Did You Know?

WILHELM SCREAM: when a man is thrown off an elephant in the beginning of the film

The movie is partially based on true events in Nicaragua. In 1979, the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza Debayle was overthrown by Sandanista leftist rebels. Gene Hackman's character, Alex Grazier, is based on ABC News reporter Bill Stewart. On June 20, 1979, Stewart was traveling in a van that was stopped at a checkpoint in Managua, the capitol city of Nicaragua. Although he identified himself as an American journalist, Stewart was shot and killed by soldiers of the Nicaraguan National Guard, the main force behind Somoza's dictatorship. As depicted in the film, the murder was filmed by Stewart's cameraman, and was later broadcast repeatedly on U.S. TV news reports. Public outrage over the murder forced the U.S. Government to drop its military support of the Somoza regime. In July, 1979, Somoza resigned and fled to Paraguay, where he was later assassinated by Sandanista hit men in September, 1980.