Woody Allen claims that he cast Larry David because David is one of the few comedians that makes him laugh.
Like Woody Allen's later film Blue Jasmine (2013), this film takes several cues from Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire". Marietta, a Southern woman visiting the big city, echoes Blanche DuBois in several ways, including being horrified at Melodie's apartment and being coy about her drinking. At least one of her lines ("You are not the gentleman I was expecting") is a direct homage to "A Streetcar Named Desire".
The role of Boris Yelnikoff was original written for Zero Mostel. After Mostel's death in 1977, Woody Allen set the screenplay aside. However, with a potential actor's strike during 2008-9, Allen chose this old screenplay to be his next film. Furthermore, Mostel and Larry David both played the role of Max Bialistock: Mostel in Frühling für Hitler (1967) and David in the play within a show representing the main story arc from Season 4 of Lass es, Larry! (2000).
Larry David actually appeared previously in an Allen movie. But few Allen fans, even those who have seen all his movies, would have noticed. David was the communist neighbor in Radio Days (1987) - A character who is heard but never shown.
When Woody Allen started to write the movie back in the 70s, his main idea was to tell how a family of intolerant rednecks changed completely for different reasons after a while in New York.