Trivia: John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten despises this film. He accused it of glamorizing the squalor of Sid and Nancy's life and making heroin addiction seem cool. He has referred to the film as "a f*ck*ng fantasy." Amongst his more scathing quotes : "To me this movie is the lowest form of life. I honestly believe that it celebrates heroin addiction. It definitely glorifies it at the end when that stupid taxi drives off into the sky." "I don't think they ever had the intent to research properly in order to make a seriously accurate movie. It was all just for money, wasn't it? To humiliate somebody's life like that - and very successfully - was very annoying to me." "I went to see it and was utterly appalled. I told [director] Alex Cox, which was the first time I met him, that he should be shot, and he was quite lucky I didn't shoot him. I still hold him in the lowest light. Will the real Sid please stand up?" "As for how I was portrayed... it was so off and ridiculous. It was absurd. Champagne and baked beans for breakfast? Sorry. I don't drink champagne. He didn't even speak like me. He had a Scouse accent." (Lydon is a Londoner.) Alex Cox later admitted that many of Lydon's criticisms of the film were correct and he should have shown the squalor and ugliness of Sid and Nancy's life in a far more realistic manner.
Trivia: When Tracy is spinning on the playground equipment in the final scene, she is wearing the clothes that Evie wore when they went to the neighbor lifeguard Luke's house. This may be a call back to her missing Evie after she left or a representation of how Tracy's style changed over time. Also, when Tracy wakes up next to Mel in the end she looks disappointed. And I have come to think that she is upset because she wanted to wake up next to Evie again. (00:49:51 - 01:34:51)
Trivia: The entire "How am I funny?" scene was improvised by Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta.
Suggested correction: False. Joe Pesci told the anecdote to Scorsese in the earliest stages of the movie. Scorsese asked him to add it during previous script readings and further rehearsals while notes were being taken by crew members. Then it was finally shot following those rehearsals and notes. In this video all the actors involved tell how Scorsese works and even he himself says he rewrote that scene 4 times. Minute 13:04: https://youtu.be/_bbzUZuxEB8.
I have actually seen interviews where they admitted it was improvised. The reactions from the other actors was genuine.
Trivia: The real Marcus Luttrell appears several times throughout the movie: he spills the coffee and tells the new guy to clean it up; he's in the operation briefing and shakes his head at the rules of engagement being read; and he's on board the Chinook helicopter when it is shot down.
Trivia: Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon both did their own singing for the film.
Trivia: Although they play mother and son in this film, Bryce Dallas Howard is only eight years older than Taron Egerton.
Trivia: Selena's Grammy acceptance speech wasn't as emotional or as detailed as the one in the movie. In real life, she never mentioned Chris or the fans.
Trivia: The front and back of the von Trapp house are actually two different houses. Also, the gazebo (which belongs to the house used for the back shots) is across a river from the house. You can take the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg.
Trivia: Adrian Brody insisted on learning to play the piano himself because he detested the idea of him being in a long shot pretending to play the instrument and then the camera showing someone else's hands on a close up shot actually playing. He said he hated that, not just for him, but on any other film that had such a scene. So he went and took lessons, practicing for hours on end.
Trivia: The IMAX prints of the film are 11 miles long, weighing 600lb.
Trivia: George reads a paperback while reclining on his prison bunk. The book is "Hells Angels" by Hunter S. Thompson, the author whom Depp previously portrayed in the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998).
Trivia: When Derice is applying for loans at different banks, the wall behind each bank manager is always the same wall! The plants and decorations are different, but it's the identical wall.
Trivia: One of the fans in the stands is actually Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, and he is listed in the credits as "fan in the stands" who can be seen in the last few minutes of the film. You can see the real Rudy sitting directly behind the actors playing Rudy's parents, and he's wearing a plaid flat cap and a dark colored coat with a thick light beige fur collar/lapel. About 15 seconds after the game ending tackle, Ned Beatty, the actor playing Rudy's father, turns around and grabs the real Rudy by his coat collar/lapel, then slaps his chest in joyful celebration.
Trivia: In the last scene of the movie when Chris and his son are crossing the street and telling jokes, they pass a man in a suit who gives them a brief nod. This is a cameo appearance from the real Chris Gardner.
Trivia: The real Frank Abagnale Jr. was held in the French prison (Perpignan's House of Arrest) for approximately six months. His term was shortened from twelve months. When released (extradited to Sweden), he was ill because he had been forced to live in a damp, dark cell, naked and allowed only bread and water. In Sweden where he was tried and convicted he was kept in a comfortable Swedish prison. However, upon completion of his prison term in Sweden, he was next to be extradited to Italy. The Swedish government believed in prison reform and was afraid of the treatment he would receive in an Italian prison. As a result, Sweden revoked Frank's passport so it could intentionally have him extradited to the U.S. Once in the US, he was protected and couldn't be tried in the foreign countries where he perpetrated his fraudulent schemes. The book about his life contains a more accurate depiction than the film and was written 10 years prior to its release.
Suggested correction: Incorrect. Abagnale served three months in a French prison, not six. He then served two months in a Swedish prison. He was ordered to recompense Swedish victims of his crimes but never did. The book about his life was published over 20 years before the film was released, not 10. The book and movie are both almost completely inaccurate; most of Abagnale's stories of his crimes and frauds were greatly exaggerated or completely made up. Journalists started discovering these lies in the late 1970s.
Trivia: During the several scenes where the pilots are communicating with Air Traffic Control, they are always addressed as flight 1549. During the real incident, however, both the pilots and controllers misspoke, labeling the flight number as both 1529 and 1539. This was likely due to the intensely stressful situation.
Trivia: Antonio Banderas got the role of Che by submitting a self-made audition tape and then performing all the musical numbers in front of director Alan Parker at a dinner meet in Miami.