Sean Penn once envisioned Leonardo DiCaprio as Christopher McCandless and Marlon Brando as Ron Franz when he first became interested in making the film.

Leonardo DiCaprio accidentally broke Daniel Day-Lewis’ nose while filming a fight scene. Day-Lewis continued to film the scene despite the injury.

Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio both took salary reductions to preserve the budget.

First scheduled to be released by Paramount in the US and Canada on 2 October 2009 to be in contention for that year’s Oscars. Paramount later pushed the film back to 19 February 2010 due to financing problems (the studio didn’t have the $50-$60 million necessary to promote an awards movie). Another reason cited for the push-back was Leonardo DiCaprio’s unavailability for the interview circuit due to other filming commitments. Paramount also figured that a film geared towards adult audiences might achieve some traction in the doldrums month of February when there are traditionally very few “intelligent” movies released.

Before settling on Mark Ruffalo for the role of Chuck Aule, Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese also considered Robert Downey Jr. and Josh Brolin.

While directing the love scene between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, director Sam Mendes opted to watch the monitor from another room.

At the end of Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character dies and Kate Winslet’s lives. At the end of this film, the opposite happens.

It is noted above that Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kathy Bates all appeared in Titanic, but the character interrelationships here are almost exactly the inverse. In Titanic, Winslet and Dicaprio are members of different classes but with similar values, and their love proved stronger than society’s rules. In this film, they are both middle class but with different priorities imprinted upon them by society, and it is society’s pressure that causes their fundamental schism. In Titanic Kathy Bates’ character is a rich person with commoner values who approved of the main character’s dreams and believed the rules of society were ridiculous. In this film, Bates is a middle-class suburbanite who puts on airs of “propriety” and promotes the oppressive rules of society to such a degree that she alienates her own son and hypocritically “never liked” her good friends the Wheelers after their scandal.

The second time Kathy Bates has played opposite both Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

The first time Kate Winslet plays a character named April, the second time Leonardo DiCaprio plays a character named Frank, and the third time Kathy Bates plays a character named Helen.