History Trivia / Inception

* StarDerailingRole: Despite the film's critical and commerical success, Creator/ElliotPage's performance in the film was not well-received and was lackluster despite the rest of the cast's performances was well-received. Shortly after the film, Elliot's film career took a major nosedive. His career when he starred in the critically panned remake ''Film/{{Flatliners|2017}}'' and since then reprised his role as Kitty Pryde in ''Film/XMenDaysofFuturePast'' and starred in the Netflix series ''Television/TheUmbrellaAcademy'', His reputation got even when had a gender change in 2020 changing his name from Ellen Page to Elliot Page, While he's still got success in his career on streaming television. He hasn't acted in a film up until 2023.

* TheWikiRule: The [[http://inception.wikia.com/wiki/Inception_Wiki Inception Wiki]].

* StarDerailingRole: Despite the film's critical and commerical success, Creator/ElliotPage's performance in the film was not well-received and was lackluster despite the rest of the cast's performances was well-received. Shortly after the film, Elliot's film career took a major nosedive. His career when he starred in the critically panned remake ''Film/{{Flatliners|2017}}'' and since then reprised his role as Kitty Pryde in ''Film/XMenDaysofFuturePast'' and starred in the Netflix series ''Television/TheUmbrellaAcademy'', His reputation got even when had a gender change in 2020 changing his name from Ellen Page to Elliot Page, While he's still got success in his career. He hasn't acted in a film up until 2023.

* CreatorChosenCasting:
** Creator/ChristopherNolan cast Creator/TomHardy as Eames after seeing him in ''Film/RockNRolla''. Hardy assumed it was due to his role in ''Film/{{Bronson}}'', but it turned out that Nolan hadn't seen it.
** Nolan wrote the role of Saito with Creator/KenWatanabe in mind, as he wanted to work with him again after ''Film/BatmanBegins''.

* DoingItForTheArt:
** This film was Nolan's baby, his decade-long [[IncrediblyLamePun dream project]]. You can see how much he loved what could have been an action-heist film, and how much enthusiasm the cast and crew had for him and the story. It's a real life heartwarmer, showing that there is a place for UsefulNotes/NewHollywood-style, ''auteur''-driven projects. That said, making an art film ''after'' making hundreds of millions of dollars for your backers with ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' is more likely to work than coming in off the street. In fact, ''Inception'' is the reason Nolan took on ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' to begin with. When working on the drafts for ''Inception'', he realized he could not do it on a small-scale budget, and needed to get some experience with large-scale films, as well as every mainstream film he did that succeeded financially would make it that much easier for a studio to back whatever budget and resources he would need.
** To add to that, Nolan tried as far as possible to film the spectacular effects in-camera, opting to use CGI to edit and enhance as opposed to entirely create. [[AccidentalPun Massive props]] have to go to Chris Corbould, the special effects supervisor on the film who had to figure out how to achieve all the things (that had such a high JustForFun.HolyShitQuotient) with practical effects. For example, the scene in the hotel bar with the slanting water levels was achieved with a hydraulically-controlled set that could tilt at a 25-degree angle, while the camera was anchored to the ground. Similarly, the zero-gravity fight in the hotel corridor was achieved with a [[https://youtu.be/8PhiSSnaUKk?t=74 rotating set, while the camera was kept level relative to the set]]. The effect was so amazing that the film's editor, Lee Smith, admits to being stunned and disoriented the first time he saw the footage. Also, the snow-fortress-hospital was built full-scale in the Canadian Rockies and blown up for real - along with a smaller scale model built in the studio parking lot. The atomizing streets of Paris were done with air cannons and rigs ''on an actual Paris street'' and the water flooding Saito's castle at the start of the film was accomplished with air cannons creating high-pressure jets of water.
** The Penrose steps Arthur shows Ariadne? No CG trickery, they built the staircase then used the precise scaling angle for the camera to show off the optical illusion.
** Also, he refused the studio's wish to have the movie converted to 3D as he isn't satisfied with the image quality of 3D.

* NamesTheSame: Nolan previously used the name Cobb in his first film ''Film/{{Following}}''.

* CareerResurrection: This was Creator/TomBerenger's (Browning) first appearance in a mainstream film since ''Film/TrainingDay''.

* CareerResurrection: This was Creator/TomBerenger's first appearance in a mainstream film since ''Film/TrainingDay''.

** Creator/ChristopherNolan cast Creator/TomHardy as Eames after seeing him in ''Film/{{RockNRolla}}''. Hardy assumed it was due to his role in ''Film/{{Bronson}}'', but it turned out that Nolan hadn't seen it.

* FanNickname:
** "Team Inception"
** "The Dream Team"
** Robert Fischer is "Fischer Jr.", which he is only referred to once in passing by Eames
** Ariadne is a [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Worldbender!]]
** Eames is "the Face", thanks to his filling the same function as the character from ''Series/TheATeam.''
** Creator/MarkKermode came up with ''On Her Majesty's Psychiatric Service''.

* ColbertBump: The grappling technique Arthur uses to choke out a projection mook wasn't very known in the martial arts scene before the film (unless you count pro wrestling, as it is basically a front cobra clutch with bodyscissors), but after it came out, many people in sport submission grappling and MMA teams started to train it, to the point the move is better known nowadays as the "Inception Choke".

** To add to that, Nolan tried as far as possible to film the spectacular effects in-camera, opting to use CGI to edit and enhance as opposed to entirely create. [[AccidentalPun Massive props]] have to go to Chris Corbould, the special effects supervisor on the film who had to figure out how to achieve all the things (that had such a high JustForFun.HolyShitQuotient) with practical effects. For example, the scene in the hotel bar with the slanting water levels was achieved with a hydraulically-controlled set that could tilt at a 25-degree angle, while the camera was anchored to the ground. Similarly, the zero-gravity fight in the hotel corridor was achieved with a rotating set, while the camera was kept level relative to the set. The effect was so amazing that the film's editor, Lee Smith, admits to being stunned and disoriented the first time he saw the footage. Also, the snow-fortress-hospital was built full-scale in the Canadian Rockies and blown up for real - along with a smaller scale model built in the studio parking lot. The atomizing streets of Paris were done with air cannons and rigs ''on an actual Paris street'' and the water flooding Saito's castle at the start of the film was accomplished with air cannons creating high-pressure jets of water.

* WordOfGod: If Sir Creator/MichaelCaine is to be believed, [[spoiler:any fan theory which assumes that the "real world" is just another level of dream. Caine states that any scene which he's in is the real world. Virtually confirmed by WordOfGod, Creator/ChristopherNolan.]]
* WordOfGod: Nolan himself claims that, as far as he's concerned, Cobb is in the real world, but that the ''real'' meaning of the scene is that Cobb has left his totem behind and that it no longer has any meaning for him. ...[[LotusEaterMachine clarifies nothing]]. However, he himself admits he's biased toward the "real world" ending since he's a father himself, and points out that interpretation of the ending may fall along those lines. The fact that the guy who wrote and directed the movie only has an ''interpretation'' of the ending serves to underscore that there's no definitive answer to the question of whether the top was going to stop spinning or not.

* {{Jossed}}: If Sir Creator/MichaelCaine is to be believed, [[spoiler:any fan theory which assumes that the "real world" is just another level of dream. Caine states that any scene which he's in is the real world. Virtually confirmed by WordOfGod, Creator/ChristopherNolan.]]

* MeaningfulReleaseDate: The film got a domestic re-release in summer 2020 for its tenth anniversary and as an appetizer before ''Film/{{TENET}}''. Although it's a more limited release than expected due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic still keeping many theaters closed.

* AllStarCast: Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio, Creator/JosephGordonLevitt, Creator/EllenPage, Creator/KenWatanabe, Creator/MichaelCaine, Creator/CillianMurphy, Creator/MarionCotillard, Creator/TomHardy, and Creator/PetePostlethwaite in one of his last roles.

* FakeNationality: Creator/CillianMurphy, an Irishman, playing the Australian (judging by his passport) or American (judging by his accent; he could well be of mixed heritage) Robert Fischer. Presumably this applies to English actor Creator/PetePostlethwaite (who plays Fischer's father) and Creator/EllenPage as well, but their characters don't have their nationalities stated outright. Another possible example is Indian American Dileep Rao, who plays a vaguely Arab character called Yusuf.

* TheRedStapler: The film has made tons of viewers curious about lucid dreaming.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: While in the movie "inception" is used to describe an action ("incept an idea") many countries translated the title in the noun definition atop this page, mostly as "(The) Origin". Then there's China, where it's "Realm of the Dream Thieves" or "Comprehensive Launch".

* AuteurLicense: Nolan spent years building up his reputation, directing mega hits like those of ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' to give himself the clout to create this film the way he wanted. The fact that ''Inception'' became a big hit itself guaranteed he'll keep that clout for some time (as of ''Film/{{Tenet}}'' ten years later, he still has it, what with that film costing $200 million and not being IP-driven).

* AuteurLicense: Nolan spent years building up his reputation, directing mega hits like ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' to give him the clout to create this film his way. The fact that this film became a big hit itself guarantees he'll keep that clout for some time.

** To add to that, Nolan tried as far as possible to film the spectacular effects in-camera, opting to use CGI to edit and enhance as opposed to entirely create. [[AccidentalPun Massive props]] have to go to Chris Corbould, the special effects supervisor on the film who had to figure out how to achieve all the things (that had such a high HolyShitQuotient) with practical effects. For example, the scene in the hotel bar with the slanting water levels was achieved with a hydraulically-controlled set that could tilt at a 25-degree angle, while the camera was anchored to the ground. Similarly, the zero-gravity fight in the hotel corridor was achieved with a rotating set, while the camera was kept level relative to the set. The effect was so amazing that the film's editor, Lee Smith, admits to being stunned and disoriented the first time he saw the footage. Also, the snow-fortress-hospital was built full-scale in the Canadian Rockies and blown up for real - along with a smaller scale model built in the studio parking lot. The atomizing streets of Paris were done with air cannons and rigs ''on an actual Paris street'' and the water flooding Saito's castle at the start of the film was accomplished with air cannons creating high-pressure jets of water.

** "You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling." According to an interview with Tom Hardy, he was supposed to use Arthur's name and "darling" just slipped out. Nolan liked it, so it stayed, even getting trailer time. The [[SlashFic slashers]] rejoiced. One assumes that was unintentional.

** To add to that, Nolan tried as far as possible to film the spectacular effects in-camera, opting to use CGI to edit and enhance as opposed to entirely create. Massive props have to go to Chris Corbould, the special effects supervisor on the film who had to figure out how to achieve all the things (that had such a high HolyShitQuotient) with practical effects. For example, the scene in the hotel bar with the slanting water levels was achieved with a hydraulically-controlled set that could tilt at a 25-degree angle, while the camera was anchored to the ground. Similarly, the zero-gravity fight in the hotel corridor was achieved with a rotating set, while the camera was kept level relative to the set. The effect was so amazing that the film's editor, Lee Smith, admits to being stunned and disoriented the first time he saw the footage. Also, the snow-fortress-hospital was built full-scale in the Canadian Rockies and blown up for real - along with a smaller scale model built in the studio parking lot. The atomizing streets of Paris were done with air cannons and rigs ''on an actual Paris street'' and the water flooding Saito's castle at the start of the film was accomplished with air cannons creating high-pressure jets of water.