* ActorInspiredElement:
** The chest-thumping Creator/MatthewMcConaughey does in the lunch scene at the beginning is something he does to warm up for scenes in real life. Creator/MartinScorsese asked him about it and then had the idea of having [=McConaughey=] do it on the next take without telling Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio [[EnforcedMethodActing to get his genuine reaction]].
** Originally, Creator/MartinScorsese offered Creator/MargotRobbie the opportunity to appear wearing a bathrobe during the seduction scene between her and Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio. Robbie refused and insisted on doing the scene ''fully nude'', her first ever. According to Robbie: "The whole point of Naomi is that her body is her only form of currency in this world ... She has to be naked. She's laying her cards on the table." Robbie said she had three shots of tequila in succession before shooting the scene to relax. After shooting was complete, Robbie initially fibbed to her family and friends about actually doing the nude scene to delay any personal repercussions, claiming CGI was used to superimpose her head on a body double. She eventually changed her mind and confessed when the film was released.
* AwesomeDearBoy: Creator/JonahHill made only $60,000 (the lowest possible SAG-AFTRA rate) on the film; he simply wanted the opportunity to work with Martin Scorsese.
* BannedInChina: This movie was banned in five countries due to high sexual content.
* BillingDisplacement: Creator/MatthewMcConaughey is billed fourth, but only appears in three scenes at the beginning of this three hour long movie.
* ChannelHop: The film was originally going to be made by Creator/WarnerBros, with Creator/RidleyScott directing and Creator/BradPitt starring. After Creator/ParamountPictures got the rights to the film in North America and Japan, they handed the international distribution to Creator/UniversalPictures.
* {{Corpsing}}: Jon Bernthal covers his mouth trying not to laugh when Jonah Hill calls him the "emperor of Fucksville."
* DyeingForYourArt: Creator/KennethChoi gained nearly twenty-five pounds for his role as Chester Ming.
* EnforcedMethodActing: Jonah Hill wore a prosthetic penis while masturbating at the party to draw genuine surprised reactions from the actors and extras.
* FakeAmerican: The Australian Creator/MargotRobbie as Anglo-American Naomi.
* FakeNationality: The French Creator/JeanDujardin as a francophone Swiss banker.
* HarpoDoesSomethingFunny:
** A lot of scenes in the movie were improvised, notably Matthew [=McConaughey=]'s humming and chest-beating, which is something the actor does to hype himself up for filming in real life. Scorsese saw it and decided to ThrowItIn -- And [[AudienceParticipationSong have all of Stratton Oakmont do it]] during Belfort's non-retirement speech.
** Music supervisor and frequent Scorsese collaborator Robbie Robertson then worked with [=McConaughey=] to create "The Money Chant," which plays over the end credits.
** Creator/JonBernthal asked the extra playing the waitress to serve his cheeseburger last to add to his frustration with the whole meeting, then improvised the whole bit with the empty ketchup bottle on the spot.
* IronyAsSheIsCast: Not really "cast", but the man who funded the film, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jho_Low Jho Low]], is himself a fraudster as well as a fugitive.
* NeverWorkWithChildrenOrAnimals: Creator/MargotRobbie revealed in an interview that for the scene where Jordan and Naomi have sex for the first time in her apartment and her dog tries to jump up and bite him that they had trouble getting the dog to jump, so they had to put dog food and chicken livers all over Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio's feet and between his toes.
* OneTakeWonder: Creator/MartinScorsese claimed that the sequence of Jordan attempting to get in his car while extremely impaired on Lemmons was improvised on the day of filming, and that it was Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio's idea to open the car door with his foot. [=DiCaprio=] strained his back during the scene, and could perform the stunt only once.
* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio usually plays brooding anti-heroes in dramas. Here, he plays a VillainProtagonist in a dark comedy. In his Golden Globe acceptance speech, he said "I never would've guessed that I would've won for Best Actor in a comedy." However, he's still playing the [[Film/CatchMeIfYouCan con]][[{{Film/Inception}} man]].
* ProductionPosse:
** The fifth collaboration between Scorsese and [=DiCaprio=], the film also reunites Terence Winter and several actors in character parts from ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' which Scorsese served as executive producer, in addition to directing the first episode.
** Behind the scenes, Scorsese once again worked with editor Thelma Schoonmaker, costume designer Sandy Powell, and visual effects supervisor/second unit director Robert Legato, while the film became his first collaboration with cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, replacing Robert Richardson.
* PromotedFanboy: Jonah Hill had [[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cyrus/news/1890197/five_favorite_films_with_jonah_hill/ established]] as far back as in 2010 (well before he had even earned his first Oscar nomination) that ''Film/{{GoodFellas}}'' was his favorite film of all time.
* SimilarlyNamedWorks: There is a pre-[[UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode Hays Code]] film (released in 1929, to be precise) entitled ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolf_of_Wall_Street_(1929_film) The Wolf of Wall Street]]''. It's also about a ruthless financier.
* StarMakingRole: It's debatable whether this film was Creator/MargotRobbie's BreakoutRole or her StarMakingRole considering she was already a known quantity in Australia beforehand. Whichever it was, her turn as ComicBook/HarleyQuinn in ''Film/{{Suicide Squad|2016}}'' certainly cemented her place in the A-list.
* UnderageCasting: Creator/MargotRobbie was newly twenty-two when she played Naomi, who was in her mid-twenties to mid-thirties over the course of the events in the film.
* VoiceOnlyCameo: Creator/EdwardHerrmann appears as the narrator of the Stratton Oakmont commercial at the beginning of the film.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Creator/JulieAndrews was offered the role of Aunt Emma.
** Creator/ChrisEvans and Creator/JosephGordonLevitt auditioned for Donnie Azoff.
** Creator/BlakeLively and Creator/RosieHuntingtonWhiteley were considered to play Naomi. Creator/TeresaPalmer and Creator/AmberHeard auditioned before Creator/MargotRobbie was cast. Creator/OliviaWilde auditioned, but was deemed too old to play Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio's wife, even though he's ''ten years older'' than she is.
** Creator/AlanArkin turned down the role of Max Belfort in favor of ''Film/GrudgeMatch''.
** Creator/GeneHackman was considered for the narrator of the Stratton Oakmont commercial at the beginning of the film.
* WriteWhatYouKnow: While a law student in the mid-1980s, screenwriter Terence Winter worked part-time as a legal assistant in Merrill Lynch's equity trading department, an experience which provided some background for this movie.
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