Backed by the Pentagon: Navy SEALs were involved in the making of the movie. They were inside the underwater tank used for the "underwater kissing" scene.
Creator Killer: Jan De Bont's directorial career suffered heavily after this film flopped.
Creator Backlash: On top of his commitments to Dogstar, Keanu Reeves expressed disapproval with the film's script when presented with it, further prompting his refusal to reprise his role.
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Dolled-Up Installment: The original script was intended to be the third Die Hard film. After the success of the first Speed though, the script was reworked into a Speed sequel instead.
Star-Derailing Role: Jason Patric's career as a leading man was effectively ended by this film, with all his subsequent roles either being supporting ones, on TV or in low-budget films. Sandra Bullock was also sent into a brief career slump, but was able to pull herself out of it a few years later with Miss Congeniality.
The script of the film was originally written for a third Die Hard film.
Keanu Reeves turned down the movie to tour with his band Dogstar. He was exhausted from filming Chain Reaction and was still financially secure from the first Speed film, so he declined to return when he didn't like the script. The press mocked him at the time, but quickly took those comments back when the movie actually came out.
The film was written with the expectation that Keanu Reeves would reprise Jack Traven. They were forced to substitute him with Jason Patric after Reeves declined to return. Given how the film ended up being a massive critical and commercial failure, and how it set back Bullock and Patric's careers, most agreed that Reeves dodged one bullet before went on to dodge many.
