Heilgrande actually created two stories. One occurs in the first half of the film, that is, the protagonist resumes his normal life under the infection of the little girl; the other is the second half of the film, the protagonist embarks on a journey of revenge to rescue the little girl. In Helgrande's opinion, the story of the film is comparable to "Beauty and the Beast."
Prior to the film, Scott had collaborated with Denzel Washington in "Red Tide Storm." Scott thought that Washington was very suitable for playing a charming role but a gloomy heart, and he was comfortable with his tough qualities.
Tony Scott and producer Lucas Foster decided that Dakota Fanning should play the little girl Pitta because Fanning’s performance in "Different Dad" was reserved for them. Impressed.
In order to become a personal bodyguard with extraordinary reach, Washington received a series of training under the guidance of film consultant and security expert Don Rosche (Don Rosche), so as to learn the behavior habits and way of thinking of professional bodyguards. At the same time, Fanning also spent months learning swimming, Spanish and piano. Outside of filming, Fanning often stayed with Mark Anthony and Lada Mitchell, who played their parents in the film, to cultivate a family atmosphere.
In order to give the film a sense of reality, most of the scenes in the film were shot in Mexico City. All cast members and equipment of the crew have to take more than 50 vehicles. Due to the narrow and crowded streets of Mexico City, it takes several hours to get on the road every day. Strikes are still commonplace in Mexico City, and the crew’s itinerary can be said to be even more difficult.
In terms of photography, Scott and the director of photography Paul Cameron (Paul Cameron) chose a traditional hand-cranked camera that can freely control the ups and downs, and a reversal film with more vivid colors to create a surprising image style. In addition, Cameron also used Panavision XL and 16mm cameras for maximum flexibility in framing. In order to increase the visual impact of special scenes, the crew even used multiple cameras to view the scene at the same time.
Director Tony Scott was expected to direct the 1987 version of "Raging Revenge", but at the time he was still unknown in Hollywood, so the producer sought another candidate.
Anthony Fukua was also the candidate for the director of the film, but he was busy filming "King Arthur" at the time.
Robert De Niro, Will Smith, and Bruce Willis were all candidates to play Creser, and all three have worked with Tony Scott.
The first person to play Rayburn is Marlon Brando.
Denzel Washington got the chance to star in the film in the hospital. At that time, he and Tony Scott met in the hospital waiting room. After "Red Tide Storm", the two have never met.
In AJ Kunnell's novel, the little girl's Italian name is "Pinta". Director Tony Scott changed the location of the story to Mexico and discovered that "Pinta" is a "prostitute" in Mexican slang, so he changed its name to "Pita".
Two Mercedes-Benz S-Class cars were destroyed during filming.
Two sex scenes in the film were finally cut.
