This movie is loosely based on Jimmy Hoffa's life.
The scenes that take place in Cleveland early in the story were filmed in Dubuque, Iowa. One of the reasons they chose that town is because, since the town was wired for cable TV, none of the homes or buildings had TV antennas on the rooftops.
The scene where the company sign was pulled down in front of the factory could only be filmed once because they only had one sign and it could not be replaced once it was damaged.