The original title for the script was 'Fuck Buddies' but this wouldn't make it past the MPAA. It was changed to "Friends With Benefits", but then that title was changed because there was another movie with the same title, Sexe entre amis (2011), starring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. By the time pre-screening invitations were made, it had still not been decided whether the title would be Sex Friends (2011) or Hooking Up.
Natalie Portman originally entered the project as a producer and not as a member of the cast. She remained an executive producer after being cast as Emma. The film is credited as a production of Portman's production company, Handsomecharlie Films.
The song performed by Adam's dad for his birthday was actually written and composed by Kevin Kline, who plays the character.
This movie is known to be very similar to Sexe entre amis (2011) which stars Ashton Kutcher's real life partner, Mila Kunis.
Ashton Kutcher later admitted in a interview that he hated doing the sex scenes with Natalie Portman because sex scenes in movies take so long and are tedious to do. In an interview with the online magazine Mirror he said, "But despite his sultry co-star, Ashton says he found filming tough going.
"I was shooting so many sex scenes I was getting tired of it," he says. "I never thought that anything related to sex would be something I'd get tired of!
"You're there and you're doing the scene and you're like, 'Do we have to shoot another sex scene?'
"I was shooting so many sex scenes I was getting tired of it," he says. "I never thought that anything related to sex would be something I'd get tired of!
"You're there and you're doing the scene and you're like, 'Do we have to shoot another sex scene?'