Contractual Obligation Project: Keanu Reeves says that he only participated in this film because director Joe Charbanich, his roommate at the time, had forged his signature on the contract. He had to take the role because he didn't want to risk a lawsuit.
Creator Backlash: Keanu Reeves, normally one of the nicest and most-diplomatic people in the film industry, has nothing good to say about this movie, saying he found the script uninteresting. Especially because the film's director had forged Reeves' signature onto the contract for a cameo appearance at scale rates only for the role to turn into a lead antagonist without the pay being raised accordingly.
Creator Killer: While a domestic success, the bad reviews and him forging Keanu Reeve's signature on the contract pretty much killed Joe Charbanich's Hollywood directorial career, never directing a major motion picture ever again.
Hostility on the Set: Keanu Reeves and director Joe Charbanich were friends and roommates prior to this film entering production. But Reeves' disinterest in the film and anger at being strong-armed into participating by Charbanich resulted in the friendship breaking apart.
Money, Dear Boy: Keanu Reeves was so infuriated at the events that led to his casting that Universal gave him a cut of the profits (amounting to a $2 million bonus) and agreed not to make him central to the film's marketing in exchange for him keeping quiet about it for a year. Once the agreement expired, he immediately made his anger known to the public.
Playing Against Type: The lead actors swapped types. Reeves is primarily known for playing heroes and Spader generally plays creeps.
Technology Marches On: The film features Kodak cameras (including photos that needed to be developed for an hour), and old, small Sony TVs.
What Could Have Been: David Allen Griffin was originally a very minor role (almost a cameo), but the part was beefed up into a lead upon Keanu Reeves' casting. He wasn't very happy about this because he didn't want to take part in the first place.
The Series:
Typecasting: Various actors who play suspects so commonly play jerks or villains that it's almost a given that they'll become suspects right from their introduction.
