Trivia for
Terms of Endearment (1983) More at IMDbPro »

• Jennifer Jones originally owned the book rights and wanted to play the part of Aurora. Sissy Spacek was originally scheduled to play the Debra Winger role.
  
  
• The character of Garrett Breedlove does not appear in the novel and was written specifically with Burt Reynolds in mind by writer-director James L. Brooks. Reynolds loved the script but was already committed to star in Stroker Ace (1983). Paul Newman and Harrison Ford turned down the role before Jack Nicholson signed on. Nicholson talked with a number of real astronauts while in Houston in preparation.
  
  
• The MPAA originally gave this film an "R" rating due to strong language. It was reduced to "PG" on an appeal (the PG-13 rating did not exist at the time), an achievement often repeated by writer-director-producer James L. Brooks on his later films.
  
  
• Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger were both nominated for 1983's Best Actress Oscar, which went to MacLaine. On her way to the podium, she reportedly whispered to Winger, "Half of this belongs to you," to which Winger reportedly replied, "I'll take half."
  
  
• The role of Emma was originally written for Sissy Spacek.
  
  
• John Lithgow was called in to replace another actor and his part was filmed in only three days during a break from filming for Footloose (1984).
  
  
• The voice of Aurora's husband in the film's opening scene is Albert Brooks(credited as A Brooks).
  
  
• Debra Winger behaved erratically on the set of this film because she was trying to get over a severe cocaine addiction. At one point, she and Shirley MacLaine got into a shoving match.
  
  
• The Kearney State College scenes were shot at the University of Nebraska, in Lincoln, due to major construction taking place at the Kearney campus (now known as the University of Nebraska at Kearney).
  
  
• Louise Fletcher was considered for the role of Aurora.
  
  
• The role of Patsy was originally offered to Kim Basinger, who turned it down to star in The Man Who Loved Women (1983) instead
  
  
• While shooting the movie in Nebraska Debra Winger began dating the Governor Bob Kerry; who told reporters, "she swept me off my foot," alluding to the fact that the lower part of one of his legs was amputated due to injuries sustained in his Medal of Honor action in Vietnam.
  
  
• Shirley MacLaine turned down the role of Diane Freeling in Poltergeist (1982) to play the Oscar-winning role of Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment (1983).
  
  
• Jodie Foster turned down the role of Emma Horton, due to her commitment at Yale.
  
  
• Although not specifically stated, the bulk of the story takes place over a span of several years during the late 1970s (a 1979 wall calendar is visible midway through the movie). Interestingly, as the character Garrett is an astronaut, this particular time period was exactly when his services would be least needed by NASA. The final Apollo mission was in 1972 and there would not be another manned spaceflight until the first Space Shuttle mission in 1981.
  
  
• The Auguste Renoir painting given to Aurora by her mother is referenced throughout the movie, first when Aurora tells Emma she considered (but decided against) giving it to her as a wedding gift, again when Emma calls Aurora asking to borrow money, and once more when Aurora uses it as an excuse to invite Garrett to her bedroom. The exact value of a Renoir original portrait is difficult to pinpoint for a specific point in time due to the infrequency of transactions. However, it's safe to say that had Aurora sold the painting through a reputable auction house around 1980, it would have sold for well over $100,000 and possibly close to $1 million.
  
  

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