When Sam Elliott originally received the script, the film was titled "Iceberg."
The type of cancer that Lee is diagnosed with is pancreatic cancer. This is the same type of cancer that killed Patrick Swayze who was Sam Elliott's co-star in Road House (1989).
Sam Elliott and Nick Offerman appeared Parks and Recreation (2009), with Elliott playing Ron Dunn, the Eagleton counterpart of Ron Swanson (Offerman).