The judge role was based on famous Bronx judge Burton B. Roberts. In the book, the judge is called Myron Kovitsky and, like Roberts, is Jewish. With high hopes, the real judge auditioned for the role and, despite having no acting experience, almost landed the part. However, Brian De Palma wasn't fully convinced with his casting and decided to go with Walter Matthau, who wanted a million dollar salary, which the studio refused; then went to Alan Arkin who accepted the role for $120,000. Later on, De Palma decided the movie needed a different racial perspective feeling that it was all so negative up to that point and demanded that the judge be played by a black actor. Morgan Freeman was chosen but, as he was just coming off a second Oscar nomination, his salary demand grew bigger and, after tough negotiations with the studio, he settled for $650,000, a lot more than Arkin would have gotten had the role kept to its origins. After the film's release, judge Roberts claimed the movie stank and that he would have portrayed a better judge than Freeman. (Source: Julie Salamon's book 'The Devil's Candy').

Film

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