Actor Vortre Williams was really waterboarded for the film. Trying to fake it proved too clearly false so it was felt that it had to be performed for real. Despite hefty safety precautions, Williams was highly traumatized by the experience and suffered panic attacks for several weeks after.
The title refers to the nickname that was given to the rubble-strewn road linking the "safe" Green Zone to the international airport in Baghdad during the height of the US invasion. It was once referred to as the most dangerous road in the world.
Jordan stood in for Iraq - as it had done for Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker (2008). The production team shot for a week there.
This is director of photography Chris Menges' second Iraq-themed movie. He had previously photographed Kimberly Peirce's Stop-Loss (2008).
This marks the sixth collaboration between Ken Loach and cinematographer Chris Menges, a partnership first born with Poor Cow (1967).