This film was written specifically with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Jack Black in mind.
Miles's (Jack Black) studio setup, seen in the opening scene, with keyboard, monitors, sound modules, etc., was copied directly from the studio of Hans Zimmer, who composed the score for the film.
The website Amanda and Iris use to exchange houses is a real website, homeexchange.com.
The house used for Arthur Abbot's (Eli Wallach) house belonged to actress Phyllis Diller at the time of shooting, and is located in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, California.
Dustin Hoffman: man in the video store muttering over Miles' comments on the score from Le lauréat (1967).