When Matt Damon's character, Paul, pulls up to his new downsized home, his driver says; 'welcome to the good life". Paul makes a face in response. "The good life" is the state motto of Nebraska, the home he had just left.
Was filmed in a real Omaha Steaks production facility, using actual employees as extras.
This is Alexander Payne's most expensive project, costing somewhere between $65m and $90m, yet it took less than $9m at the US box office for its opening weekend.
During filming in Vesterålen, Norway, the crew rented a Flotel (a floating hotel) to house the 160 people working on the film.
The failure of this film at the box office (and with some early critics) is in large part due to the bungled advertising. Trailers and ads made this appear to be a simple comedy, so many viewers were angered to discover it was actually a social satire.