Jason Robards was nominated for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role Oscar for playing Howard Hughes in this movie. It was the third time in five years that Robards had been nominated in this category at the Academy Awards, and in each case he was playing a real person. The first two times, in 1977 and 1978, Robards had achieved the extraordinary feat of winning back-to-back Oscars for Julia (1977) and Todos los hombres del presidente (1976).
Melvin E. Dummar, the real life subject of this movie, has a small role as the man behind a bus depot counter.
Mary Steenburgen revealed that she was worried about having to appear completely naked in the film. "In a scene, I'm at a strip joint and I quit. I rip off what I'm wearing, throw it in the air, and walk naked out of the place. The night before the scene, I thought, 'Who is going to be there tomorrow? There's going to be a skeleton crew.' I didn't sleep that night, but I thought I was prepared for what was going to happen. I had totally forgotten there were going to be about sixty guys - extras from Central Casting - sitting around. I did it OK for about the first eight times, but I started to lose it. I was becoming upset because these guys kept making comments. I called Malcolm [Malcolm McDowell, her then real-life husband], and he said,'Listen, you've done it. You have already put it on film. Do it one more time, and just try and do it real well.' I had lost sight of that. I was so busy worrying about my clothes I had forgotten about the moment of it. I knew it was a moment of bravery and freedom, and he reminded me of that. So I went back and I did it really well. As I walked out, I flipped off the construction hat of the guy at the bar and I waved goodbye to all the other dancers on the stage. That is the one they used," Steenburgen recalled.
One of writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson's favorites films. Actor Jason Robards' final cinema movie was Anderson's Magnolia (1999). The photography in Anderson's The Master: Todo Hombre Necesita Un Guía (2012) is said to have been inspired by this picture.
Jack Nicholson turned down the role of Melvin E. Dummar, though he did pass on the script to Mary Steenburgen, his Goin' South (1978) co-star.