Stories from the set

Fuqua wanted to make the film as realistic as possible, so many scenes were shot in the notoriously criminal neighborhoods of Los Angeles. He even had to personally obtain permission to film from some street gangs. Most often they readily agreed.

As a result of the attack on the World Trade Center, the film's release date was moved back two weeks — to October 5.

The film was shot in the breaks between filming John Q starring Denzel Washington.

In one of the scenes that was ultimately cut, Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) shows Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) a photograph in which he is still a very young police officer. This shot was taken from a frame from the film Ricochet (1991).

The role of Harris was also offered to Bruce Willis, Gary Sinise, and Tom Sizemore.

Before the production went to Antoine Fuqua, the film was to be directed by Davis Guggenheim, the role of Harris was intended for Samuel L. Jackson, and the role of Hoyt for Matt Damon.

Screenwriter David Ayer wrote the first draft of the screenplay in 1995, long before the infamous 1998 incident involving the exposure of corruption within an elite anti-narcotics unit, which went down in the history of overseas law enforcement agencies under the name "The Rampart Scandal."

Scott Glenn and Denzel Washington had previously played the same character in the films "The Bodyguard" (1987) and "Man on Fire" (2004), respectively.

Filming took place from January to April 2001.

Before filming the scene in which Ethan Hawke's character plays cards with criminals, director Antoine Fuqua secretly instructed the actors playing the gangsters without Hawke's knowledge. This was necessary to further confuse Hawke and add tension to the scene.