Trivia
Sofia Coppola designed many of the shots for the film by taking a series of photographs throughout Tokyo and then recreating them with the cast and crew, using the photos as references.
Share this
Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola's father, urged her to shoot the movie in High Definition Video because "it's the future", but she chose film because "film feels more romantic".
Share this
Sofia Coppola wrote the lead role specifically for Bill Murray, and later said that if Murray turned it down, she wouldn't have done the movie.
Share this
Sofia Coppola wrote a lot of the film based on her life. The character of John (Giovanni Ribisi) was loosely based on her then husband Spike Jonze. Rumor has it that the Anna Faris' character, Kelly, was supposedly Cameron Diaz, with whom Spike Jonze worked with on Being John Malkovich, though Coppola denied the connection in an Entertainment Weekly interview.
Share this
Some dialogue was improvised, including Bill Murray's lines in the photo shoot and his conversation with Scarlett Johansson about his Shiatsu massage.
Share this
The painting in Charlotte's hotel room in Tokyo was done by John Kacere called "Jutta" (1973). Kacere is a famous photorealist who specialized in photographing women in lingerie.
Share this
The inspiration for having Bob Harris do a Suntory whisky commercial was partially inspired by the fact that Sofia Coppola's father, Francis Ford Coppola, made a real Suntory commercial with Akira Kurosawa in the 1970s.
Share this
The TV camera used in the scene where Bob appears on the Japanese show is an Ikegami HK-388W with a Fujinon Ah24x lens, mounted on a Vinten Vector 700 pan and tilt head - typical studio equipment.
Share this
Bob was asked to channel Roger Moore when shooting the Suntory commercial, but he said he liked Sean Connery better. In the real world, Sean Connery actually did commercials for Suntory.
Share this
When Charlotte goes to the arcade she sees the games Taiko no Tatsujin, (the game with the big drum) by Namco, GuitarFreaks by Konami, and Pop'n Music by Konami. The latter two are part of Konami's Bemani music game series which is very popular in Japan.
Share this
Sofia Coppola wasn't sure if Bill Murray was actually going to show up for the film, going by only, according to Coppola, a verbal confirmation. It was on the first day of filming, that Murray showed up.
Share this
The film's Spanish title in South America, "Perdidos en Tokio", Chinese title "Mi Shi Dong Jing", and its Hebrew title in Israel, "Avudim be-Tokio", all mean "Lost in Tokyo", meaning that the titles themselves were literally lost in translation. The reason is probably that "Lost in Translation" sounds like a discussion on translation in other languages. The title got lost in translation in other versions as well: the title in Portuguese translates as "Love is a Strange Place"; the title in Polish translates as "In Between Words".
Share this
The ring tone on Bob's cell phone is Frédéric Chopin's "Fantaisie Impromptu" in C sharp minor, Opus 66.
Share this
The crew faced threat of arrest while filming in the subway of Tokyo and at Shibuya Crossing.
Share this
At the New York Bar/Grill in the Park Hyatt hotel, one "Lost in Translation" theme drink called L.I.T. is available.
Share this
The conversation between the two men in the Sauna (near the end of the film) goes something like this: - "I can hardly eat papayas anymore!" - "At first I was really happy ... at first, I thought ... well I thought..." - "At the beginning, yes." - "In Germany, I was looking forward to it, but in the meantime..." - "Yeah. Now, something German..." - "Hmmmm." - "After this, we'll go out and get something German to eat here!"
Share this
The entire budget for the film was $4 million. It grossed $44.5 million in North America alone and $119.7 million world wide.
Share this
The dish that Bill Murray's character complains about saying who goes to a restaurant where you have to cook your own food is called Shabu Shabu. It is very thinly sliced raw meat along with various vegetables that the consumer dips in boiling broth.
Share this
The plastic flowers/leaves that Charlotte is arranging to hang in her room are commonly used as decorations in shops in Tokyo. The fact that they are pink means it is springtime.
Share this
Most or all of the game audio heard in the arcade is not the original audio from the games shown.
Share this
Catherine Lambert, the redheaded lounge singer, wasn't a professional actress, but rather the real life lounge singer at the Hotel where the cast and crew were staying and they thought her performance of the 'Scarborough Fair' fit the theme of the film so well they asked her to be in the movie.
Share this
In 1999, Bill Murray replaced his talent agency with an automated voice mailbox that can be reached with an 800 number he gives out sparingly. Sofia Coppola reportedly left hundreds of messages on Murray's mailbox before he finally called back to discuss her offer to cast him as the star.
Share this
The opening shot of Scarlett Johansson is actually influenced by a painting by John Kacere, whose painting shows up later in the hotel.
Share this
Scarlett Johansson said that she was reluctant to be filmed in panties until Sofia Coppola modeled the panties herself to show her how they would look.
Share this
The BB-gun the angry bartender used to drive out Bob, Charlotte and Charlotte's friends is an Airsoft MP5 with a Tokyo-Marui tracer adapter, firing plastic phosphor-luminescent BBs. The adapter's strobe light makes the BBs glow.
Share this
The song in the arcade where the young boy is playing guitar is by the Japanese punk band "The Blue Hearts".
Share this
The close up camera lens on the crane/jib camera, in the TV game show is a Fujinon 5.5mm wide angle lens; it gives a fishbowl, almost distorted look, when physically very close to an object or person.
Share this
The car that Bob Harris is chauffeured around in is a Toyota Century, a luxury limousine which is produced in a limited quantities and is commonly used by members of royalty, government leaders, and executive businessmen. It is also the choice for Japanese embassies outside Japan.
Share this
"Too Young" by Phoenix is on the movie soundtrack. The band's singer, Thomas Mars, has two children with director Sofia Coppola.
Share this
The hotel lounge act is named after Sausalito, California, a small artsy / touristy town across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.
Share this
An extra in the party scene wears a Pizza of Death t-shirt. This is the name of an independent record label.
Share this
The white doily seat covers in the limo are widely used in Japan. Most taxis and limos have them installed to protect the leather seat surfaces from discoloration and wear.
Share this
There is a shot of Bob running across a busy street while a minivan passes, full of uniformed women waving and politely shouting over a P.A. system. This is a form of advertising used by political candidates. The candidate himself is running alongside the van.
Share this
The whiskey that Bob represents is 17-year-old Suntory Hibiki. Hibiki, which means "resonance" in Japanese, has won numerous awards including World's Best Blended Whiskey.
Share this
Cameo
Fumihiro Hayashi:
as Charlie Brown, the singer of God Save the Queen in the Karaoke scene. Hayashi is Sofia Coppola's long-time friend and guide in Japan.
Share this
Director Trademark
Sofia Coppola:
[car window]
Filming from the outside of a car window looking in as the car moves.
Share this
Spoilers
The kiss between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson at the end of the movie was not in the script, but was an "in the moment" ad-lib between the performers.
Share this
In the hospital, the question that the elderly man with the cane tries to ask Bob (in Japanese) is: "How many years have you been in Japan?" Meanwhile, the diagnosis that Charlotte receives from the doctor (in Japanese) is that her toe is fractured, but taping is enough.
Share this
For years, no one other than Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson and Sofia Coppola knew what Bob whispered to Charlotte in the final scene, but on October 28, 2009, a YouTube video surfaced containing a slightly enhanced audio of this part of the film with subtitles where more than 20 thousand visitors had a chance to find out that Bob whispered to Charlotte: "When John is ready for his next business trip, go up to that man and tell him the truth, okay?" Another YouTube video, uploaded April 15, 2007, suggests that the line is: "I have to be leaving, but I won't let that come between us, OK?"
Share this
