Word of Gay: Rucka has confirmed that the sexual tension between Carrie and Lily in the first graphic novel was intentional.
The Film
Awesome, Dear Boy: Kate Beckinsale was attracted to the role because it was an Action Girl who was human rather than a vampire or monster hunter. And the appeal of wearing "three pairs of trousers and a parka" instead of a corset or latex suit.
"Usually I'm grappling with how to make this realistic when she's been alive for 700 years and all that."
California Doubling: Most of the Antarctica scenes were filmed around parts of Manitoba, Canada, with some other scenes filmed in Montreal.
Creator-Chosen Casting: Kate Beckinsale was producer Joel Silver's first choice to play Carrie.
Development Hell: The movie had originally been planned in the late 90s but had gone through piles of trouble and cast changes (including Reese Witherspoon as Carrie) before it was finally filmed. And it ended up on The Shelf of Movie Languishment for a couple of years after it was ultimately made.
Executive Meddling: The film lost its second female lead because executives feared that men would not go to a movie with two female leads. Carrie herself was made far less dynamic to give her male co-stars adequate supporting actions. She's a U.S. Marshal (Comic writer/script doctor Greg Rucka said that in one early draft, the script had Carrie notice someone following her and run away. As he snarked "What was she gonna do, call the cops?") The film went through major, constant rewrites (the WGA color scheme is White (Original), Blue, Pink, Yellow, Green, Goldenrod, Buff, and Salmon; by the time Rucka was officially hired, the script was on triple Salmon), and while he was initially happy that his first comic received a Hollywood rendering, but this quickly fell by the wayside when he saw the changes made to her character. He later chalked it up as a learning experience.
Rucka: Comic Carrie and One Act Play Carrie would shake Movie Carrie down behind the bleachers, laugh her out of the You Share Our Name Club, and send her limping and mewling home to mother. And they wouldn't feel a moment's regret about doing it, either.
Fake American: Kate Beckinsale (British) plays a US Marshall.
One for the Money; One for the Art: Kate Beckinsale admitted in an interview that starring in this film allowed her the financial freedom to do the smaller indie films Snow Angels and Winged Creatures.
Promoted Fanboy: Dominick Sena was a fan of the graphic novel, and lobbied to direct.
Star-Derailing Role: Kate Beckinsale had been a popular Action Girl in the 2000s, in films like the Underworld franchise and Van Helsing, as well as successful comedies like Click and Serendipity, and showing up in highbrow things like The Aviator. The flopping of this, coupled with her desire to focus on smaller indie films, saw her disappearing from the A-list - which was only solidified by the bombing of Total Recall (2012).
Typecasting: This fit right into Kate Beckinsale's niche in the 2000s as Action Girls in horror.
