Trivia / The Kissing Booth

The book

• Sequel Gap: The original novel was completed on Wattpad in 2010. Beth Reekles would not write a follow-up story, The Beach House, until 2019, while the full sequel, Going the Distance, came out in 2020.

The film

• Actor-Shared Background: Joey King was born and raised in Los Angeles, just like her character Elle.
• California Doubling: Partly averted; the film is set in California and some scenes were filmed there, although they also filmed many scenes at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.
• Creator Backlash: While acknowledging that the film and its sequels helped his career, Jacob Elordi hinted in a 2019 interview with The Hollywood Reporter and more clearly stated in a 2023 interview with GQ that he didn't think much of them overall, referring to them as "ridiculous" and opining that Noah was underwritten in the first movie (to the point he felt that playing Nate in Euphoria was "almost like righting my wrongs a little bit" as it deconstructed many of Noah's less savoury traits); he also expressed concern over being typecast as a teen heartthrob because of the role, as it wasn't one he was interested in playing again. He did express gratitude that the series' popularity at least allowed him the opportunity to pursue other roles he was genuinely passionate about.
• Dawson Casting:
  • Played straight with Joel Courtney (Lee), who was 20/21 during filming, playing a high schooler.
  • Averted with Joey King, who was 17 during filming (playing a 16-year-old), and downplayed with Jacob Elordi, who was 19. Funnily enough, this means that Lee is technically 'older' than his older brother.
  • Meganne Young (Rachel) is also a straight example; at 26/27 years old during filming, she was a full decade older than her character.
• Fake American:
  • Jacob Elordi, who plays Noah, is actually Australian.
  • Rachel is portrayed by South African Meganne Young.
• Money, Dear Boy: Jacob Elordi admitted in a 2023 interview he mostly took the role of Noah because he needed a job and wanted to break into American films and TV, and didn't think too highly of the story and script. He stated that he tried to avoid accepting too many roles for this reason afterwards, as he would much prefer to be involved in projects he finds genuinely interesting.
  Elordi: That one's a trap as well. Because it can become 15 for them, none for you. You have no original ideas and you're dead inside. So it's a fine dance. My 'one for them,' I've done it.
• Romance on the Set: Jacob Elordi (Noah) and Joey King (Elle) reportedly began dating in 2017 after filming the movie. Ironically, by the time the sequel began filming, they broke up. However, they remained professional as actors while filming the movie.

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