According to editor Jay Cassidy, Sean Penn allowed Jack Nicholson to make editing choices for two weeks without Penn's involvement, trusting Nicholson's eye for filmmaking, being a director himself.
The movie concludes with a dedication to "My friend, Charles Bukowski. I miss you, S.P." Sean Penn was a close friend of the writer and poet.
Jack Nitzsche's last film score before he died 5 years later from a stroke.
Final film to unite Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston. The other films were: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), The Last Tycoon (1976), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) and Prizzi's Honor (1985).