François Truffaut decided to write the script of this movie when he saw Gérard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant sit side-by-side at the Cesar's night.
The movie Bernard is talking about during the first meeting with Odile Jouve is Tod Browning's The Unknown (1927).
François Truffaut chose Fanny Ardant to star in this film when he saw her in the TV series Les dames de la côte (1979).
The line where Mathilde says, "You behave like you are a policeman and I'm a thief," is a reference to Alfred Hitchcock, who frequently used variations on this theme in his films.
Was shot entirely on location, with no studio filming whatsoever.