8MM

Russell Crowe agreed to do the film with Joel Schumacher when the film was slated to be a "dirty, handheld gritty thriller". Crowe had one stipulation to all this and it was the scene where his character is looking at the kiddie porn and throws it in the trash. He throws a cigarette so it would start burning inside the trash can. Schumacher agreed. Then out of the blue, Nicolas Cage's agent called Schumacher and told him that he wanted to do the film as well. Schumacher then contacted John Calley at Sony and told him that they could do the film with Crowe as a "low budget, dirty handheld camera thriller" or a much bigger film with Cage. Calley then agreed to do the film with Cage as the lead which eventually led to a much bigger budget. Schumacher realized Cage was right for the part when Cage reportedly told him, "I want to play a role I can internalize instead of my normal schtick."

To ascertain Machine's identity, Tom calls several emergency rooms, pretending to be a police officer, asking for Machine's real name, insurance information, and home address. Even in 1999, no hospital would ever give this information out over the phone and would need an in-person request with a court order to be in compliance with HIPAA laws (which were first passed in 1996).

The German theatrical version is allegedly 9 seconds longer. Additional footage shows more of Poole being beaten to death by Tom Welles.

Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Office Space/October Sky/The 24 Hour Woman/Jawbreaker/Tango (1999)