Trivia / Sorry to Bother You

• Accidentally-Correct Writing: While many have analyzed the film under the connotative light of America under the Donald Trump administration (it was released 18 months into Trump's tenure), Boots Riley has given Word of God that he wrote the first version of the script while Barack Obama was president, and wanted to tackle the idea of "the puppetmasters behind the puppets" far more than denouncing one or more presidents relative to others. This did lead to some eerie coincidences where Riley had to remove certain lines to avoid making the film look like a flat-out Trump critique, including "WorryFree is making America great again." (A similar line appears in the form of Mr. _______'s "WorryFree is revitalizing America.")
• All-Star Cast: Much of the cast is comprised of rising talent and well-known names in film and television such as Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Terry Crews, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun, Armie Hammer, Forest Whitaker, Rosario Dawson, David Cross, Lily James, Patton Oswalt and Omari Hardwick.
• Common Knowledge: It was not, in fact, Steve Buscemi, but the film's sound engineer, who played Langston's "white voice." Boots Riley had to disprove that rumor personally after several sites presented it as official information, despite the voice being uncredited.
• Executive Meddling: Boots Riley wanted to credit WorryFree's equisapien corporate video to the actual Michel Gondry, which he was allowed to under the rules of parody. However, upon raching out Gondry himself, his lawyers told Collins that Gondry's name couldn't be used. Insulted by the lack of personal response, Collins credited the video to Michel Dongry instead.
• Fake Brit: In-Universe, Detroit's "white voice" is provided by an Englishwoman.
• He Also Did: Much of the artwork in the film was designed by Oakland-based artist J. Otto Seibold, perhaps best known for his work with They Might Be Giants and illustrating the book that eventually became Olive, the Other Reindeer.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Cash cannot rap, but his actor Lakeith Stanfield is a rapper.
• Saved from Development Hell: Boots Riley wrote the first draft of the screenplay in 2012 but had no means of financing the movie then, leading him to produce a Coup album of the same title inspired by the story.
• What Could Have Been: At the time the aforementioned album came out, Riley was apparently going to play Cassius Green. Later, Donald Glover was cast as Green, but he had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts with Solo; he did, however, recommend who would eventually play the role—Lakeith Stanfield, with whom he had worked on Atlanta.
• Write What You Know: Boots Riley spent a stint working as a telemarketer where he had to change his own voice to succeed.
  • at one point, Cassius and his coworker Salvador get into an argument in the street, but instead of insults, they exchange compliments. This is something Boots Riley witnessed between his brother and a friend.

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