Trivia / Bernie

• Career Resurrection: This served as one for Richard Linklater. After having had his career derail with Fast Food Nation, he spent the next few years seeing his films have trouble getting distribution (and this film did as well, as it didn't find a distributor until a few months after its premiere) but this film's box office success led him to get acclaim as a top indie director again and barring another disaster, should have no signs of declining again.
• The Cast Showoff: Jack Black is allowed to show off his singing ability in several scenes in church.
• Real-Life Relative: The townswoman in a leopard print top is played by Matthew McConaughey's mother, Mary.
• The film itself revived enough interest in the case that the real-life Bernie was given a new trial (during this time, he actually lived in director Richard Linklater's garage). Though his charges for theft and embezzlement were dropped during the second trial, the murder conviction was upheld.