When Matt King describes his inherited wealth, he says, "I don't want my daughters growing up entitled and spoiled. And I agree with my father; you give your children enough money to do something but not enough to do nothing." This is based on a well-known quote from billionaire investor Warren Buffett in a 1986 Fortune magazine interview. "Setting up his heirs with a lifetime supply of food stamps just because they came out of the right womb can be harmful for them and is an antisocial act. To him the perfect amount to leave children is 'enough money so that they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing.'"
George Clooney was attracted to the part because he so often has played characters that have their act together. The character of Matt clearly does not.
One of the first scenes shot was Shailene Woodley crying underwater in the pool. In a November 2020 interview, George Clooney recalls, "I'd never seen anything like it in my life. I said to her, 'Look, I don't know what's going to happen with this film, but don't worry about your career." Clooney said he still keeps in touch with Woodley. "I really do consider her my eldest daughter. She is someone I dearly love."
Alexander Payne's first film in 7 years since winning a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Sideways (2004). He then won the same Oscar for this film.
The phone number shown on George Clooney's character's Blackberry for Gold Coast Real Estate -- (808) 926-7525 -- is the real phone number for Honolulu's Gold Coast Real Estate, Inc.
Kaui Hart Hemmings: Matt's assistant, Noe, who announces "Your cousins are here" when Matt is prepares to meet with his relatives at his law office.