Stars Shirley MacLaine and Nicolas Cage became great friends while filming due to their mutual love of animals and would go on to co-adopt many animals together, including a ferret named Whiskers and a Zebra named Mr. Zed.
Nicolas Cage said of his character Secret Service Agent Doug Chesnic: "Doug is straightforward, very focused, very direct. But he is also one of those guys who joined the Secret Service because he likes the adrenaline rush that comes from a high-action job. The problem is, in the service of Mrs. Carlisle, he is basically a waiter or a butler."
The scene in the Secret Service office, where the television shows civil unrest in Agua Dulce, affecting the president in the film (voiced by Hugh Wilson), the footage shown was actual news coverage from June 1992 when President George Bush (Bush 41) was in Panama for a speech. As a mass of protesters were present, gunshots and tear gas broke out, causing Bush to be evacuated.
The voice of the commander-in-chief, the U.S. President, was provided by the film's writer and director, Hugh Wilson.
Doing research for the movie, writer-director Hugh Wilson, in talking with Secret Service agents, became fascinated with the way protection details function. He was especially intrigued by the dilemma presented when VIPs grow weary of the ever-watchful presence of guards. He said: "This is an invasion of privacy, no matter how delicately it's handled."
Hugh Wilson: The film's director as the voice of the President. The character is addressed as "Harold" by Tess Carlisle (Shirley MacLaine) in the movie but in the picture's closing credits is billed as ''President''.