FILM · 2011 · USA
No Strings Attached
21 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (21)
- #001
Natalie Portman joined the project initially as a producer rather than as a cast member. After taking on the role of Emma, she remained an executive producer. The film is credited in its titles as a production of Portman's company Handsomecharlie Films.
- #002
The song Adam performs for his father's birthday was actually written and composed by Kevin Kline, who plays the character.
- #003
This film is known to be very similar to Friends with Benefits (2011), which starred Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher's real-life partner at the time.
- #004
In the birthday scene, as Adam blows out the candles, the cake bears an image of the Creation of Adam painting. Adding it to the cake was Kevin Kline's idea.
- #005
After Adam's series is recorded, the cognac that Eli and Wallace (Ludacris) drink is Conjure, a cognac brand owned by Ludacris.
- #006
Asked about the sex scenes in an interview, Natalie Portman said: "I'm a very immature person, so I still get quite embarrassed. But yeah, you… I would check in on some of the takes every once in a while to make sure I felt okay. Because sometimes when you see it, like, one of the underwear comes off like we did, and after watching it I thought: Oh, that's not bad, because it was really quick. It wasn't like lingering on anything I did. I checked a little bit, in between takes you kind of go the other way. 'Oh, what are you doing this weekend?' Just a totally well-intentioned conversation in between to make it a little normal."
- #007
Adam tells Emma: "You can't fight me. You're miniature. You're like a tiny Rick Moranis." This film's director, Ivan Reitman, directed Moranis in Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989).
- #008
When Wallace (Ludacris) photographs Adam at a party with two girls, Wallace says that "happy ho-lidays" is a line from Ludacris's 2001 song "Area Codes."
- #009
The script for this film appeared on the 2008 Black List, the list of the year's "most liked" unproduced screenplays.
- #010
It is Ivan Reitman's first R-rated film since Stripes (1981).
- #011
Adam works as the director of the series.
- #012
While Adam's father Alvin is in the hospital, he states that he is 58 years old. Kevin Kline was actually about to turn 63 during production.
- #013
Director Ivan Reitman used Chris Burden's large-scale assemblage sculpture Urban Light for a scene in this film.
- #014
It was sent to theaters under the code name "Dos."
- #015
Ashton Kutcher and Lake Bell had previously worked together on What Happens in Vegas (2008).
- #016
Although Emma is implied to be naked, Natalie Portman's frontal nudity is not shown. When she gets out of bed and dresses, Portman's bare bottom is briefly visible. This is the scene in which they have sex for the second time at Adam's house and agree to be friends with benefits.
- #017
The cast includes two Oscar winners, Natalie Portman and Kevin Kline, and two Oscar nominees, Greta Gerwig and Ivan Reitman, who appears in a small role.
- #018
Cast members Jake Johnson (Eli) and Ophelia Lovibond (Vanessa) would go on to star in Minx (2022).
- #019
Director Ivan Reitman's daughter, actress Catherine Reitman, played a small role in the similarly themed Friends with Benefits (2011).
- #020
The trailers shown during the music video shoot came from Star Wagons, a company founded and run by Lyle Wagoner, the longtime co-star of The Carol Burnett Show and a regular on the first season of Wonder Woman.
- #021
Nasim Pedrad (writer) and Jake Johnson (Eli) were set to appear together in New Girl (2011).
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