- George Clooney, who was the first choice for private investigator Guy Nou, agreed to play the role, but had to withdraw due to a conflict between the shooting schedule and another film.
- Fearing that 81-year-old Robert Altman would be unable to make the film due to some "unexpected circumstances", the distributor brought in Paul Thomas Anderson as a backup director.
- The film was all shot inside the Fitzgerald Grand Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota, the home of the real-life "A Prairie Home Companion."
- The voices of the singing and musical instruments were recorded synchronously on the spot, not pre-recorded, and then synthesized into the film later, and the performers were all the staff of the Grand Theater.
- Meryl Streep's Midwestern accent in the film was taught by her mother-in-law .
A Prairie Home Companion behind the scenes gags
A Prairie Home Companion quotes
-
Garrison Keillor: Are you tired of your current herring? Has it lost that certain something that you expect in a pickled fish product? If so, maybe it's time you try Jens Jenson. It's the Lake Superior herring that's made the old-fashioned Norwegian way.
-
Yolanda Johnson: What are you writin'?
Lola Johnson: A poem.
Yolanda Johnson: Oh, a poem. What's it about?
Lola Johnson: Suicide..
Rhonda Johnson: Oh, my God.
Yolanda Johnson: Oh. Okay. Well, you know what my philosophy is.
Lola Johnson: Yes, I do, so don't tell me.
Yolanda Johnson: I think that you gotta be grateful for everything that happens to you because that's what got you here, you know? And if you hadn't gone through all the things that you went through, why, you know, you wouldn't have wound up where you are now. So, I don't know. Disappointment doesn't get you anywhere.