16 Behind-The-Scenes Trivia About 'Love, Simon'
We love you, Simon.
![16 Behind-The-Scenes Trivia About 'Love, Simon'](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/0/5/766905_320x180.jpg)
Love, Simon broke ground in 2018 by becoming the first major studio movie to feature a gay teen protagonist. It also features a killer soundtrack, a diverse cast, and that sweet sweet teenage angst that’s responsible for every one of us scribbling some shit on some wall. Good times. Here are some behind-the-scenes trivia about the movie.
![BEHIND THE SCENES Director Greg Berlanti said that John Hughes's films served as inspiration for the movie. Berlanti used a lot of Hughes's techniques to evoke nostalgia but still keep the movie modern. I looked at a lot of movies in the '80s that I grew up with, in part](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/0/766920.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES UN The author of the YA novel, Becky Albertalli, was inspired to write the story while working as a clinical Ipsychologist. She made it clear, though, that she didn't use her young clients' stories. They simply inspired her. Simon's hometown and high school was based on her](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/1/8/766918.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES Mote Berlanti and the studio execs all wanted Nick Robinson to play the lead. Berlanti said that, after seeing Robinson in Kings of Summer, he knew he wanted him to play Simon, because it looked like Robinson had a secret in that movie, and it broke Berlanti's](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/0/9/766909.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES SIMON THE VS HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA A remarkable gifi of a novel ANDREWS SMITH atho of Director Greg Berlanti's production company lost out to the rights of Becky Albertalli's novel. The rights were bought by Temple Hill, the same production company that adapted Twilight, The Fault in](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/1/7/766917.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES A big sequence at a gay bar was cut. The script had a sequence where Nick takes Simon out to a gay bar after coming out, and the scenes were filmed but ultimately cut because it messed with the pacing of the movie (it was eight minutes](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/2/766922.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES Jennifer Garner helped change the big scene her character has with Simon. Garner, who plays the mom, told Berlanti she'll do the movie, but that she thought the big scene after Simon comes out wasn't specific enough. Berlanti then sat with the writers and producers to craft](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/3/766923.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES The carnival at the end of the movie was built from scratch. Production designer Aaron Osborne had done a couple of shoots with carnival scenes, SO he knew the right people to source everything from - even a real ferris wheel.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/1/6/766916.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES Greg Berlantil is responsible for many of the LGBTQ+ characters we've seen on television. As a major television producer, he created and oversaw many of these characters, including Jack on Dawson's Creek, Carmelita on Dirty Sexy Money, and Alex Danvers in Supergirl. Now he's brought the first](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/2/1/766921.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES To prepare him for his role, the director sent Nick Robinson to see a Broadway play. Specifically, Berlanti bought Robinsontwo tickets to go see Dear EvaN Hansen to get into the idea of playing an average guy.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/1/1/766911.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES The character of Ethan isn't in the novel. Ethan (played by Clark Moore) is an unashamed openly gay femme friend of Simon who dunks on his bullies on a regular basis. The addition of his character makes the film more inclusive.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/1/9/766919.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES Nick Robinson and Katherine Langford drew inspiration from other love stories for their parts. For Robinson, it was Annie Hall. For Langford, it was Romeo Juliet and Titanic.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/1/5/766915.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES In the book, the character Nick is originally a white Jewish boy. Berlanti instead cast Dominican-born Jorge Lendeborg Jr. in the role.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/1/0/766910.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES Rhed rimn Music inspired the design of the film set. The art department had their own playlist, and they bought tons of albums and scribbled lyrics on Simon's wall to give his bedroom its distinct personality.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/1/3/766913.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES one of the actors came out to his fellow castmates at the wrap party. Keiynan Lonsdale, who plays Bram, had previously told the director that he was bisexual, but never his fellow cast. During the ferris wheel scene, he realized that he had never been open about](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/1/4/766914.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES Nick Robinson cried during that scene with Jennifer Garner. I started crying because those words are kind of universal. The message and the weight that those carry, regardless of your orientation, or who you are... just hearing those words is really powerful.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/1/2/766912.jpg)
![BEHIND THE SCENES The test screenings were pretty special. Fox initially did a screening in front of a young audience in L.A. who erupted in cheers when the ending rolled. But the filmmakers weren't sure if the same reaction would happen in a place like Kansas. So they did a](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/0/8/766908.jpg)