Director Julie Taymor watched the premiere of Across The Universe sitting next to Paul McCartney. She was nervous about what he would think so when the movie was over she asked if there was anything he didn't like about it and McCartney responded "What's not to like?" McCartney also sang along with "All My Loving" under his breath, a very moving moment for Taymor.
A scene when Prudence locks herself in the closet and has to be serenaded out by the other cast members - is a reference to a real occurrence in 1968 at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India where The Beatles, Mia Farrow, Donovan, and others were studying. Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence, was reclusive and did not leave her living quarters to join the other students, inspiring John Lennon to write the song "Dear Prudence." The film also uses the song as a reference to the fictional Prudence character's reluctance to 'come out of the closet' in relation to her sexual orientation.
"Because" is sung by exactly nine actors - a reference to the way The Beatles recorded the song - the 3-part harmony vocal performance among John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison is overdubbed three times to make nine voices in all.
In an interview, Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess said that they were at dinner one day and heard that Ringo Starr would be attending a screening in town. They promptly booked it to the theater and watched their movie with one of the original Beatles. Sturgess then asked Starr what he thought of it. He said he enjoyed it very much.