When the project was in development during the 1990s, Jessica Lange planned to star as Léa de Lonval.
The project reunited Michelle Pfeiffer, director Stephen Frears and writer Christopher Hampton. All three had worked together on Dangerous Liasons 20 years earlier.
Iben Hjejle was personally called up by director Stephen Frears and didn't know she was going to star opposite big Hollywood names before she began filming her first scene.
Terrence McNally wrote the role of Frankie in the play "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" especially for Kathy Bates. When it came to casting the role for the movie version Frankie and Johnny (1991), Bates lost the role to Michelle Pfeiffer, her co-star in this movie.