Brad Pitt wanted to leave the production, but was threatened by a lawsuit. In the February 2, 1997, issue of Newsweek, Pitt called the film a "disaster", and said that "it was the most irresponsible bit of filmmaking - if you can even call it that - that I've ever seen. I couldn't believe it". Rumors of fighting on the set (especially over which star would be the focus of the film) plagued the production. The original script was discarded and there were at least seven subsequent rewrites. Pitt said the final version was "a mess". "The script that I had loved was gone," he said. "I guess people just had different visions and you can't argue with that. But then I wanted out and the studio head said, 'All right, we'll let you out, but it'll be $63 million for starters." (Harrison Ford later noted that Pitt "forgot for a moment that he was talking to someone whose job it was to write this s*** down".)
Brad Pitt was attacked while hanging out in West Belfast to perfect his Northern Irish accent for the movie.
Alan J. Pakula was tapped to direct because he was the only person acceptable to both Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt. It turned out to be the final film Pakula finished before his death.
Amongst other script problems, a renewed outbreak of violence in Northern Ireland in 1990 forced large revisions. Ironically, the film's release date in 1997 came as peace negotiations had moved forward to such an extent that the Belfast Agreement (Good Friday Accords) were signed in April 1998.