The painting Claire chose for her office is from the artist Mark Rothko: 'Untitled' (Black on Grey). It is one of a series painted in 1969 and 1970. The artist claimed that these works (the series in black and grey) symbolized death. Mark Rothko killed himself not long after he completed this series.
Jane Davis states that the real name of Thad Peterson, the American on board the Russian ship that sank, is "John Doe". This was the name of Kevin Spacey's character in Se7en (1995).