Bruce Willis's daughter in the movie, Amanda, was played by his real-life daughter Rumer Willis. Rumer wanted the part, but Bruce made her audition like everyone else, and she got the part.
The hair Bruce Willis sports in the beginning of the film is an elaborate, realistic wig. The beard, however, is all Willis.
As the camera shows the wall of DVDs in Walter Smith's office, prominently featured is a copy of The Negotiator (1998), likely the most well-known movie about hostage negotiators up to this film's release.
The reason Talley's relationship with his daughter Amanda, played by Willis' real-life daughter Rumer Willis, is so strained is explained in a deleted scene that Amanda had seen Talley attempting suicide in a fit of depression.