Trivia

The Georgian military supplied ground force, armored vehicles, weapons and helicopters for use in the film. This allowed many battle scenes and crowd formations to be staged without the need to expand or supplement them digitally.

Near the beginning, president Saakashvili can be seen munching on his necktie. This was based on an actual incident, in which the president was caught on camera while chewing on his tie, unaware that the camera was rolling. The footage has been widely translated, and can be easily found on YouTube.

Andy Garcia was sought for the role of Georgina president Mikhail Saakashvili for two reasons: he resembled Saakashvil;, and he is Saakashvili's favorite American actor.

Because the nation of Georgia had very little infrastructure with regards to film production, much of the below-the-line crew was filled by technicians and craftspeople from Bulgaria.

The film was shot in 36 days on the location of Georgia, only a year after the real Russo-Georgian War. The atmosphere within the country was still tense and people emotional. Director Renny Harlin later bought an apartment in the city of Batumi on the coast of the Black Sea.

Renny Harlin: [Finland] Finns, Czechs and Hungarians are mentioned during Mikheil Saakashvili's presidential speech near the end of the film, played by actor Andy Garcia. The scene was filmed with seven cameras.