History Trivia / LittleMissSunshine

* DawsonCasting: Dwayne is 15 but was played by 21-year—old Creator/PaulDano.

* DawsonCasting: Dwayne is 15 and was played by 22 year old Creator/PaulDano.

* DawsonCasting: Dwayne is 15 and was played by 22 year old Creator/PaulDano. Also ties into PlayingGertrude, as Creator/ToniCollette is only 12 years older than Dano and is playing his mother.

* CaliforniaDoubling: The scenes that took place in Redondo Beach, California, were actually filmed in Ventura, California. None of the freeways near Redondo Beach lead to the beach.

* WordOfGod: Dwayne is Sheryl's son from a previous marriage, making him Olive's half-brother and Richard's step-son. {{Downplayed}} in that this is actually mentioned in the film, but only in a couple of scenes where there's a lot of rapid dialogue, so many viewers either missed the lines altogether or missed the significance of them.[[note]]Sheryl explains to Frank that Dwayne was staying with his dad over the summer, which is what gave her the time to help Olive compete in her first pageant; later, an extremely distressed Dwayne hits Sheryl with a mention of her divorce when listing off what he sees as each family member's biggest failure.[[/note]]

* WordOfGod: Dwayne is Sheryl's son from a previous marriage, making him Olive's half-brother and Richard's step-son. {{Downplayed}} in that this is actually mentioned in the film, but only in a couple of scenes where there's a lot of rapid dialogue, so many viewers either missed the lines altogether or missed the significance of them.

* WordOfGod: Dwayne is Sheryl's son from a previous marriage, making him Olive's half-brother and Richard's step-son.

* EnforcedMethodActing: During the CorruptionOfAMinor scene, Creator/AlanArkin deliberately told Creator/AbigailBreslin to tune up the volume of her CD player so she won't hear the {{Cluster F Bomb}}s and {{Precision F Strike}}s.

* StarMakingRole: For Creator/AbigailBreslin.

** Creator/DonaldSutherland almost had the role of Grandpa Edwin Hoover before Alan Arkin was cast.

* EnforcedMethodActing: During the CorruptionOfAMinor scene, Alan Arkin deliberately told Creator/AbigailBreslin to tune up the volume of her CD player so she won't hear the {{Cluster F Bomb}}s and {{Precision F Strike}}s.

* PlayingAgainstType: Steve Carell, whose type really hadn't been established yet, but has not since played a role this subtle and understated.

* CastTheExpert: The girls at the pageant are real life pageant competitors.

** Creator/ThomasHadenChurch was offered the role of Richard but turned it down. He later regretted this decision.

* ActorAllusion:
** [[Creator/ToniCollette Sheryl]] tells her daughter "look at me" when the latter gets upset and needs someone to talk to. [[Film/TheSixthSense When else has she done that to her kid?]]
** The [[ManInWhite outfit]] that Frank is wearing in the entire film looks very similar to what Creator/SteveCarell wore during the [[SuddenMusicalEnding Sudden Musical]] and DancePartyEnding of Film/The40YearOldVirgin.

* DawsonCasting: Dwayne is 15 and was played by 22 year old Paul Dano. Also ties into PlayingGertrude, as Toni Collette is only 12 years older than Dano and is playing his mother.

* WordOfGod: Dwayne is Sheryl's son from a previous marriage, making him Olive's half-brother and Richard's step-son.

* WordOfGod: Dwayne is Sheryl's son from a previous marriage, making him Olive's step-brother and Richard's step-son.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Creator/BryanCranston and Creator/DeanNorris from ''Series/BreakingBad'' both appear in this movie, along with Creator/SteveCarell from ''TheOffice'' and Wallace Langham from ''CSI'' working as a pageant employee with a PornStache.
* HeyItsThatVoice: In the Japanese dub:
** [[Creator/NaoyaUchida Richard Hoover]] is [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Madara Uchiha]]
** Frank Ginsberg is [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Shukaku]] and [[Franchise/StarWars C-3PO in Japanese]].
** [[Creator/AtsukoTanaka Sheryl Hoover]] is [[Manga/GhostInTheShell Motoko Kusanagi]].
** [[Creator/DaisukeOno Dwayne Hoover]] is [[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya Itsuki Koizumi]] and [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Jotaro Kujo in the TV series]].
** Olive Hoover is [[Anime/KiddyGrade Eclair]].

* HeyItsThatGuy: Creator/BryanCranston and Creator/DeanNorris from ''Series/BreakingBad'' both appear in this movie, along with Creator/SteveCarell from
** ''TheOffice'' and Wallace Langham from ''CSI'' working as a pageant employee with a PornStache.

''TheOffice'' and Wallace Langham from ''CSI'' working as a pageant employee with a PornStache.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Creator/BryanCranston and Creator/DeanNorris from ''Series/BreakingBad'' both appear in this movie, along with Creator/SteveCarell from ''TheOffice'' and Wallace Langham from ''CSI'' working as a pageant employee with a PornStache.

** [[ToniCollette Sheryl]] tells her daughter "look at me" when the latter gets upset and needs someone to talk to. [[Film/TheSixthSense When else has she done that to her kid?]]

* InspirationForTheWork: The catalyst for the movie was a comment by Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger that the people he hates most in the world are losers. The screenwriter. [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory3 Michael Arndt]] took offense to this comment, believing that everyone is a loser in some way, but that doesn't make them a bad person. He wrote the screenplay to refute that kind of black-and-white thinking.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Creator/BryanCranston and Dean Norris from ''Series/BreakingBad'' both appear in this movie, along with Creator/SteveCarell from ''TheOffice'' and Wallace Langham from ''CSI'' working as a pageant employee with a PornStache.

* InspirationForTheWork: The catalyst for the movie was a comment by Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger that the people he hates most in the world are losers. The screenwriter took offense to this comment, believing that everyone is a loser in some way, but that doesn't make them a bad person. He wrote the screenplay to refute that kind of black-and-white thinking.

* WordOfGod: Dwayne is Sheryl's daughter from a previous marriage, making him Olive's step-sister and Richard's step-son.

* FakeAmerican: Toni Collette is Australian.

* StarMakingRole: For Creator/AbigailBreslin.

* EnforcedMethodActing: During the CorruptionOfAMinor scene, Alan Arkin deliberately told Creator/AbigailBreslin to tune up the volume of her CD player so she won't hear the {{Cluster F Bomb}}s and {{Precision F Strike}}S.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Bryan Cranston and Dean Norris from ''Series/BreakingBad'' both appear in this movie, along with Steve Carell from ''TheOffice'' and Wallace Langham from ''CSI'' working as a pageant employee with a PornStache.

* PlayingAgainstType: Steve Carell, whose type really hadn't been established yet, but has not since played a role this subtle and understated.

* InspirationForTheWork: The catalyst for the movie was a comment by Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger that the people he hates most in the world are losers. The screenwriter took offense to this comment, believing that everyone is a loser in some way, but that doesn't make them a bad person. He wrote the screenplay to refute that kind of black-and-white thinking.