Roberto Saviano got death threats from the Camorra for exposing their activities in the novel and movie, and is now permanently under police protection.
The scene where Pasquale sees Scarlett Johansson on TV wearing one of the tailor's dresses is based on a factual item from the book. However, the celebrity in question was Angelina Jolie at the Oscars. Matteo Garrone was unable to obtain that footage so used images of Johansson at the Venice Film Festival in 2006 instead.
Some dialogue is spoken in Neapolitan dialect, rather than standard Italian, so some scenes had to be subtitled for the Italian release.
Director Matteo Garrone lived for two months in the infamous Neapolitan quarter Scampia before making the movie.
Won the Grand Prix at the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival, 2008