History Trivia / Holes

** Franke Muniz was the first choice to play Stanley in the film.

* HostilityOnTheSet: During filming, Shia [=LeBeouf=]'s father and on-set guardian Jeffrey [=LeBeouf=] frequently tried hitting on Sigourney Weaver, which made her very uncomfortable.

* HostilityOnTheSet: Sigourney Weaver had the unpleasant experience of Shia [=LeBeouf=]'s father (who was his on-set guardian) constantly trying to hit on her, making her very uncomfortable.

* PosthumousCredit: Although Scott Plank was killed in a car crash in October 2002, six months before the film's release, he's still given a credit as Trout Walker.

* ReferencedBy: ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean'' has a villainous character named Donatello Versus, whose backstory is nearly identical to Stanley's, being arrested and sentenced for theft of a pair of shoes after it landed on his head. The only difference between Versus and Stanley in this respect is that Versus' prison is much worse.

** Creator/ShiaLaBeouf originally decided to [[DyeingForYourArt put on weight]] to match Stanley's overweight build from the novel. However, this idea was shot down by the director, who pointed out that to gain and lose that much weight in a short span of time would be dangerous for someone of [=LaBeouf's=] age at the time ([[TheMoreYouKnow weight fluctuation, in general, is a considerable heath risk]]) Louis Sachar himself ended up telling [=LaBeouf=] that [[AbilityOverAppearance it was more important to focus on Stanley's personality than his appearance.]]

* BlackSheepHit:
** The novel is one for Creator/LouisSachar, being a darker and more dramatic novel aimed at an older audience than most of his other works, which are typically lighthearted and absurdist (such as the ''Literature/WaysideSchool'' series). It remains one of Sachar's most well-known novels, and ended up being his first Newbery Medal winner.
** The film was this for director Andrew Davis. He is best known for directing action-thriller type films (such as ''Film/UnderSiege'' and ''Film/TheFugitive''). ''Holes'', in comparison, is more of a family-adventure type film. It is also only the second PG rated film he has directed (the first, ''Stoney Island'', was made before he gained considerable commercial success while his other films are either rated PG-13 or R). Regardless, the film was well received critically and was successful at the box office, earning $71 million on a $20 million budget.

** The novel is one for Louis Sachar, being a DarkerAndEdgier novel aimed at an older audience than most of his other works, which are typically lighthearted and absurdist (such as the ''Literature/WaysideSchool'' series). It remains one of Sachar's most well-known novels, and ended up being his first Newbery Medal winner.

* BlackSheepHit: The film was this for director Andrew Davis. He is best known for directing action-thriller type films (such as ''Film/UnderSiege'' and ''Film/TheFugitive''). ''Holes'', in comparison, is more of a family-adventure type film. It is also only the second PG rated film he has directed (the first, ''Stoney Island'', was made before he gained considerable commercial success while his other films are either rated PG-13 or R). Regardless, the film was well received critically and was successful at the box office, earning $71 million on a $20 million budget.

* PromotedFanboy: The cast commentary of four of the D-tent boys gush over most of the adult co-stars, particularly Sigourney Weaver and Eartha Kitt. Khleo Thomas in a [[http://thetiaratalkshow.com/interview-with-khleo-thomas-zero-in-holes/ The Tiara Talk Show podcast interview]][[note]]mentioned at time stamp 9:08[[/note]] also mentions being a fan of Weaver since [[Film/{{Alien}} Ellen Ripley]] and he blurted out in shock seeing her as none of the boys knew she'd been cast as the Warden until they saw her in wardrobe on set.

* SelfAdaptation: Louis Sachar's draft almost wasn't used, but ultimately retained, and skewed far closer to the book than the other optioned draft with minimal edits.

** [[Film/DonnieDarko Richard Kelly]] was offered the chance to do this movie. He was replaced when they saw his screenplay, which was ''[[InNameOnly nothing]]'' like the book. It was set in a post-apocalyptic CrapsackWorld where Stanley's crime was [[MercyKill Mercy Killing]] his plague-infected sister instead of stealing a pair of shoes. And instead of a bandit's stash of money, the "buried treasure" that Stanley found was going to be a long-lost Weapon of Mass Destruction. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking It also features a character uttering the phrase 'big titty slut']].
*** You can find the script [[https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwUSwyPf6LRDZ0NUT2ZLYjRXVFk/view here]] (NSFW, obviously).

** Creator/ShiaLaBeouf originally decided to [[DyeingForYourArt put on weight]] to match Stanley's overweight build from the novel. However, this idea was shot down by the director, who pointed out that to gain and lose that much weight in a short span of time would be dangerous for someone of [=LaBeouf's=] age at the time ([[TheMoreYouKnow weight fluctuation, in general, is a considerable heath risk]]).

* SchoolStudyMedia: A popular book among elementary school teachers because its ContinuityPorn makes for a good lesson in paying attention to details.

* InMemoriam: The film is dedicated to Scott Plank (Trout Walker's actor).

* PosthumousCredit: Although Scott Plank was killed in a car crash six months before the film's release, he's still given a credit as Trout Walker.

* FakeNationality: South Carolina native Music/EarthaKitt plays the Gypsy Madame Zeroni.

* PromotedFanboy: The cast commentary of four of the D-tent boys gush over most of the adult co-stars, particularly Sigourney Weaver and Eartha Kitt. Khleo Thomas in a [[http://thetiaratalkshow.com/interview-with-khleo-thomas-zero-in-holes/ The Tiara Talk Show podcast interview]][[note]]mentioned at time stamp 9:08[[/note]] also mentions being a fan of Weaver as [[Film/{{Alien}} Ellen Ripley]] and that none of the boys were told she was cast as the Warden until they saw her in wardrobe on set.

* RealLifeRelative: Nathan Davis, the actor who played Stanley Yelnats II (Stanley's grandfather), was director Andrew Davis' father.

* FakeNationality: South Carolina native Eartha Kitt plays the Gypsy Madame Zeroni.

* FakeAmerican: The presumably American "Sweet Clyde" Livingston is played by Canadian actor Rick Fox.

* FakeAmerican: The presumably American "Sweet Clyde" Livingston is played by the Canadian Rick Fox.

* PermanentPlaceholder: When Louis Sachar was writing the book, he used Stanley [[SdrawkcabName Yelnats]] as a filler name, planning to replace it later with a more normal name. He never did, and the weird name even ended up becoming a plot point.

** [[Film/DonnieDarko Richard Kelly]] was offered the chance to do this movie. He was replaced when they saw his screenplay, which was set in a post-apocalyptic CrapsackWorld. It had ''nothing'' to do with the book. [[spoiler: Just to describe the tip of the iceberg, one of the major changes was that Stanley's crime was [[MercyKill Mercy Killing]] his plague-infected sister instead of stealing a pair of shoes. And instead of a bandit's stash of money, the "buried treasure" that Stanley found was going to be a long-lost Weapon of Mass Destruction. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking It also features a character uttering the phrase 'big titty slut']].]]

* SoMyKidsCanWatch: Creator/SigourneyWeaver's daughter begged her to play the Warden.

** [[Film/DonnieDarko Richard Kelly]] was offered the chance to do this movie. He was replaced when they saw his screenplay, which was set in a post-apocalyptic CrapsackWorld. It had ''nothing'' to do with the book. [[spoiler: Just to describe the tip of the iceberg, one of the major changes was that Stanley's crime was [[MercyKill Mercy Killing]] his plague-infected sister instead of stealing a pair of shoes. And instead of a bandit's stash of money, the "buried treasure" that Stanley found was going to be a long-lost Weapon of Mass Destruction.]]

** Creator/ShiaLaBeouf was originally supposed to [[DyeingForYourArt put on weight]] to match Stanley's overweight build from the novel. However, this idea was shot down by the director, who pointed out that to gain and lose that much weight in a short span of time would be dangerous for someone of [=LaBeouf's=] age at the time ([[TheMoreYouKnow weight fluctuation, in general, is a considerable heath risk]]).

* BlackSheepHit: The film was this for director Andrew Davis. He is best known for directing action-thriller type films (such as ''Film/UnderSiege'' and ''Film/TheFugitive''). ''Holes'', in comparison, is more of a family-adventure type film. It is also only the second pg rated film he has directed (the first, ''Stoney Island'', was made before he gained considerable commercial success while his other films are either rated PG-13 or R). Regardless, the film was well received critically and was successful at the box office.

* ActorAllusion: In the movie, a bluesy version of "Down To The River To Pray" from ''Film/OBrotherWhereArtThou'' is heard after we're introduced to the "counselor", who was a member of ''O Brother'''s PowerTrio.

* SelfAdaptation: Louis Sachar's draft of ''Holes'' almost wasn't used, but ultimately retained, and skewed far closer to the book than the other optioned draft with minimal edits.

** Shia [=LaBeouf=] was originally supposed to [[DyeingForYourArt put on weight]] to match Stanley's overweight build from the novel. However, this idea was shot down by the director, who pointed out that to gain and lose that much weight in a short span of time would be dangerous for someone of [=LaBeouf's=] age at the time ([[TheMoreYouKnow weight fluctuation, in general, is a considerable heath risk]]).