Trivia
Dennis Hopper was originally cast as Christof, but walked off the set after his first day. Ed Harris replaced him.
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The band uniforms that Truman was wearing belonged to the Blue Star Regiment of Riverside's North High School.
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People on the set were forbidden from uttering phrases from Jim Carrey's past "silly" movies.
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The name of Truman's sailboat is the Santa Maria, the same name as one of Christopher Columbus's ships.
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The motto on the double archway in the Seahaven town center is UNUS PRO OMNIBUS, OMNES PRO UNO: "One for all, all for one" in Latin, thus fitting the premise of the Truman Show. The motto is also the used in the Alexandre Dumas père's novel, The Three Musketeers.
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Director Peter Weir filmed in the 1.66:1 ratio to make it feel more like a television show. Only the original DVD is in this aspect ratio. The theatrical cut was cropped to 1.85:1 and the Blu-ray release to 1.78:1.
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The exterior shots of 'Seahaven' were shot in the beach town of Seaside in Florida. Some interior shots were also filmed including the local shop.
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The couple at the picnic table, Darryl Davis and Robert Davis, are the founders of Seaside, the town where the movie is filmed. Robert Davis inherited the 80 acres from his grandfather, and he and his wife built the first home, and his concept of a small town and mixed-use building has become enormously popular and influential in the last 20 years.
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Various trailers included scenes that were deleted from the theatrical and DVD releases: A cast read-through (a sign on the wall warns "ATTENTION: 1. REMOVE CELLPHONES. 2. NO SCRIPTS ON SET. 3. NO I.D. CARDS ON SET"); a visible tear in the "sky" after a stage light falls on the "street" in front of Truman's house; Truman singing the Planet Trumania anthem.
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The name of the "actor" who plays Marlon is listed at the beginning of the film as "Louis Coltrane", an amalgam of the names of the jazz musicians Louis Armstrong and John Coltrane. The character also plays trumpet in the film, another allusion to Armstrong.
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The State Examination Commission in Ireland listed the film as one of the options for the English comparative study for the Leaving Certificate (state exam taken when leaving school) of 2008 and has just been selected again for 2010.
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Just before the boat stops, we see the number "139" prominently displayed on its sail. The ensuing dialogue between Truman and Christof contains some paraphrased references to Psalm 139, as do many other aspects of the film.
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To help Ed Harris develop the character for Christof, director Peter Weir presented to him a 10 page biography. Part of this biography consisted of Christof doing a film on the homeless for which he won an award.
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The Trumania bit, where Jim Carrey draws on the mirror with soap and acts strange, was completely improvised by Carrey. In another take he drew long curly hair and a dress.
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The location shoot for Seahaven Island (the film's town in the dome) was in a place called Seaside, Florida. When director Peter Weir arrived there with his pre-production team he said "Unpack our things, we've found our town." The week they arrived during the location scouting is the week they began pre-production.
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Sylvia's apartment contains photos of cast members labeled with Post-It notes. One picture is of Marlon, labeled "Unable to Get Near Marlon - PRIME!". Other photos are labeled "Jogger - 'No Way'" and "will think about it". A printed banner above these photos contains the word "Agents".
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The film is studied in Media Ethics courses, particularly focusing on the characters of creator Christof, best friend Marlon and the "prostituting" of Truman's wife, Meryl.
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Spoilers
Every street name in Seahaven refers to a movie actor, e.g. "Lancaster Square" or "Barrymore Road." All of the "cast" members are likewise named after movie stars - Meryl, Marlon, Lauren, Kirk, Angela, etc.
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In an early scene on Truman and Meryl's kitchen table is a bottle of vitamin D - needed for those without exposure to the (real) sun.
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The events in the movie take place over a 4-5 day time span - Day 10909 to Day 10913 of the show - as shown by the ticker over the TV in the Truman Bar. Truman would have been 6-7 weeks from his 30th birthday. A "30th Anniversary" Truman Show commemorative plate can be seen hanging in the bar.
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According to an August 28, 2008 New York Times article, psychologists in Britain and the U.S. have reported a number of people experiencing "Truman Syndrome" or "the Truman Show delusion" - the belief that they are the unwitting star of their own reality-TV show. According to the article, many of those afflicted have specifically mentioned the film while in therapy.
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The ending mirrors the ending of the C.S. Lewis book "Voyage of the Dawn Treader", #4 of the Narnia series (#3 in publication order), with a ship sailing to the end of the "known" world and encountering a sky-blue wall, with a doorway leading to "another" world.
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