Jason Robards plays United States Marine Corps General R. Pendleton Lloyd who was the Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff. At the time the movie was released in 1994, no United States Marine Corps General had served as Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff. The first United States Marine Corps General who become Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff was General Peter Pace in 2005.
In the novel and the earlier version of the film, Seven Days in May (1964), the character played here by Forest Whitaker was named Martin "Jiggs" Casey. The nickname, which in the context of an African-American actor was a racial epithet, was clearly inappropriate and was not used.
Executive producer Peter Douglas is the son of Kirk Douglas, the star of Seven Days in May (1964) on which this film is based.
The original working title may have been 'What a Coup', since the author of this movie is listed as 'What A Coup, Inc.' under British Law.