Catch Me If You Can
2002 film by Steven Spielberg
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- Steven Spielberg: (flashlights) At the beginning of the film, Carl shines one on the captured Frank Abagnale's face.
- All road and concrete surfaces are wet in every shot, even though all scenes take place in sunny weather. Many cinematographers simply prefer the look of wet roads.
- The FBI officer who was chasing Frank was really Joe Shea. Frank Abagnale Jr. used the pseudonym "Sean O'Reilly" in his book because Joe Shea was still in the F. B. I. He has since passed away.
- The scenes in the French classroom and the library were filmed at McKinley School in Pasadena, CA. During spring break, about six months after the film's release, the production crew removed all of the set pieces the school had been using, to the school administration's surprise.
- In one deleted scene, Frank Abagnale Jr. dresses as a security guard and stands outside a bank's night deposit box, so people will give money to him instead of putting it in the box. During filming, despite the cameras, real people came up to Leonardo DiCaprio and tried to give him their money.
- The production made use of around 157 locations throughout North America.
- When it appeared that Gore Verbinski would direct, Chloë Sevigny and Ed Harris were both considered for roles.
- During the scene where Frank Abagnale Jr. gets his suit tailored to resemble James Bond, he refers to himself as Mr. Fleming. This is in reference to Ian Fleming, the original author of the James Bond books.
- When Frank Abagnale Jr. begins recruiting decoy flight attendants; when announcing the girls picked he announces the actresses by real name.
- Max Spielberg: Steven Spielberg's son, sitting behind Leonardo DiCaprio during both parts of the airplane scene.
- The blackboard that Carl Hanratty is writing on toward the end of the movie contains a small note at the bottom that says, "Steven and Tom's 4th project". Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, had previously collaborated on Band of Brothers (2001) , Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Joe Versus the Volcano (1990).
- The opening title sequence is created by the duo Olivier Kuntzel + Florence Deygas. The "stamp style animation" lasts roughly 2 minutes 30 seconds and features silhouettes of the main characters acting out the plot of the film, even down to the smallest details. In a interview, Kuntzel + Deygas described they created this sequence by "stylistically transposing the handmade design of Saul Bass using decidedly modern means" and required that actual rubber stamps be carved out for each character featured.
- Frank Abagnale Jr.: The real Frank W. Abagnale Jr arrests Leonardo DiCaprio in France, he is the man in the coat and hat who pins Leonardo against the police car.
- The Aston Martin DB5 that was seen in the movie was sourced by Autosport Designs, Inc. of Huntington Station, New York, a specialist exotic car dealership. Dreamworks contacted Autosport Designs and asked if they could supply a silver DB5. However they did not have one in stock and instead contacted a customer and arranged for his car to be used. The car is the same make and model used in the movie Goldfinger (1964), one of Steven Spielberg's personal favorite films.
- The first cut of the film was about 80% authentic, as quoted at the epilogue of Abagnale's book. Some scenes were corrected, added and change as per request of the real Frank Abagnale Jr. to ensure total authenticity.
- Jennifer Garner shot her scenes in one day.
- Cans and reels were shipped to cinemas under the code name "The Doctor".
- The arrest scene in France was actually shot in Place Royale, Quebec City. The church in the background is called Notre-Dame-des-Victoires and the bust in the middle of the place is of Louis XIV.
- Steven Spielberg's original choice for the role of Frank Abagnale Jr. was Johnny Depp.
- According to Box Office Mojo, Catch Me If You Can is the sixth highest grossing film for Dreamworks SKG. The films above it being Shrek 2, Shrek, Saving Private Ryan, Madagascar, and Gladiator.
- The story of Frank Abagnale Jr.'s exploits had one of the longest and most difficult journeys from its first pitch to its eventual production. In 1981 it was originally announced that his story would be filmed and that Frank would be played by Dustin Hoffman.
- Until he saw the results of Leonardo DiCaprio's work, the real Frank Abagnale Jr. didn't think DiCaprio was "suave" enough to play him.
- According to the real Frank Abagnale Jr. approximately 80 percent of the movie is true.
- The film shows Frank Abagnale Jr. on the FBI's Most Wanted list. In real life, however, he never made the list - it's reserved for violent criminals.