Trivia / Stop-Loss

• Acclaimed Flop: The movie was noted to be an improvement after a succession of badly-received movies about the Iraq war. However it didn't even make half of its budget back at the Box Office.
• Actor Allusion:
  • Abbie Cornish was previously the wife of a man away at war in Elizabeth: The Golden Age.
  • Ryan Phillippe had been a Shell-Shocked Veteran in Flags of Our Fathers as well.
• Actor-Inspired Element: Rico's status as The Pollyanna came about when Victor Rasuk started seeing various soldiers who had been injured in battle. He had expected them to be depressed and angry about their situations, but found most of them to be trying to make the best of it.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Channing Tatum was a fan of Kimberly Peirce from Boys Don't Cry and lobbied hard for the role of Steve, also wanting to play a soldier.
• Box Office Bomb: Budget? $25 million. Worldwide gross? $11 million.
• California Doubling: In this case, Morocco doubled for Iraq. Otherwise averted for the rest of the film, which was shot in Texas.
• Deleted Role: Maggie Stiff filmed a scene as the assistant to the senator, meeting Brandon in his office. It's deleted from the film, and she's only heard over the phone.
• Enforced Method Acting: The cast had to do a boot camp to prepare for their roles. Actual Iraq War veterans were on set as consultants so the actors could understand their characters. Ryan Phillippe was also made to act as a leader, so that Brandon's status as A Father to His Men would be genuine.
• Executive Meddling: Ryan Phillippe was who the studio wanted for the role, against Kimberly Peirce's wishes. However after a few meetings with Ryan, she warmed to him.
• Fake American:
  • The Texas native Michelle is played by Australian actress Abbie Cornish.
  • Brandon's equally Texan father is played by Irish actor Ciaran Hinds.
• Looping Lines: Two very obviously dubbed in lines appear over the hug between Brandon and his mother after Tommy's death, presumably to explain why they're meeting at the ranch.
  Brandon: The ranch always felt safe.
  Ida: You'll find a new place and make it safe.
• Missing Trailer Scene: The trailer contains a lot of scenes that didn't make it to the final cut.
  • A cute blonde girl waving to Brandon from an upstairs window as he walks through the street (presumably after the parade and before the party, as Brandon's out of uniform).
  • A shot of Brandon and someone else in white cowboy hats standing outside what looks like a motel. Another shot from what could be the same sequence has Brandon now shirtless and waving around a large pair of shears from a stage.
  • An argument between Brandon and the senator, where the latter says "your country needs you to go back". Brandon responds "I've always done the right thing, sir. And this is wrong." Another shot probably from the same sequence has Brandon angrily strolling through the lobby of a building.
  • Lines from Brandon saying "I've honored my contract and expect the army to do the same", and "I'm not going back, I'm fighting this thing."
  • Lines from Steve saying "This isn't about the war; this is about you and me, and everybody else standing side by side". The first part matches up with a shot from the conversation in the cemetery, suggesting Steve's speech was originally different.
  • Michelle and Brandon on a beach, and Brandon putting his hands on Michelle's face as if they're about to kiss. This suggests there were scenes where they do become a couple, accounting for Rico teasing Brandon about it when he visits.
• Playing Against Type: One of many darker and more adult roles Joseph Gordon-Levitt took to distance himself from 3rd Rock from the Sun.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: Re-writes had to be done when Joseph Gordon Levitt dislocated his shoulder.
• Romance on the Set: Ryan Phillippe and Abbie Cornish, which accounts for the intense chemistry between Platonic Life-Partners Brandon and Michelle.
• Shown Their Work: During the mission at the start, Steve is shown patting Brandon on the back to signal that the way is clear - an accurate military practice.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The project originally started as a documentary - where Kimberly Peirce would send cameras to soldiers and have them film their experiences. She was on the verge of getting funding for this, when she realised she wanted to do a fiction instead. Thus she created the film based off the various stories she had heard from soldiers.
  • Kimberly Peirce wanted to include a female soldier as a main character, as the US Army had started including women in combat zones. However upon interviewing actual soldiers, she realised the Band of Brothers message would come across better if the unit was all-male. She compromised by making Steve's fiancee Michelle a prominent character as an outsider.
• Write What You Know: The film came about after Kimberly Peirce had been travelling around the country interviewing soldiers who had served in Iraq, inspired by her brother's own enlistment.