Trivia

Filmed in the country of Jordan. Access was denied for a week of filming at a U.S. Military Base in Kuwait.

The bomb disposal outfit worn by Jeremy Renner was authentic apparel.

Kathryn Bigelow claims that no scene filmed was left out of the final cut.

The expression "the hurt locker" is a slang term for a situation involving trouble or pain, which can be traced back to the Vietnam War. According to the movie's website, it is soldier vernacular in Iraq to speak of explosions as sending you to "the hurt locker."

It was James Cameron who convinced his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow to direct this film. She originally had planned on doing another project and wasn't sure about doing this film. Cameron read it and told her to do this film, and it ended up earning her an Oscar nomination and award for Best Director. In fact, the film was nominated in nine categories against Cameron's Avatar (2009), and won six awards, including Best Picture. Cameron himself had said, "I wouldn't bet against her."