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Random Trivia For This Title: - The studio originally wanted to shoot the entire film in Salamanca, Spain, but the local government refused to close the Plaza Mayor for nearly 3 months. Production was moved to Cuernavaca and Puebla, Mexico. Only the scenes filmed from the air were shot in Spain.
- Matthew Fox, Eduardo Noriega, Forest Whitaker and director Pete Travis attended the premiere, held in Salamanca, Spain, on February 12, 2008. City Hall declared them "Distinguished Guests."
- When shooting was moved to Mexico, the production design team built a replica of Salamanca's Plaza Mayor, which is slightly smaller than the original.
- The city of Salamanca may have been chosen to poke fun at the many plot twists in the story. Salamanca (or Salamangka) is a common Tagalog (Filipino) word for "trick" or "sleight of hand." The Philippines were a Spanish colony from 1521 to 1898.
- The original script set the story in Madrid, but the producers wanted a more "exotic" location. The fact is revealed in some scenes, like the secret service guy who says they can't locate a single person among "5 or 6 million" (Madrid's population; Salamanca's is much smaller), or when the cop enters a Muslim neighborhood during the foot chase (Madrid has one, Salamanca doesn't).
- TV Executive Rex Brooks was originally written as a male. Director Pete Travis changed it to a woman because he felt the movie lacked a strong female character.
- In the original script, the tourist was a Russian named Lewicki. When Forest Whitaker auditioned for a different role, Pete Travis was so impressed that he rewrote the tourist as an American and offered the role to him.
- The explosion on the Plaza was filmed by fifteen different cameras.
- A close look at the hotel maid after she is shot reveals that she was an undercover secret service agent, reaching for her firearm under the sheets on the trolley.
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