Gene Hackman mentioned in several interviews that he found shooting the film difficult and somewhat uncomfortable because he was so much older than everyone involved. He therefore kept much to himself, and in the end managed to draw on that feeling of being an outsider in the group for his portrayal.
The film was originally intended to be released in June 2001. However, Paramount had already scheduled the release of The Score (2001) for July. Since both films shared a similar premise, and to avoid competition, Warner Bros. rescheduled the film for a later release date. Coincidentally, the film was released in November 2001, the same month in which The Score (2001) was released on DVD.
Actress Rebecca Pidgeon and writer-director David Mamet are married.
This film was filmed coincidentally in Quebec almost at the same exact time as The Score starring Robert DeNiro, Edward Norton and Marlon Brando in the Summer of 2000. The Score would mostly be filmed in Montreal like this film, but would also be filming in New Hampshire, which as not far from the Canadian border.