In 2010 George Clooney (Ryan Bingham) was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. A musician named Ryan Bingham won an Oscar in the same year for the song "The Weary Kind", which he'd written together with T Bone Burnett, and featured in Crazy Heart (2009).
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A large amount of the people we see fired in the film are not actors, but people who were recently laid off. The filmmakers put out ads in St. Louis and Detroit posing as a documentary crew looking to document the effect of the recession. When people showed up, they were instructed to treat the camera like the person who fired them and respond as they did, or use the opportunity to say what they wished they had. A way to discern who are the actors, and who are the real people, is that the real people do not have dialogue with George Clooney or Anna Kendrick, as they were shot separately. Jason Reitman did this intentionally, feeling that the real people would freak out Clooney and Kendrick.
Ryan's (George Clooney) card which Alex (Vera Farmiga) is so impressed with, is the American Airlines invitation-only Concierge Key. After the film was completed, Jason Reitman was invited into the program. Started in 2007, it helps members arrange for reservation changes, upgrades and even airport meetings. It is sent to selected customers, and since it is not advertised, some travellers consider it a rumor.
When Bob (J.K. Simmons) shows Ryan a photo of his two children, it is a photo of Simmons' real children.
Vera Farmiga used a body double for her nude scene. In an interview she stated she has no problem being naked in a film, but she had recently given birth and "The breast milk running down would have been inappropriate."
George Clooney's wardrobe for the entire movie, actually fits in one carry-on suitcase.
Jason Reitman began writing the screenplay in 2002, when the economy was booming, and planned to make it as his first feature. The opportunity to make Thank You for Smoking (2005) and Juno (2007) presented themselves, and he put this off until 2009; meanwhile, America plummeted into an economic recession. He said the film's tone changed completely in response to the real world crisis and worked much better as a topical piece than it would have a decade previously. The delays in its realization were therefore fortuitous.
The role of Natalie Keener was written with Anna Kendrick in mind, after Jason Reitman saw her in Rocket Science (2007).
There are no special privileges awarded by American Airlines for reaching ten million miles, as depicted in the movie. This was a case of artistic license by the filmmakers. However, American (like almost all major airlines with frequent flier programs) does offer special status for reaching one million miles. As of 2009, it is estimated that about four hundred thousand frequent fliers worldwide have reached this milestone in at least one airline's program. Many airlines, including American, have special invitation-only programs for their most valued customers, usually CEO's who can direct a lot of revenue their way. Perks include: faster check-in, escorts to make close connections and, in rare cases, free private flights for members in the event of cancellations.
When Alex is at the Atlanta airport, she asks Ryan if he knows a good place for ribs. Ryan tells her to go to "Fat Matt's", a real rib shack on Piedmont Avenue. Jason Reitman is a big fan of the restaurant. In return, owners Matt and Kelly Harper presented Reitman with a card entitling him to a "lifetime of ribs".
Co-Writer and Director Jason Reitman stated that if George Clooney had passed on the role of Ryan Bingham, he would have re-written the part for Steve Martin. Reitman claimed that the movie would have become "much more like Lost in Translation (2003) was for Bill Murray."
Jason Reitman and Ivan Reitman are one of only two father and son producing teams to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. The other is Mario Cecchi Gori and Vittorio Cecchi Gori for Il Postino: The Postman (1994).
At a press screening, Jason Reitman said that his father and Producer Ivan Reitman, had written "the best line in the movie." However, he declined to reveal which line in particular.
The screenplay for this film was featured in the 2008 Blacklist; a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year.
Anna Kendrick later claimed that she was financially insecure as a working actress when she made this movie, and that during the promotional tour her wardrobe was rented for her. Kendrick admitted that she felt bad about that, she thought it sent a misleading impression to young actresses.
The film was released in Russia as "I Wish I Could Rise to the Sky" (a quotation from a popular song). The Croatian release was called "Neither in the Sky Nor on Earth".
While at Lambert Field in St. Louis, Ryan tries to make an impassioned speech to Natalie about Charles A. Lindbergh's plane "The Spirit of St. Louis". Officially, Lindbergh's plane was a Ryan NYP (New York City to Paris), so the two share the same name. As a tribute to Charles Lindbergh, the airport displays a prop Spirit of St. Louis, used in The Spirit of St. Louis (1957).
Natalie wears a business suit in every scene in the film. Even at the party, she is wearing a suit with the coat off, the shirt untucked, and her hair down.
Ellen Page and Emily Blunt were considered to play Natalie.
Sam Elliott has a small part as a pilot, who personally congratulates Ryan on finally achieving his coveted mileage award. In a deleted scene on the DVD, there is a shot of the airline's promotional poster on a wall, with a picture of Elliott as the airline pilot. Like many such posters, it includes a quote attributed to his character (Maynard Finch), but the name given after the quote is "Sam Elliott", not the character's name.
If you look closely, you can see a jar of American Airlines Premium Snack Mix on top of Ryan Bingham's apartment refrigerator.
Jason Reitman got the idea of the backpack speech from a time when he and his wife had to evacuate their house due to a fire in the neighborhood.
The film cast includes two Oscar winners: George Clooney and J.K. Simmons; and three Oscar nominees: Anna Kendrick,Vera Farmiga and Sam Elliott.
Screenwriters Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner never met, nor did they know of each other during writing the screenplay. When the novel was released in 2001, Turner read it, and wrote a speculative script adaptation, which he sold to DreamWorks in 2003. However, Reitman also discovered the book, and persuaded his father Ivan to acquire the film rights. Ivan Reitman then commissioned a screenplay by writers Ted Griffin and Nicholas Griffin, who used some elements from Turner's speculative script. Finally, Jason Reitman developed his own screenplay, by using some elements from the Griffin script, that (unbeknownst to Reitman) originated with Turner. Reitman initially claimed a single screenplay credit for himself, but the WGA ruled that he should share his credit with Turner, as certain elements of his speculative script remained in the film.
Screenwriters Sheldon Turner and Jason Reitman won all the major Oscar precursor awards, including the Golden Globe, BAFTA, Critics Choice and WGA awards. However they did not receive the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. As of 2018, this is only example of such an anomaly to ever occur in a writing category. The award went to Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious (2009) instead. As a result, Fletcher became the first African American to win a Best Screenplay Oscar (Original or Adapted).
Jason Reitman has worked with J.K. Simmons in Thank You for Smoking (2005), Juno (2007), Young Adult (2011), Labor Day (2013), and Men, Women & Children (2014).
The newspaper headline "Cougars Take State" appeared in the Waupaca Daily Times. There is no newspaper in Waupaca, Wisconsin called the Daily Times. (Also, the Waupaca school mascot is the Comets, not the Cougars.) But, the point is rendered moot, since this is a fictional story.
As of 2018, features Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga's only Oscar nominated performances.
The wedding was shot as a real wedding, featuring a real pastor and band, and was planned by an actual wedding planner rather than the filmmakers. They carried out the ceremony 3 times from start to finish, and 3 videographers shot the ceremony and the reception like they would have done at a normal wedding.
Cameo
Walter Kirn: The author of the novel sits to the left of Ryan Bingham during Natalie's introduction.
