Trivia / Flirting with Disaster

• Hostility on the Set: According to Lily Tomlin, David O. Russell and Ben Stiller did not get along during filming.
• Playing Against Type: Mary Tyler Moore, best known for Mary Richards, playing Pearl, a neurotic adoptive mother.
• What Could Have Been: David O. Russell originally wanted Mary Tyler Moore to play Mary Schlichting, with Dick Van Dyke as Richard. According to interviews, Moore told him while, as a filmgoer, she would have paid good money to see that, as an actress, she preferred to play Pearl.
  • John Cusack was considered for the part of Mel.
  • Janeane Garofalo turned down the part of Tina.