In 2003, Chicago became the first film musical to have won an Oscar for "Best Picture" in 34 years, the last winner was "Oliver."

Rene Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere all did their own dancing and singing.

Roxy Hart was based on Beulah Annan who murdered her lover after he said he was leaving her. Velma Kelly was based on Belva Gaertner who murdered her younger, married boyfriend and used the exact same defense of suffering from a black out.

Billy Flynn was based on "Easy Eddie" O'Hare, a Chicago mob lawyer of the 1920's. O'Hare's son, Butch, was a decorated Navy flyer killed in World War II. The Chicago airport was named in his honor.

Catherine Zeta Jones specifically requested to have a short haircut for this movie so that the audience could easily see her face and not doubt that she did all the dancing herself.

John Travolta was offered the part of Billy Flynn but turned it down because he couldn't see how the stage play "Chicago" could be effectively turned into a film.

In the scene where Roxie is waiting to meet the Matron, a fellow inmate asks her if she has had Morton before. The actress is Chita Rivera, who was the original Velma Kelly years ago.

Producer Marty Richards approached Catherine Zeta-Jones about playing Velma Kelly after being amazed by her renditions of carols at a Christmas party.

In 'Cell Block Tango', the scarves represent murder. While the other four murderesses carry only one red scarf, Velma carries two (one for her husband and one for her sister) and Catalina has one white scarf to show that she alone is innocent.

This is Hunyak's story in the cell block tango (translated from Hungarian) "What am doing here? They say my famous lover held down my husband while I chopped off his head. But it isn't true, I am innocent. I don't know why Uncle Sam says I did it. I tried to explain it at the police station but they did not understand me."