Backed by the Pentagon: The Georgia Army National Guard provided assistance to the film's production, including the Patton tanks, Huey helicopers, M113 APCs, and the soldiers you see towards the end of the movie.
• Creator Backlash: Chuck Norris later said some sequences were "a little...too much. You see, when you're making a movie, it takes over five months. Not until you bring it down to an hour and an half do you see just what you've done. It was...too much, unfortunately."
• Executive Meddling: Cannon completely removed all the story elements and background characters in the editing room, in order to concentrate on Chuck Norris and the action. Editor Daniel Loewenthal has stated that Cannon's cut made the film heavily episodic and pretty much a collection of explosive action scenes.
• Inspiration for the Work: Chuck Norris said he got the idea to make the film after reading an article in Reader's Digest that said hundreds of terrorists were running loose in the United States.
  I thought, "Boy, that's scary. What if some guy on the order of a Khomeini or a Khadafy mobilized those guys and started sending them out to every major city?"... know it's going to happen, and even in the movie, the head terrorist says, "It's so easy because of the freedom of movement in this country". So we're really accessible to this. The movie is not meant to scare people, but to make us aware of a potential problem.
• No Stunt Double: Chuck Norris performed most of his own stunts, including the scene where he hangs off the side of pick-up while it is driven through shopping center kiosks and windows.
• Similarly Named Works: With Invasion U.S.A. (1952), which focuses on a conventional Communist invasion.
• Stillborn Franchise: There were plans for a sequel, but when Chuck Norris wasn't interested, it became Avenging Force.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Chuck Norris wanted Whoopi Goldberg to play the reporter McGuire. Goldberg was enthusiastic, but the director overruled Norris. "Needless to say I have never used that director again", wrote Norris later.
  • Steven Berkoff was offered the role of Rostrov but passed because of the violence.
• Working Title: Invasion.

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