Kevin Smith had been a fan of Bruce Willis for years prior to working with him. Willis, after acting with Smith on Live Free or Die Hard (2007), told him that he was interested in being in one of his films. Despite all this, it was Warner Bros. that suggested casting Willis as Jimmy Monroe.
Warner Bros. picked up the project in turnaround in 2008 from Gold Circle Films, where it had been in development with Robin Williams and James Gandolfini in the lead roles.
In order to push the tattoo artist for information, Jimmy holds a tattoo machine up to the artist's eye while they question him. During the close up shots of the artist the tattoo machine is directly in front of his eye but every time the shot moves to Jimmy and Paul, the tattoo machine is being held away from him.
In the scene after they arrest Dave ('Sean William Scott'), and are driving in the car, Paul ('Tracy Morgan') can be seen talking on a Blackberry Pearl. In the first part the phone can be seen held correctly. When the camera switches to a view from over his shoulder. The phone is being held upside down.
The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.
Q
Is "Cop Out" based on a book?
A
No. Cop Out is a comedy film written by screenwriting brothers, Mark and Robb Cullen.
Q
Why didn't Kevin Smith write this?
A
The screenplay started out as a spec script by Mark and Robb Cullen, so Kevin Smith's writing talent was not needed. He did not do a re-write of the script, despite some reports stating so. In his stand-up TV special "Too Fat for 40" he stated that he was essentially taking a break from writing as he tried to figure out why some of his more recent movies (namely "Zack and Miri Make a Porno") weren't doing as well. He realized his life circumstances had changed from the days of "Clerks" and "Mallrats" and that to try to write a movie like that at this stage of his life wouldn't be honest. He liked the script for "A Couple of Dicks" (the original and working title of "Cop Out") and loved growing up watching buddy cop movies with his dad.