Line #24 Trivia/BigLittleLies


1	* ActorInspiredElement: Adam Scott suggested the beard for his character.
2	* AllStarCast: Includes such A-listers as Creator/NicoleKidman, Creator/ReeseWitherspoon, Creator/LauraDern, and Creator/ShaileneWoodley with notable names like Creator/AlexanderSkarsgard, Creator/ZoeKravitz, and Creator/AdamScott rounding out the supporting cast. Season Two sees the addition of Creator/MerylStreep.
3	* ApprovalOfGod: Liane Moriarty approved the addition of Madeline's affair in the adaptation.
4	* CaliforniaDoubling: Despite the Monterey setting, only Celeste and Perry's house is actually there. The other exteriors were filmed in Malibu, Pasadena and Calabasas.
5	* CreatorBreakdown:
6	** Nicole Kidman says she suffered it when filming [[spoiler:the scene where Perry throws Celeste across the room in her underwear]]. Later when she returned to her hotel room, she threw a rock through a glass door.
7	** Alexander Skarsgaard had room with a friend during the shoot rather than stay in a hotel - as he had trouble shaking Perry off and didn't want to go home alone after playing an abuser.
8	* CreatorCouple: Larry Sullivan and David Monahan are married in real life.
9	* TheDanza: Meryl Streep plays Mary Louise, which is her birth name. Liane Moriarty even named the character after her.
10	* DyeingForYourArt:
11	** Shailene Woodley dyed her hair black and gained weight for her role as Jane.
12	** Nicole Kidman told Alexander Skarsgård not to go easy on her during the domestic violence scenes -- so that Celeste's bruises would be realistic. Averted for Celeste's hair though; she wore a wig.
13	* EnforcedMethodActing: The therapy sessions between Celeste and Perry were filmed without rehearsals to get a genuine feeling of tension and awkwardness from the actors.
14	* ExecutiveMeddling: [[https://www.indiewire.com/2019/07/big-little-lies-season-2-andrea-arnold-lost-creative-control-jean-marc-vallee-1202156884/ HBO, Kelley, and Vallée]] made sure to keep season 2 to be much like the first, Andrea Arnold’s original vision be damned.
15	* FakeNationality:
16	** A rare aversion in an American production for Creator/NicoleKidman, whose character Celeste is an Australian who's been in America for some time.
17	** A minor example with Madeline, who is revealed to have Native American ancestry in the show ([[RaceLift though not in the book]]). Reese Witherspoon, who portrays Madeline, is of mostly Irish, with traces of Scottish and Welsh, descent.
18	** Bonnie is from a mixed marriage (black mother, white father). Both of Zoë Kravitz's parents are from mixed black/white marriages.
19	** Swedish Alexander Skarsgård playing American Perry.
20	* FollowTheLeader: Clearly following the trend of ''Film/GoneGirl'' and ''Film/TheGirlOnTheTrain'' of stories taking place in seemingly perfect small towns, and the housewife protagonists having their dark secrets revealed.
21	* MoneyDearBoy: Virtually most of the cast and crew said that the series was fine with one season and didn't need to be continued. However, once it won lots of awards, HBO immediately renewed it and enticed people back with higher salaries; Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon's went from $350,000 and $250,000 per episode respectively to $1 million (and that's not including the additional money they make as producers). Zoe Kravitz likewise reportedly got an 800% pay rise for the second season ($3 million).
22	* PlayingAgainstType:
23	** Shailene Woodley rose to fame playing tough girls with attitude in Young Adult adaptations. Here marks one of her first adult roles, playing a young single mother struggling with being a rape survivor.
24	** Zoë Kravitz likewise is known for ActionGirl roles in big-budget franchise movies. Likewise, it's different to see her playing the GranolaGirl Bonnie.
25	** Laura Dern in recent years has become best known for playing cool mom characters or a ReasonableAuthorityFigure. Playing a WitchWithACapitalB like Renata is different.
26	** Alexander Skarsgård tends to be an AntiHero or ALighterShadeOfGrey. Here he's a {{Domestic Abuse}}r.
27	* ProductionPosse:
28	** Laura Dern, Reese Witherspoon and director Creator/JeanMarcVallee had all worked on ''{{Film/Wild}}'' together.
29	** Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon both bought the rights to ''Truly Madly Guilty'' to collaborate again.
30	* RealitySubtext: Celeste's status as a battered wife - Nicole Kidman is an ambassador for the UN, working to stop domestic violence.
31	* SeparatedAtBirthCasting: Reese Witherspoon and Kathryn Newton certainly look as if they could be mother and daughter.
32	* ThoseTwoActors: Shailene Woodley has starred with Zoë Kravitz in all the ''{{Literature/Divergent}}'' films and with Laura Dern in ''Literature/TheFaultInOurStars''.
33	* ThrowItIn: A lot of Renata's wisecracks are improvised by Laura Dern. The famous "I SAID THANK YOOOOOUUUUU...!!!" moment was planned between her and Valee to prank everyone on set.
34	* TroubledProduction:
35	** For the second season, Andrea Arnold was hired to direct. The creators believed that her visual style would not be too different from what Creator/JeanMarcVallee had established in the first season. She was also required to consult David Kelley if she wanted to change any scenes, but believed she had a free hand for the show's look.
36	** With two episodes left to film, however, Kelley and the other creators apparently grew concerned that the show was looking very different from what they had expected it would, and apparently decided to take the show's editing away from Arnold (or, depending on who you talk to, implemented a plan they had made before production even started).
37	** For this they brought back Vallée, which apparently required two and a half weeks of reshoots. This may account for the complaints that the second season was choppy and uneven, with some scenes contrived in order to facilitate key plot developments[[note]]such as Maddie's husband finding out about her affair by overhearing her conversation about it with her daughter[[/note]]. And rumor has it this was where Bonnie's death, {{Fauxshadow}}ed all season, was written out in favor of an ending that leaves open the possibility of a third season.
38	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
39	** The adaptation was first developed as a feature film, before getting turned into a miniseries.
40	** Creator/JeanMarcVallee was initially going to direct just two episodes, but he remained on for the remainder of production. The miniseries was shot all in one go like a feature film.
41	** Liane Moriarty suggested Australian actress Creator/RoseByrne for the role of Jane. She ended up played by Shailene Woodley.
42	** Eight episodes were planned but in the writing process, David E Kelly felt that only seven were needed. Creator/{{HBO}} agreed.
43	** The trivia night scene was only scheduled for five days of night shoots, but ballooned to about two weeks by the end.

Context Trivia / BigLittleLies