Trivia: When James Brolin was offered the role of George Lutz, he was informed that they didn't have a script to give him. James bought a copy of the novel and began to read it. At two o'clock in the morning, while reading a very intense part of the book, a pair of pants that he had hung up earlier fell to the ground causing him to jump in fright. After that, James agreed to do the film.
Trivia: Ripley abruptly yelling at Parker to "Shut up!" is not in the script. Fans and industry gossip have long speculated that this was Sigourney Weaver breaking character in frustration and she was in fact telling Yaphet Kotto to "shut up" so she can finish her lines. The sequels 'Aliens' and 'Alien 3' both feature scenes where one of the normally cooler-headed protagonists suddenly snaps at a ranting character to "shut up!" in apparent reference to this moment. (01:16:50)
Trivia: In the scene were Mercy claims to have stolen the coat because the cops are looking for somebody in a pink top, she actually had to wear the coat to cover a cast on her wrist which she broke while being pulled by Fox in the 96th street station chase just before Fox's sad departure.
Trivia: Michael Palin as Pontius Pilate was genuinely daring his guards to laugh about Biggus Dickus' name. The people playing the soldiers were told not to laugh during the scene but were not told what Palin would be doing or saying.
Trivia: An estimated 800 children from a local school were used as extras for the scene in which Rocky runs through Philadelphia.
Trivia: The man shooting the movie during the attack on the beach who says "Don't look at the camera" is actually director Francis Ford Coppola. (00:25:38)
Trivia: Amongst the taunts that the Nightrider shouts to the police on the CB is a verse of the song "Rocker" by AC/DC.
Trivia: The Cat Juggler, in the film, was Steve Martin. (01:12:40 - 01:13:30)
Trivia: Because of its violent scenes, this was the first PG-rated Disney movie ever.
Trivia: The film's budget had been more than the first six Bond films added together, but Broccoli's gamble paid off. Upon release in the summer of 1979, the film enjoyed huge success globally, and the film easily recouped its budget.
Trivia: Halloran's plane, George-Ann, is named after the director's wife.
Trivia: Owing to the film's success, many jurisdictions abolished the "tender years" doctrine in divorce law, which gave custodial preference to the mother.
Trivia: It seems like a mistake, but it really isn't: Director Nicholas Meyer, in his DVD audio commentary, points out that the time machine should not have stayed in London and rightfully did belong where it ended up - in a museum in San Francisco. This is plausible not because of alternate dimensions or time zones, he explains, but because the machine was crated up and shipped there by museum curators after H.G. Wells' death/disappearance.
Trivia: In the country where the film was made, extras are not hired. The people in the background are just normal people. Watch the background during the scene where the young couple is talking in front of a subway staircase and you will see a boy flipping off the camera.
Trivia: A lot of the cast of Quadrophenia also appeared in the film Scum which was made the same year.
