According a number of critics and sources, this picture is somewhat of a companion piece to writer-director Alan Rudolph's later film Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994).
Film critic Roger Ebert described this film as "...sort of a source study for the Paris of Ernest Hemingway in the 1920s; it's a movie about the raw material he shaped into 'The Sun Also Rises' and 'A Moveable Feast', and it also includes raw material for books by Gertrude Stein, Malcolm Cowley and Clifford Irving".
Actress Linda Fiorentino replaced Meg Tilly in the part of Rachel Stone. Tilly was going to play Stone, but withdrew due to scheduling conflicts, before Fiorentino eventually signed on.
Mick Jagger and Sam Shepard turned down the role of Bertram Stone, where it eventually went to John Lone.