Frank T.J. Mackey, the character that Cruise would play in the film, was based in part on an audio-recording done in an engineering class taught by a friend that was given to Anderson.
Frank T.J. Mackey, lik kojeg je Cruise trebao igrati u filmu, bio je djelomično temeljen na audio snimkama snimljenim na jednom tečaju koje je Andersonu dao prijatelj.