History Trivia / AGuideToRecognizingYourSaints

* DoingItForTheArt: Creator/AnthonyDeSando opted to meet the real Frank to prepare for his role. He spent three days with him, without Dito Montiel knowing, and shocked everyone with how accurately he recreated Frank's mannerisms.

** A curious case. When casting the younger Laurie, Dito Montiel was torn between Melonie Diaz and another actress who resembled Creator/RosarioDawson much more. He chose to case Melonie because she had better chemistry with Shia Le Beouf, and was the strongest one who auditioned. After the film he claims people came up to say how alike they looked.

* DawsonCasting: Creator/ChanningTatum was twenty-six playing a character who is in his early twenties at the oldest. Creator/ShiaLeBeouf, Melonie Diaz, Martin Compston and Eleonore Hendricks were all in their early twenties playing teens. Creator/RobertDowneyJr was also forty-one playing Dito when he was in his early thirties. Likewise Creator/EricRoberts was in his early fifties playing Antonio in his thirties.

** Creator/ShiaLeBeouf and Creator/ChanningTatum decided to bond by doing this. They got drunk one night and ran around New York, eventually smashing a window and punching a cop car.

** Creator/ShiaLeBeouf especially, having just come from ''Series/EvenStevens'' and ''{{Film/Holes}}''. He had to especially fight for the role, as the director rejected him for being "a Disney kid". He apparently did this by punching a hole in the director's office wall.

** A curious case. When casting the younger Laurie, Dito Montiel was torn between Melonie Diaz and another actress who resembled Rosario Dawson much more. He chose to case Melonie because she had better chemistry with Shia Le Beouf, and was the strongest one who auditioned. After the film he claims people came up to say how alike they looked.

** The real Laurie was white but becomes Puerto Rican to accommodate Rosario Dawson.

* DawsonCasting: Creator/ChanningTatum was twenty-six playing a character who is in his early twenties at the oldest. Shia Le Beouf, Melonie Diaz, Martin Compston and Eleonore Hendricks were all in their early twenties playing teens. Robert Downey Jr was also forty-one playing Dito when he was in his early thirties. Likewise Eric Roberts was in his early fifties playing Antonio in his thirties.

** The sequence where all the characters break the fourth wall was planned for the end of the film, and was going to be set to "New York Groove" by {{Music/Kiss}}. It was then moved to the middle of the film and the song changed to Cat Stevens's "Trouble". "New York Groove" was played over an end-credits sequence.

** Channing Tatum was nearly rejected for being too good looking to play Antonio - who Dito Montiel described as a "messed-up, wiry haired terror with a messed-up face". But he won them over with his tortured, longing portrayal.

* DawsonCasting: Channing Tatum was twenty-six playing a character who is in his early twenties at the oldest. Shia Le Beouf, Melonie Diaz, Martin Compston and Eleonore Hendricks were all in their early twenties playing teens. Robert Downey Jr was also forty-one playing Dito when he was in his early thirties. Likewise Eric Roberts was in his early fifties playing Antonio in his thirties.

** Channing Tatum claims he lost "a lot of weight" to play Antonio.

** Shia Le Beouf and Channing Tatum decided to bond by doing this. They got drunk one night and ran around New York, eventually smashing a window and punching a cop car.

* MetaCasting: Robert Downey Jr playing a man struggling with his personal demons, who also has to confront his past? And this was before he did so [[Film/IronMan on a much larger scale]].

** Shia Le Beouf especially, having just come from ''Series/EvenStevens'' and ''{{Film/Holes}}''. He had to especially fight for the role, as the director rejected him for being "a Disney kid". He apparently did this by punching a hole in the director's office wall.
** Retroactively for Channing Tatum. He would later become typecast as either stoic meatheads or lovable DumbMuscle types. Here he's a JerkassWoobie who gets into fights, curses a lot and [[spoiler: eventually murders someone with a bat]].
* PlayingGertrude: There's only five years between Rosario Dawson and Melonie Diaz, who play the same character fifteen years apart. This is due to Diaz playing a teenager, while Dawson playing someone a couple of years older than she actually is.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The train scene was scripted to have [[spoiler: Giuseppe]] riding around on top of it as he got killed. Due to insurance reasons, it was changed to sitting on the tracks instead.

** Robert Downey Jr considered directing the film himself, and the project was greenlit as his directorial debut. But he became busy with lots of other projects, and eventually Dito Montiel decided to direct. Downey stayed on as a producer.
** At one point, Dito Montiel had ideas of hiring an AmateurCast comprised of teens he'd found walking around in Astoria. After seven open casting calls, he was convinced to let more experienced actors audition. As noted above, Shia Le Beouf had to really fight for the role.

** When he heard that the real Antonio had actually briefly escaped from prison, Robert Downey Jr really wanted to put that into the film. They ended up leaving it out due to pacing reasons.
** The sequence where all the characters break the fourth wall was planned for the end of the film, and was going to be set to "New York Groove" by {{Music/Kiss}}. It was then moved to the middle of the film and the song changed to Cat Stevens's "Trouble". "New York Groove" was played over an end-credits sequence.

* DyeingForYourArt: Channing Tatum claims he lost "a lot of weight" to play Antonio.

* BigNameFan: This is the favourite movie of Creator/LiamHemsworth.

* Fun fact - it's also the favourite movie of Creator/LiamHemsworth.

* AbilityOverAppearance: A curious case. When casting the younger Laurie, Dito Montiel was torn between Melonie Diaz and another actress who resembled Rosario Dawson much more. He chose to case Melonie because she had better chemistry with Shia Le Beouf, and was the strongest one who auditioned. After the film he claims people came up to say how alike they looked.

** The real Laurie was white but becomes AmbiguouslyBrown to accommodate Rosario Dawson.

* TheOtherMarty: Eleonore Hendricks was originally cast as the young Laurie. But when Rosario Dawson wanted to play the older Laurie, the difference in race meant that Melonie Diaz replaced her. Eleonore was written in as Laurie's friend Jenny as a compromise.

** The small detail about Nerf being a BasementDweller whose own mother is ashamed of him was added in at the last minute - after Dito Montiel met an old friend in that situation. The real Nerf was baffled by this and asked "what are you doing to me?"

** The sequence where all the characters break the fourth wall was planned for the end of the film, and was going to be set to "New York Groove" by {{Music/Kiss}}. It was then moved to the middle of the film and the song changed to Cat Stevens's "Trouble".

* CastingGag: If you go meta that is. Rosario Dawson plays a character who died of AIDS in real life (but is alive in the film). Wouldn't be the first time she'd [[{{Theatre/RENT}} experienced that]].

* ActorAllusion: If you go meta that is. Rosario Dawson plays a character who died of AIDS in real life (but is alive in the film). Wouldn't be the first time she'd [[{{Theatre/RENT}} experienced that]].

** In the scene where Monti has a seizure, Channing Tatum got so into character that he threw a table through the window. The director loved it and left it in. As a result, Dianne Wiest looking at him in shock is genuine (as her feet had got cut by the broken glass).

** The deadened, tragic look in Giuseppe's eyes right before [[spoiler: he's hit by the train]] was improvised by Adam Scarimbolo. Dito Montiel asked why he was doing that, he responded "because my brother Antonio loves me". Loving it, he left it in the film.

** When he heard that the real Antonio had actually briefly escaped from prison, Robert Downey Jr really wanted to put that into the film. They ended up leaving it out due to pacing reasons.

* ThrowItIn: In the scene where Monti has a seizure, Channing Tatum got so into character that he threw a table through the window. The director loved it and left it in. As a result, Dianne Wiest looking at him in shock is genuine (as her feet had got cut by the broken glass).

** At one point, Dito Montiel had ideas of hiring an AmateurCast comprised of teens he'd found walking around in Astoria. After seven open casting calls, he was convinced to let more experienced actors audition. As noted above, Shia Le Beouf had to really fight for the role.

* ActorInspiredElement: The real Laurie was white but becomes AmbiguouslyBrown to accommodate Rosario Dawson.

* ThrowItIn: In the scene where Monti has a seizure, Channing Tatum got so into character that he threw a table through the window. The director loved it and left it in.

* DawsonCasting: Channing Tatum was twenty-six playing a character who is in his early twenties at the oldest. Shia Le Beouf, Melonie Diaz, Martin Compston and Eleonore Hendricks were all in their early twenties playing teens. Robert Downey Jr was also forty-one playing Dito when he was in his early thirties.

* PlayingAgainstType: Shia Le Beouf especially, having just come from ''Series/EvenStevens'' and ''{{Film/Holes}}''. He had to especially fight for the role, as the director rejected him for being "a Disney kid". He apparently did this by punching a hole in the director's office wall.