Trivia / Elizabethtown

• Actor-Shared Background: A proxy example. Kirsten Dunst's mother was a flight attendant.
• Box Office Bomb: It has this reputation but it actually did okay at the box office, earning $52 million. Problem was that the budget had ballooned up to $45 million (no doubt song licensing for the soundtrack was one of the main reasons why) so it wasn't especially profitable.
• California Doubling: Most of the Elizabethtown portions of the film are actually filmed in Versailles, Kentucky instead.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Jessica Biel auditioned for Claire first, but ended up cast as Ellen.
• Creator Backlash: Not the movie itself, but Kirsten Dunst did not liked the concept or the name of the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" trope (or the fact that it was coined to describe her character in this film) when she was told of it.
• Creator-Chosen Casting:
  • The part of Drew was written with Orlando Bloom in mind. Although he initially wasn't able to (see below), Cameron Crowe soon got his wish.
  • Similarly, Kirsten Dunst was the first choice for Claire, and almost wasn't able to do it.
• Dueling Works: With Garden State, another movie about a depressed man regaining his confidence thanks to his romantic interactions with a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. In fact, both movies essentially codified this character archetype in fiction. The big difference is that Garden State had a favorable reception among critics and audiences not to mention that it far better at the box office than Elizabethtown which was widely seen as an imitator of that film. Ironically it's gone the other way since, with Garden State being seen as overhyped and poorly written, while Elizabethtown has more merits.
• Fake American: Orlando Bloom is British, and his accent doesn't really hold up.
• The Other Marty:
  • Ashton Kutcher was cast as Drew initially. But Cameron Crowe felt he and Kirsten Dunst had no chemistry and put shooting on hold while he found a replacement actor. Orlando Bloom - who had been the first choice but had to decline due to Kingdom of Heaven - became available.
  • Jane Fonda was also cast as Hollie. But she had to drop out and was replaced with Susan Sarandon.
• Prop Recycling: A picture showing Susan Sarandon holding a baby had previously been used in the film Stepmom.
• Serendipity Writes the Plot: While shooting a scene in a cemetery with Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst, filming was interrupted due to an unexpected rain storm. Cameron Crowe suggested they shoot the scene anyway because it looked more beautiful and natural.
• Star-Derailing Role: Orlando Bloom was a teen heartthrob at the time thanks to his roles in fantasy blockbusters such as The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean and Troy, where he was usually a supporting character or Foil for a more colourful lead. His first attempt at transitioning out of that image in Kingdom of Heaven was a Box Office failure, but the well-received director's cut lessened it. Here, however, where he was unambiguously the lead and expected to carry the emotional weight of the story without someone like Johnny Depp, Viggo Mortensen or Eric Bana to play off, and his poorly received attempt at an American accent, saw him gradually vanishing from leading roles. While the Pirates franchise and Legolas being inserted into The Hobbit meant he was still appearing in major films, he deliberately stepped away from the spotlight in favour of stage work.
• Throw It In!: The rain during the cemetery scene was unscripted. It just started raining and Cameron Crowe chose to go with it.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Chris Evans, James Franco, Colin Hanks and Seann William Scott were considered for Drew Taylor.
  • Had Kirsten Dunst not been available to play Claire, Evan Rachel Wood would have been the next choice. Kirsten was originally signed to The Village (2004), but dropped out to be able to audition for this. Both movies star Judy Greer. Scarlett Johansson also auditioned.
  • Ben is Claire's brother in the original script, and she uses him to deflect unwanted advances.
  • The film originally ended showing that Drew's shoe design becomes a hit. It was cut to avoid Ending Fatigue.

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