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).
The line where Fanny Ardant 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.