Production note The trunk scene was reportedly shot 45 times, and the final cut used none of those original takes after test-audience feedback.
Production note Soderbergh deliberately toned down Clooney’s smile/head movement because it played too much like a crossover-guy move.
Production note The movie received Oscar nominations for adapted screenplay and editing but did not win either.
Production note The film was reportedly mis-marketed as a summer release and felt more like an autumn movie.
Production note Bill Lawrence says he and George Clooney once joked that their careers were stalled while they were both on TV projects.
Production note The movie includes a Karen Sisco spin-off series on ABC as an aftereffect, which the hosts treat as a lesser sequelization outcome.
Production note Soderbergh’s original target for Karen Sisco was Sandra Bullock, but he felt her chemistry with Clooney fit the wrong movie.
Production note A studio note/pattern discussed in the episode is that some actors in the film were likely director friends or non-actors filling out small parts.
ER Used to explain Clooney’s TV-to-movie crossover and the 1990s network-TV era.
Friends Bill Lawrence compares the era of TV stars trying to become movie stars to the Friends cast.
Get Shorty Used as a comparison point for Elmore Leonard adaptations and tone.
Jackie Brown Mentioned because Michael Keaton reprises his Jackie Brown character for a crossover cameo.
Three Days of the Condor Referenced in dialogue and as a romance logic comparison.
Network Clooney quotes it incorrectly in the hotel-bar scene, which the hosts enjoy.
Midnight Run Used to illustrate how a threatening villain needs to stay dangerous in a funny crime movie.
The World According to Garp Used as an analogy for an artist making a more commercial work to gain freedom later.
Ocean's Eleven Cited as the later Soderbergh/Clooney project that this movie helped make possible.
Mad Men Used as an example of a dream sequence that could have broken audience trust.
Fast and Furious 4/5 Referenced as the later franchise where the couple-helping-escape ending actually happens.
White Shadow Ryen Russillo references it as his favorite show and uses it to explain crossover casting.
St. Elsewhere Example of a crossover/reuse of a character from another show.
Cougar Town Bill Lawrence uses it to explain how he likes crossovers and shared TV worlds.
Community Part of Bill Lawrence’s crossover anecdote with Danny Pudi.
