The scene with Leslie Zevo (Robin Williams) addressing his troops was ad-libbed. Levinson kept a camera rolling everytime Williams was on-set.
Robin Williams states that dyeing his hair orange and the costume he wore made him feel like The Sixth Doctor in "Doctor Who (1963)."
Lieutenant General Leland Zevo mentions building armed "toy" planes and refers to himself as the "General of tomorrow". Small pilotless aircraft have been used by militaries since World War I, but the RQ-1 Predator (a system that closely resembles General Zevo's idea) entered service three years after this movie was released.
Much of the look drew its inspiration from surrealist painter René Magritte. This is most obvious in the break in scene where Leslie Zevo (Robin Williams) and Alsatia Zevo (Joan Cusack) pretend they're doing a music video featuring raining men in the background.
Barry Levinson: [Ralph Tabakin] Ralph (Fred) has appeared in every Levinson picture from Diner (1982) to Liberty Heights (1999).