Looper came out nearly a decade ago already, and fans are starting to reflect on just how much they loved this movie. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Joe, a “looper” —or a contract killer whose final contract involves killing their own future self. This movie also stars Bruce Willis as the future version of Joe —or Old Joe.
While viewers finally understand the plot of Looper, there might actually still be some trivia they didn’t know. Over the years, Rian Johnson and other crew members have revealed quite a few behind-the-scenes secrets most viewers never even knew about Looper.
10 Rian Johnson & Joseph Gordon-Levitt Collaborated Before This Movie
Looper was not actually the first time that Rian Johnson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt ever collaborated on a movie together. Previously, Rian Johnson wrote and directed the movie Brick, which starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan Frye, a high school student who receives an unexpected phone call that kicks off a wild story afterward.
Rian Johnson also wrote and directed The Brothers Bloom. While Joseph Gordon-Levitt didn’t star in this movie, he did a cameo as a bar patron in the film, marking their second collaboration before Looper came around.
9 Joseph Gordon-Levitt Studied Bruce Willis’ Mannerisms
In order to accurately portray a younger version of Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt knew that he had to truly study exactly how Bruce moved, talked, and acted. Not only was he actually fitted and costumed with hours of prosthetics every day on set, but Joseph studied Bruce Willis even when he was at home.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt later revealed that he scrutinized Bruce’s performances in his past films to such a degree that Bruce was even able to recognize the mannerisms that Joseph adapted and imitated.
8 Emily Blunt Joined The Cast Before She Even Finished Reading The Script
One of the most important characters in Looper, after both versions of Joe, is Emily Blunt’s Sara. Not only do viewers love this film, but Emily Blunt does, too —and did as soon as she read the script.
Emily Blunt actually revealed, after the movie began, that she agreed to appear in the film before she had even finished reading the script. In fact, she had barely read half of it before she agreed to star in Looper. At that point, Emily Blunt had not even known who she was going to play —she just knew she wanted to be involved.
7 Joseph Gordon-Levitt Celebrated His 30th Birthday On Set
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been acting since he was a very young child, and so he has likely celebrated quite a few holidays on the set of different movies and television shows over the years. One of those holidays, as it turns out, was his thirtieth birthday, which took place during the filming of Looper.
While Joseph Gordon-Levitt was filming a stunt in which he’s meant to fall off a fire escape, the crew kept him trapped up on his stunt wires. As a result, Joseph had to hang there while the cast and crew presented him with a birthday cake and sang “Happy Birthday” to him to celebrate the day.
6 Noah Segan Actually Learned How To Spin A Gun Around One Finger
Another performer in Looper was Noah Segan, who portrayed the character of Kid Blue. There’s a move that Kid Blue is meant to pull off in the movie, where he spins a gun around his finger. In the film, he tries to spin the hefty gun around his finger but nearly drops the weapon.
As such, it seems that Noah isn’t actually capable of doing this. However, fans might be surprised to learn that Noah Segan actually took quite a few classes in order to be taught how to spin the gun around his finger. He successfully spun it in multiple takes, but Rian Johnson ended up using the one where he messed up simply because he thought it was the funniest and best take.
5 Joe’s Car Is A Nostalgic Reference To The 1990s
One of Joe’s identifying characteristics in Looper is his interest in the 20th century. While most people are reflecting with nostalgia on times like the 1950s or the 1980s in recent memory, Looper presents Joe, a man nostalgic for the 1990s as if they happened an eon ago.
Looper does take place in the future, and so this nostalgia seems appropriate for the character. Joe even drives a very specific car —a mark 1 Mazda MX5, also known as a Miata, which was manufactured —and relatively popular— in the 1990s.
4 Joe Can’t Speak French —But Joseph Gordon-Levitt Can
In the movie Looper, Joe is shown multiple times attempting to learn the French language. This is something that Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character, Cameron James, similarly struggled with in the film 10 Things I Hate About You.
This is somewhat funny because, in real life, Joseph Gordon-Levitt can actually speak French fluently. In Looper, Joe was originally intended to be learning French because he wanted to move to Paris, though this location was later changed to Shanghai in the film due to budgeting constraints.
3 Bruce Willis Can’t Stop Meeting His Younger Self
This movie is not the first time that Bruce Willis has time-traveled. In fact, Looper isn’t even the first time that Bruce Willis moved in time and encountered a younger version of himself in the process. This has previously happened twice to Bruce Willis.
The first time was in the film 12 Monkeys, when he plays James Cole, a man who saw his own future murder as a child. The second time was in the movie The Kid, in which Bruce played Russ Duritz, a man whose younger self comes to convince him to follow his dreams.
2 417 W. Chariton Street Is An Homage To Rian Johnson’s Screenwriter Friends
One of the addresses used in the movie Looper is 417 W. Chariton Street. Fans who are looking for a real location may be disappointed, but those looking for a behind-the-scenes secret would be pleasantly surprised to find that W. Chariton Street is actually a reference to Rian Johnson’s friends.
Two of his friends, Dan and Stacy Chariton, are screenwriters who have written such movies like The English Teacher, as well as runs on Marvel Comics such as “The Silver Surfer.”
1 The Diner From The Movie Was A Real Diner —In A Way
The diner that is used in some of Looper’s most important moments is actually a real diner, in its own special way. The diner did not exist before the movie, nor is it technically a real diner. The diner was constructed outside of New Orleans, in Thibodaux, Louisiana, to be used to film both the interior and exterior shots for the film.
However, people who lived around the area started to actually show onto the set. They even began asking the film crew when the new diner would be opening.
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