Funny People - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Funny People or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Funny People

[gerald]

The scene where George Simmons (Adam Sandler) asks to see Ira's (Seth Rogen's) penis is based on real life. Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow used to be roommates. According to Apatow, Sandler actually told Apatow: "Let me see your penis". (Apatow actually told this story to David Letterman on Late Show with David Letterman (1993) in 2007.)

[willard]

Adam Sandler had previously worked with Leslie Mann in Big Daddy (1999).

[willard]

When Ira (Seth Rogen) is playing the mix he made for George (Adam Sandler), George objects to the first song because Bob Marley died of cancer, which reminds George of his own medical condition. Actually, all three of the songs that Ira plays have a strong connection to a famous man who died of cancer: in addition to the Bob Marley song, he plays "(I've Had) The Time of My Life", which is most famous for its prominent inclusion in the movie Dirty Dancing (1987) (that movie's star, Patrick Swayze, was undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer while this movie was being filmed, and he died in September 2009), and next, he plays "Keep Me In Your Heart" by Warren Zevon, who died of lung cancer in 2003.

[ethel]

Judd Apatow wrote this film specifically for his friend, Adam Sandler.

[norma]

Judd Apatow has said that if Adam Sandler had not been able to take the role as George Simmons, he would have most likely cast either Paul Rudd or Jason Bateman.

[charlie]

Clarke (Eric Bana) is, like Bana himself, an Australian rules football fan, particularly of St Kilda, a team representing the inner Melbourne suburb of the same name, playing in the Australian Football League (AFL) and nicknamed the Saints. The match that is shown in the film is the 2008 semifinal between St Kilda and intra-city rival Collingwood, whom Clarke despises, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. St Kilda won that game by 34 points.Bana attended the 2009 AFL Grand Final (the AFL Grand Final is constantly one of the biggest events on the Australian annual sports calendar), which St Kilda was played against Victorian rival Geelong. (Geelong unfortunately won by twelve points after St Kilda had led for most of the match.) In 2010, St Kilda again made it to the Grand Final and faced Collingwood as they did in the film. In a heartrending ending, with St Kilda trailing by a point in the fourth quarter, Saints star Lenny Hayes' long kick forward narrowly missed teammate Stephen Milne and bounced for a behind to tie the score. Had Milne been able to collect the pass, he likely would have kicked a goal instead to give St Kilda the lead. The game ended tied at 68, and a rare replay was scheduled for the following Saturday - October 2, 2010 - and Collingwood won by 56 points. To this day, St Kilda has yet to add to their only AFL Premiership, won in 1966, but in 2010, St Kilda also named Bana their number one ticket holder.

[nora]

When Ira is in his room right before George (Adam Sandler) picks him up in the limo there is a poster of The Green Hornet on the wall. Seth Rogen goes on to play The Green Hornet in the 2011 film, The Green Hornet (2011).

[russell]

Seth Rogen first started doing stand-up comedy at the age of thirteen.

[jessie]

When George (Adam Sandler) goes to talk to Ira (Seth Rogen) at the deli, Ira is standing behind a dark red menu. When he walks away, you clearly see that one of the dishes listed is "chopped liver".

[frederick]

Adam Sandler said he felt guilty about saying such filthy jokes in the film about women, because of his two young daughters at home.

[morris]

In the film, Eric Bana (Clarke) jokes about how Cameron Diaz is hotter than Leslie Mann (Laura). Leslie Mann would go on to co-star with Diaz in The Other Woman (2014), where her husband cheated on her with Diaz.

[tamara]

The film's soundtrack features songs from each of The Beatles' solo careers. Adam Sandler performs a cover of John Lennon's song "Real Love" at about the halfway point of the movie during his paid jam session.

[victoria]

This features Eminem's first acting performance in a film since 8 Mile (2002).

[violet]

DIRECTOR TRADEMARK (Judd Apatow (Raymond): Everybody Loves Raymond (1996) is mentioned in The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Knocked Up (2007), and this movie. Ray Romano appears as himself, and the object of Eminem's disdain in this movie.

[wesley]

Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler are former roommates. The footage seen in the opening sequence was recorded back then. Sandler would regularly make prank phone calls, and one day Apatow decided to start filming them.

[lena]

Jason Schwartzman based his character on people that he knew, saying "There's a couple of people who I've seen rise to fame too quickly before my own eyes."

[jamie]

RZA appears in this film. The opening scene of Knocked Up (2007) is set to the song "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" by Ol' Dirty Bastard, which was co-written and produced by the RZA.

[toni]

Judd Apatow made Clarke (Eric Bana) Australian to allow Bana to improvise more easily.

[marc]

Adam Sandler said, in interviews shown in the credits of Australian pay television viewings, that casting Eric Bana made the fight sequence more realistic, especially because the Australian would be seen as the stronger combatant.