Gene Hackman turned down this movie at first, because he doesn't usually do comedies. Barry Sonnenfeld said that's exactly the attitude he wanted from him on-set. Play it straight, and let the audience decide if it's funny.
According to Elmore Leonard, Martin Weir (Danny DeVito) is based on Leonard's own dealings with Dustin Hoffman.
John Travolta initially declined an offer to be in this movie, but was convinced by Quentin Tarantino to do it.
Ernest 'Chili' Palmer: Elmore Leonard's friend, namesake of the main character, as one of Ray "Bones" Barboni's friends.
Ernest 'Chili' Palmer: (At 1 min.) The man on the right side of the screen is the actual Chili Palmer whom Elmore Leonard wrote the novel about. The scene was shot on the second to last day of production, and John Travolta who plays Chili Palmer in the film said he was glad he didn't know until then that he was playing a real person. He told Barry Sonnenfeld he probably would have flown to Miami to spend time with the man which would have ruined his performance.