Rose Byrne was six months pregnant during filming. The filmmakers used clever camera shots (such as medium to close up shots) and carefully placed accessories (like handbags and laptops) to conceal it in the film.
To create the "classic" album that the character Tucker is best known for, director Jesse Peretz turned to previous collaborator Nathan Larson who worked with him on Our Idiot Brother (2011). Over the course of three years, they wrote songs and requested demos from about 35 artists such as Conor Oberst, Robyn Hitchcock and Ryan Adams. Nathan Larson's inspiration for the music was Big Star's "Third/Sister Lovers" album as well as friend Jeff Buckley.
When they show old footage of Tucker Crowe, including one of his videos, it's on a show called 100 Minutes, a reference to MTV's 120 Minutes (1991), which aired alternative music in the 1990s.
In the book, one of Duncan's aspirations is to teach a course on the HBO series The Wire (2002). In the film, he has accomplished this goal.
It was announced in December 2014 that the novel would be adapted into a film to be directed by regular Girls (2012) director Jesse Peretz and produced by Judd Apatow, with Kate Winslet attached to star.
Nick Hornby: (author of the novel) can be seen standing next to Rose Byrne in the museum scene where Tucker Crowe plays Waterloo Sunset.