In the first mall scene, Max Cherry is seen exiting a movie theater while the music for the ending credits is playing. This is, in fact, the closing music for Jackie Brown (1997).
Early in the film Ordell tells Louis (Robert De Niro) that "he's as serious as a heart attack." De Niro used the same line in The Fan (1996) when threatening another character.
One name on the tenant list for Melanie's apartment building is "S. Haig", a reference to Sid Haig, who plays the judge that sentences Jackie to prison.
References to Pulp Fiction (1994): Jackie eats food from "Teriyaki Donut", the same place that Marsellus Wallace bought food from before being run over by Butch.
The suit that Jackie buys is the same that Mia Wallace wears in Pulp Fiction (1994).
The electronic "voice" on Jackie's answering machine is actually that of director Quentin Tarantino.
When Jackie Brown, played by Pam Grier, is being locked in prison, the song "Longtime Woman" plays. This song was performed by Grier for The Big Doll House (1971), and plays when the main character in that film is being locked in prison.
When Ordell Robbie first goes to Max Cherry's office and is asked if he has the cash for the bond, he responds "I got it right here in my brand new raptor bag." Although the logo is partially obscured, it is clearly that of the Toronto Raptors. Actor Samuel L. Jackson was frequently courtside at Toronto Raptor games the season before filming Jackie Brown.
Actress Mira Sorvino, who at the time was dating director Quentin Tarantino, can be seen out-of-focus in the back of the courtroom at Jackie's arraignment.
In the closing credits, Tarantino gives special thanks to "Bert D'Angelo's Daughter" (among others). In the late 70's, Paul Sorvino starred in a TV detective show, "Bert D'Angelo/Superstar" (1976). Thus "Bert D'Angelo's Daughter" is Paul's daughter and Tarantino's girlfriend, Mira Sorvino.
Jackie's white Honda is the same car Butch Coolidge drove in Pulp Fiction (1994) when he hit Marsellus Wallace.
Samuel L. Jackson says the line, "This is some repugnant shit" towards the end of the movie. He says this line in both Pulp Fiction (1994) and Shaft (2000)
Ordell tells Louis in the beginning, that the people he sells guns to don't just want one gun, but two "because they all wanna be the Killer." This is the reference to "The Killer" (Dip huet seung hung (1989)), and John Woo's style of shootout scenes where a person fires from two guns simultaneously. Later, Jackie Brown is seen holding two guns and pointing them at Ordell at the same time, in the dark, right after she confiscates Ordell's gun.
Sid Haig, the judge at Jackie Brown's arraignment, was a bad guy in Foxy Brown (1974), in which Pam Grier also starred.
According to Quentin Tarantino, 70's actress Carol Speed originally helped out in making this film and was willing to play a small cameo part in the film. At the last minute, Tarantino decided not to use her in the film.
Ordell says, "He didn't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out." This line was used by Dick Ritchie in True Romance (1993), also written by Quentin Tarantino.
Director Trademark: [Quentin Tarantino] [trunk] The scene where Ordell is trying to convince Beaumont to get in the trunk of the car is shot entirely from a camera in the trunk looking up at them.
When Melanie (Bridget Fonda) is watching TV, the movie being shown is the Italian movie La belva col mitra (1977) by Sergio Grieco, starring Helmut Berger.
The car-chase movie that Louis and Melanie (Bridget Fonda) are watching is Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974), starring Peter Fonda, Bridget Fonda's father. Quentin Tarantino would later use Dirty Mary Crazy Larry as inspiration for his film Death Proof (2007).
Sylvester Stallone originally wanted to play Louis, while John Travolta was the first choice to play Ray Nicollete.
It was Samuel L. Jackson's idea to give his character the long hair and the braided goatee.
The casting director's name was Jaki Brown
Tarantino's list for Max Cherry was Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, John Saxon and Robert Forster.
Director Trademark: [Quentin Tarantino] [bare feet] Melanie is barefoot in all the scenes that take place in the apartment.
Louis and Ordell first appeared in the Elmore Leonard novel The Switch. At age 15 Quentin Tarantino was arrested for shoplifting this book, his one brush with "real" crime. In The Switch, Louis and Ordell kidnap a millionaire's wife only to discover he doesn't want her back, a plot that was used in Ruthless People (1986). In the novel's sequel, Rum Punch, Louis and Ordell complain that the movie producers stole their idea (without mentioning the movie by name).
The money that's shown in the bag is genuine currency.
When Robert De Niro first got a hold of the script he wanted to play the role of Max Cherry. Tarantino wanted to work with De Niro but had his heart set on Robert Forster as Cherry, so he gave the role of Louis to De Niro.
Michael Keaton, who plays ATF agent Ray Nicolette, reprises the role in Out of Sight (although his character was changed to an FBI agent for that film).
Director Trademark [long shot] When Jackie leaves the dressing room after making the switch
Director Trademark [singing along to music] Melanie sings along in the car
Hugh Dillon auditioned for the part of Ray Nicolette.
Several Scenes in the film with Pam Grier are accompanied by background instrumental music from the Soundtrack of Coffy (1973) (Roy Ayers, Composer), one of Pam Grier's first roles and a landmark Blackexplotation film of the early 70's. Sid Haig (liberal Judge in “Jackie Brown”) was also in Coffy and their scene together has such music entitled "Exotic Dance", which served as Jackie's theme in several scenes. Also the bongo-piano-brass theme as Jackie is "nervously" leaving the dressing room, the funky brass music when Max is leaving the dressing room with the bag of cash are from Coffy.
Pam Grier didn't expect her long-time friend Sid Haig to play the judge. She started to burst out laughing as she was surprised by Haig because both actors starred together in a number of exploitation films, which Jackie Brown's style was influenced by.
Jackie Brown was named after the character played by Steven Keats (a motormouth gun-dealer) in The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973).
The book Max Cherry is reading when Jackie comes out of jail is "Berlin Game" by Len Deighton
The inn where Ordell and Louis have a drink is called The Cockatoo Inn. The neon light letters a-t-o-o are out, so it spells The Cocka Inn: cocaine. A hint to the bags of cocaine found in Jackie's bag in the beginning of the movie.
