The film's title comes from Dickie Moltisanti's family's name which when translated from Italian to English means "many saints."
Michael Gandolfini had never watched The Sopranos (1999) prior to being cast in the role of as the young Tony Soprano.
According to director Alan Taylor, Edie Falco shot a scene as Carmela Soprano that was to be used early in the film but they decided to go in a different direction. According to Taylor, they shot a few things with other original cast members in case they wanted to use it.
Alessandro Nivola didn't realize that he was playing the lead role until filming had begun. He was only given portions of the script beforehand.
Veteran Sopranos director Alan Taylor directed; David Chase intended to direct the film himself but had to bow out due to family issues. Chase chose Taylor as director because he had directed many of Chase's favorite Sopranos episodes. Despite stepping down as director, David Chase was on set nearly every day.