Acclaimed Flop: The movie has been named both The AV Club and Rolling Stone's film of the year and garnered three Academy Award nominations. Unfortunately, it fell short of its $32 million budget, grossing about $28 million. It's currently the page image for Acclaimed Flop.
Channel Hop: Initially the film was set up with Universal but fell through due to problems with the scripts and the budget. It was later distributed by The Weinstein Company.
Deleted Scene: A few, some of which were used in teasers.
One version of the part where Freddie and Dodd dig up Dodd's manuscript has them also unearth a revolver. Freddie picks up the gun and hands it to Dodd, who winds up pointing it at himself while inspecting it, prompting Freddie to swipe it away from Dodd's face. Later scenes show Freddie playing with the gun (unloaded, fortunately) while in Dodd's Arizona office.
There are a few deleted scenes based around the premise that The Cause's founding book can cause people who read it to die. These include Clark explaining the book's history to Freddie, who reacts with skepticism, Clark asking Lodd if a book can really kill people as a segue for questioning Freddie's loyalties, and Freddie opening the chest containing the manuscript and watching it inexplicably shoot fire before closing it back.
Development Hell: Universal financed the script but ultimately passed on the film in 2010, either due to budget concerns or nervousness about the Church of Scientology, or maybe both. Anderson had to get independent financing, which delayed the film for two more years and led to Joaquin Phoenix getting the role that was originally supposed to go to Jeremy Renner.
Method Acting: Phoenix spent three months in character, which impressed the director so much that he compared him to Daniel Day-Lewis and his dedication to character.
One-Take Wonder: Joaquin Phoenix's unhinged performance as an alcohol-addled follower of Hoffman's character was on full display in a largely improvised scene. Phoenix went absolutely berserk, and his first take at the scene was the one Anderson chose to use in the final cut.
Playing Against Type: If you're used to Amy Adams's typical "sweethearted heroine" roles... you are in for the shock of your life, seeing her play a cold Lady Macbeth and basically the closest thing the film has to a clear-cut villain. note She actually got her start playing various bad girls or bitches in her early films, but became famous for roles like Enchanted.
Reality Subtext: Joaquin Phoenix, like Freddie, was involved in a cult, the Children of God, but was raised under the CoG as a child instead of joining as an adult.
Screwed by the Network: The film was released in September to practically die out, and suffered the misfortune of being both underdistributed and undermarketed due to The Weinstein Company deciding to push movies like Silver Linings Playbook and Django Unchained instead.
During the jail cell scene, Joaquin Phoenix breaks a real toilet. His actions were entirely improvised. Due to the historical past of the building where the scene took place, the toilet was considered "historical." Joaquin had no intentions to break the toilet, nor did he think it was possible.
The very first line in the film, where Freddie is talking on the beach, was entirely improvised.
Jeremy Renner was originally going to play Freddy when the film was prepped to shoot years ago, but when financing fell through, and Joaquin Phoenix was available.
