The character of John Milton is named for the author of "Paradise Lost," the classic about man's fall from God's grace.
Sculptor Frederick Hart and the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington, DC, sued Warner Brothers over a statue that appears in the film and closely resembles Hart's "Ex Nihilo", which is situated above the entrance to the cathedral. A last-minute deal was negotiated to allow the film to be distributed on video.
The boxing match that Lomax and Milton attend was not a staged bout, but in fact a legitimate world championship boxing match. The bout occurred on October 4, 1996, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Roy Jones, Jr., IBF super-middleweight champion, squared off against top contender Bryant Brannon. Jones knocked out Brannon during the second round of the bout.
Lomax and Milton run into Don King at the bout. King was in attendance that night because one of the fighters he promoted at the time, Oba Carr, fought on the undercard of Jones-Brannon. Carr lost a 12-round decision to WBA welterweight champion Ike Quartey.
In the scene when Lomax and Milton are walking through the market place, you can see a man walking behind them carrying a box which reads Halo Lighting.
Connie Nielsen's character speaks Spanish in the Italian release of the movie, and Italian in all the others. Nielsen is in fact Danish.
Joel Schumacher was originally set to direct the film in 1994 with Brad Pitt to star as Kevin Lomax.
The outdoor patio in John Milton's office actually was on the 50th floor of a New York building. The actual stage was 8ft away from the edge of the building. Thus what one would imagine is a bluescreen shot is actually real.
When Lomax is in Milton's office at the end of the film, he says "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven". That is from the epic poem "Paradise Lost" by John Milton, Book I Line 263.
In order to prepare for her role in the film, Charlize Theron spent an hour a day over the three-month shooting period in NYC with a psychotherapist to "practice schizophrenia."
John Cusack and Edward Norton were briefly considered for the role of Kevin Lomax.
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