'The Holdovers' trivia and fun facts
Graduated actors
The protagonist Paul Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph are graduates of the prestigious Yale School of Drama.
Reality coincidence
Barton Academy in Western Massachusetts founded in 1797. Deerfield Academy, where Dominic Sessa graduated in 2022, is a true private school in Western Massachusetts also founded in 1797.
Difficult scene
Dominic Sessa said that the hardest scene for him to shoot was the ice skating scene. He found it difficult to fall on command since he had formerly been a hockey player.
Debut
Dominic Sessa's on-screen debut. Sessa had only acted on stage in plays at Deerfield, Massachusetts, before acting in this movie.
Expensive sale
Focus Features bought worldwide rights for the film for $30 million after screening for buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022. It is the biggest sale to ever happen at the festival, despite it not being on the roster that year.
Added in post-production
Even though the movie features a film look reminiscent of the 1970s, the movie was entirely shot digitally on the ARRI Alexa Mini. All the hallmarks of celluloid film, like the film grain, halation, dirt, and gate weave, were added in post-production.
Without set
The entire film was shot in real locations. No sets or soundstages were used.