Trivia / The Killer Elite

• Accidentally-Correct Writing: While Yuen Chung's characterization as a Taiwanese Ninja might seem like a simple case of Interchangeable Asian Cultures, it makes more sense if you consider that the character (assuming he's the same age as his actor) would've grown up under Japanese occupation, at a time when he would've been forced to adopt Japanese language and customs. This gives some (probably unintentional) weight and symbolism to the scenes of him defeating the Japanese assassins using a katana and Japanese martial arts.
• The Cast Showoff: James Caan has been practicing various martial arts for 30 years, and at the time of filming had just earned his black belt in Gosoku Ryu karate under sensei Takayuki Kubota (who plays the lead ninja in the film).
• Fake Nationality: Japanese-American actor Mako plays a Taiwanese politician. His daughter is played by Tiana Alexandra, who is from Vietnam.
• Hostility on the Set: Stirling Silliphant only agreed to rewrite Marc Norman's script if his girlfriend Tiana had a starring role in the film. She became a major problem on the set, alienating most of the cast and crew.
• Old Shame: James Caan said he only did the film because his advisers told him to work with Sam Peckinpah, and he rated it a zero on a scale to ten.

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