Leos Carax offered the part of Mr. Oscar's love from the past to his own former girlfriend, Juliette Binoche. According to Carax, they finally "did not get along". He then rewrote the part, made it a singing character and cast Kylie Minogue instead.
Leos Carax wrote the part of the supermodel with Kate Moss in mind, as they had already been willing to work together in another project that finally was not made. By the time of filming, though, Moss was about to get married and declined the part that, ultimately, went to Eva Mendes.
The opening scene was inspired by a tale by E. T. A. Hoffmann, about a man who discovers a secret door in his bedroom that leads to an opera house.
The film's initial concept started with a trend Leos Carax had observed where stretch limousines were being increasingly used for weddings. The director was interested in the cars' bulkiness. From that grew an idea for a film about the increasing digitization of society; a science fiction scenario where organisms and visible machines share a common superfluity.