Trivia / The Negotiator

• California Doubling: The interior scenes of Danny's hostage situation were filmed in California. To simulate the Chicago skyline outside, a 160x40 ft poster was constructed.
• Cast the Expert: It's somewhat appropriate to have Samuel L. Jackson as a hostage taker, given that in 1969, while he was a college student at Morehouse College, he was one of several students to take the Morehouse College Board of Trustees hostage in order to force them to change the curriculum and governance. He ended up getting convicted of unlawful confinement, a second-degree felony.
• Cast the Runner-Up: The initial plan was to have Kevin Spacey as the hostage taker and Sylvester Stallone would have been the opposing negotiator. Stallone backed out, and the former decided he wanted to play the other part. Samuel L. Jackson was recast in his place.
• Enforced Method Acting: Kevin Spacey fed his lines to Samuel L. Jackson for the scenes with their over-the-phone conversations. This helped the latter with his reactions.
• In Memoriam: The film is dedicated to JT Walsh, who played Niebaum. He died before its release.
• Missing Trailer Scene: The trailer included a shot of Sabian talking into his radio saying, "Now, you’re going to have deal with both of us". This line isn’t in the actual movie, presumably because Sabian telegraphing aligning with Danny would have ruined his chances to help Danny escape.
• Wag the Director: The original ending was to have a Mexican standoff with over a hundred cops pointing guns at Danny and Sabian in a train station. Kevin Spacey felt that was too cliched a situation, and it was changed.

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