History Trivia / Nell

* DoingItForTheArt: The movie was actually Creator/JodieFoster's idea. Producer Renee Missel saw a Los Angeles production of Mark Handley's ''Idioglossia'' play, and was enthralled by Nell. She bought the rights from Handley and took the play to Jodie Foster. Jodie wanted to produce and direct as well as star in the film, and called in Creator/LiamNeeson and Creator/NatashaRichardson to play the doctors.

* RecycledTrailerMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnDIu5YaKFI The theatrical trailer]] used the main theme from ''Film/WyattEarp'' by Music/JamesNewtonHoward. It has been used in many trailers for inspiring films, especially on rural life or the Old West.

* WorldBuilding: The production team prepared about 25 acres at a nationally preserved wilderness area around Fontana Lake in the Smoky Mountains. They installed wooden pathways like those you've seen in wetlands and wildlife refuges so the impact of all those people and heavy equipment would be minimized. Production designer Jon Hutman used the ''Foxfire'' books on Appalachian folk tradition to create Nell's house, making sure everything there was accurate, right down to the kitchen utensils and the hand-pieced spiral quilt in the front room. The costume designer, Susan Lyall, decided that Nell and her mom made all their own clothes by hand (this is why some of the stitching shows). These visual details provide a wealth of backstory; for instance, the spinning wheel in the front room indicates that Violet spun her own thread or yarn.

* DoingItForTheArt: The movie was actually Creator/JodieFoster's idea. She singlehandedly called in Creator/LiamNeeson and Creator/NatashaRichardson for the movie.

* The movie was actually Foster`s idea. She singlehandedly called in Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson for the movie.

* RomanceOnTheSet: Neeson and Richardson became an OfficialCouple during the production of this film. It may double as a personal TearJerker for Jodie Foster, considering what happened to Natasha Richardson later on.
* SceneryPorn: This was made at Fontana Lake, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Nantahala National Forest, some of the most beautiful country in the South. [[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-03-12/travel/9503120071_1_cabin-fontana-village-resort-water-level Here's some background information about how the cabin was built]] (it is no longer there but [[http://www.cherokeehikingclub.org/nells%20cabin.pdf you can still visit the site]]) and the use of the real Robbinsville for the town. There is a lot of WorldBuilding in the production, especially the interior of Nell's house, giving clues to her real nature and circumstances.

* RecycledTrailerMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnDIu5YaKFI The theatrical trailer]] used the main theme from ''Wyatt Earp'' by Music/JamesNewtonHoward. It has been used in many trailers for inspiring films, especially on rural life or the Old West.

* SceneryPorn: This was made at Fontana Lake, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Nantahala National Forest, some of the most beautiful country in the South. [[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-03-12/travel/9503120071_1_cabin-fontana-village-resort-water-level Here's some background information about how the cabin was built]] (it is no longer there but [[http://www.cherokeehikingclub.org/nells%20cabin.pdf you can still visit the site]]) and the use of the real Robbinsville for the town.

* RecycledTrailerMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnDIu5YaKFI The theatrical trailer]] used the main theme from ''Wyatt Earp'' by James Newton Howard. It has been used in many trailers for inspiring films, especially on rural life or the Old West.

* RomanceOnTheSet: Neeson and Richardson became an OfficialCouple during the production of this film. It may double as a personal TearJerker for Jodie Foster, considering what happened to Natasha Richardson later on.