FILM · 2000 · USA
Boiler Room
23 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (23)
- #001
An alternate ending in which Seth's (Giovanni Ribisi) real target, Harry (Taylor Nichols), goes to the Boiler Room with guns and appears bent on bloody revenge was scrapped in favor of the FBI ending. The bust is finished. This alternate ending is included on the DVD.
- #002
The film's plot is broadly inspired by the life of Jordan Belfort, whose biography was later portrayed by Martin Scorsese in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013).
- #003
In the scene where Chris (Vin Diesel) and Seth (Giovanni Ribisi) wait outside Greg's (Nicky Katt) house, we never see the car move or run. Before shooting the scene, Ben Affleck had been sitting in the car listening to music and accidentally took the car keys with him. They had to shoot the scene that night but could not find Ben. They shot the scene with the car where it was and lit the house so that neither the camera nor the crew would be reflected.
- #004
Ben Affleck suggested Matt Damon for the role of Seth Davis. Matt dropped out of working on The Bourne Identity (2002).
- #005
Although the film features a significant amount of hip hop songs, there is no official soundtrack containing them, most likely to avoid licensing payments. For this reason, fans of the film created unofficial versions of the soundtrack along with the songs.
- #006
Greg (Nicky Katt) tells Chris (Vin Diesel) to pull "One Race" from his money. Diesel's production company is named One Race Productions.
- #007
Seth Davis is never seen actually earning money throughout the film, whether he is still driving around in his station wagon or traveling with the other characters in high-priced cars. The assumption is that he can never become a successful broker, even though he is the first in his hiring class to open the required 40 accounts. On Wall Street, broker trainees must open 40 accounts for senior brokers and are known as account openers.
- #008
While visiting the office at night, Seth looks at a stack of contracts and notices that they all bear the same names. One of the names is that of co-producer E. Bennett Walsh.
- #009
The chips used in Seth's casino were made by Atlantic Standard Molding (ASM), which produces custom chips for casinos and home games.
- #010
On Wall Street, broker trainees actually earn 300 dollars a week, but in the film Ben says during his speech that they earn 150 dollars a week. These are called cold callers.
- #011
Ben Affleck's speech to the new recruits closely resembles the speech Alec Baldwin gives in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). Affleck took over Baldwin's role from The Hunt for Red October (1990) in The Sum of All Fears (2002), appeared with Baldwin in Pearl Harbor (2001), and impersonated Baldwin in an episode of Saturday Night Live (1975).
- #012
Giovanni Ribisi and Tom Everett Scott appeared in That Thing You Do! (1996). Ribisi played Chad, the band's original drummer, who was replaced by Guy Patterson, played by Scott.
- #013
Giovanni Ribisi and Vin Diesel appeared in Saving Private Ryan (1998). Giovanni Ribisi and Scott Caan also appeared in Gone in 60 Seconds (2000).
- #014
In this film Giovanni Ribisi plays a person who dropped out of Queens College. Writer and director Ben Younger is a Queens College graduate with a degree in political science.
- #015
Although Giovanni Ribisi plays a 19-year-old, he was 25 when the film was released.
- #016
Ben Affleck and Nicky Katt appear in Dazed and Confused (1993) alongside Giovanni Ribisi's twin sister Marissa. Giovanni also appeared in SubUrbia (1996), again directed by Richard Linklater.
- #017
Jim Young's speeches were inspired by Ben Younger's experience of interviewing with a brokerage firm that ultimately turned out to be a pyramid scheme.
- #018
It was released on the same day as Pitch Black (2000), and Vin Diesel appeared in both films.
- #019
Ben Affleck and Nicky Katt had previously appeared in Dazed and Confused (1993).
- #020
Ben Affleck was also shooting Reindeer Games at the same time, so he does not appear in some scenes.
- #021
Ben Younger would only sell his spec script on the condition that he be allowed to direct it. Artisan Entertainment was the only studio to accept these terms, but they dropped the project without producing the film. New Line Cinema took on the project and agreed to let Younger direct.
- #022
Before writing the script, Ben Younger spent two years interviewing stockbrokers and telemarketers.
- #023
Ben Affleck was originally set to play Greg Weinstein and Matt Damon was set to play Seth Davis, but scheduling conflicts with Reindeer Games and Damon leaving the film to make The Bourne Identity resulted in Affleck taking the role of Jim Young, while Nicky Katt took on the role of Greg Weinstein.
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