Matthew Modine's character gets excited when he hears a message left on his machine from who he believes to be Madonna about a possible acting gig. In real life, Madonna: Crazy for You (1985) includes footage of Matthew Modine from the movie Vision Quest (1985).
Buck Henry's character's name, Dr. Leuter, means "Dr. Dick" in Dutch.
Steve Buscemi reprises his role as Nick the director from Tom DiCillo's previous film Living In Oblivion.
Bronson Pickett's character's name, Rubio, means "blonde" in Spanish.
The newspaper Joe reads at the 7 minute mark is dated October 15, 1997.