Did You Know?
After the movie was released, screenwriter Joe Eszterhas's own father, Istvan Eszterhas, was accused of war crimes in Hungary for printing anti-Semitic editorials and even organizing a book burning.
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Both Kirk Douglas and Walter Matthau wanted to play the father (Michael Laszlo) and were in contact with director Costa-Gavras. Costa-Gavras also considered Marlon Brando for the part. Instead, he picked Armin Mueller-Stahl, who a couple of years earlier had said he would love to work with him after seeing his movie, Missing, at the theater.
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Joe Eszterhas wrote the screenplay with Jane Fonda in mind to play the female lead. Both Eszterhas and producer Irwin Winkler wanted to cast Fonda but director Costa-Gavras thought that she was too old for the part and cast Jessica Lange instead. Fonda was paid $1.25m in compensation for losing the part.
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Costa-Gavras came up with the film's title; Joe Eszterhas' original screenplay was entitled "Sins of the Fathers".
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