• The film shoot took place in New Jersey from June 28th to July 30th (Note:  filming actually wrapped at 7:00am on the 31st). Some missing scenes were later filmed on Friday, November 5th, 2004, and a closing credits dance sequence was filmed at some point after the film's Sundance premiere in January of 2005.
• Jerri's freak-out at Monica's party, right after she takes one hit off of a joint, was inspired by a scene in the 1981 After-School Special, "Angel Dusted," in which Helen Hunt takes a hit off a PCP-laced doobie and jumps out a window.
• If anything ever deserved a "Crazy Credits" mention at the IMDB it's the one at the end of Strangers With Candy that says "Digital Penis Removal."  After seeing the SWC movie at Sundance (in January 2005) I'd suspected that they'd never get away with keeping the quick background shots of erect penises that could be seen lining the door frame in Jerri's bedroom (she had male porn star playing cards taped up around the door). I'd also suspected that the penises were probably a big part of the reason behind Warner Independent's decision to cancel their distribution deal, because there's no greater threat to American society than even a hint of an erect penis. So watch the closing credits with your friends and give them a little chuckle by pointing out the "Digital Penis Removal" credit when it comes up.
• After David Letterman's Worldwide Pants came through with the money to produce the film (after a secret investor had backed out) a line of dialogue was written into the party scene at Monica's house to plug Letterman's Explod-O-Pop popcorn.
• The first choice to direct the film was Juan Jose Campanella, who directed many of the series' best episodes, but he had a scheduling conflict and couldn't do it.
• Amy Sedaris wanted to get Willie Nelson to play Jerri's father, Guy Blank, because she thought that people would like Jerri more if she had such a cool dad.
• Unlike the series, in which Guy Blank's catatonic state was never acknowledged, they decided to explain his condition in the film by saying that he went into a grief-induced coma after Jerri ran away from home. What they don't explain, however, is how Guy could have courted, married, and impregnated Sara during his long period of inanimation. I like to think that perhaps she just moved into this catatonic man's home, like a squatter, and got a Justice of the Peace friend of hers to marry them.
• Just as Rocky Horror Picture Show fan Sal Piro, president of the National Rocky Horror fan club, was given a cameo in the film's sequel, Shock Treatment, I was rewarded with a non-speaking role as a Flatpoint High School faculty member in the Teacher's Lounge scene in which Matthew Broderick's character, Roger Beekman, is introduced. To date, this is the only movie scene in which Broderick and his wife Sarah Jessica Parker, who played Flatpoint grief counselor Peggy Callas, have appeared together. While spending the day on the set with the two, I mentioned to Sarah Jessica that it was kind of ironic that I was a high school student at the time when I first saw her as she was portraying a high school student in the 1982 TV show "Square Pegs", and the first time I'd seen her husband was when he played a high school student in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and there we all were, two decades later, all playing high school teachers at the same school. The experience more than made up for the fact that I'd missed the opportunity to take Stephen Colbert up on his offer for me to appear in the final closing credits dance sequence for the series' last episode, "The Last Temptation of Blank", when I'd spent the day on the set back in 2000.
• Jerri has a picture of Socrates, Carlo Alban's pet monkey from when he was a kid, in her locker.
• July 9th, the day on which the Teacher's Lounge scene was shot, was the only day of the movie shoot in which Amy Sedaris was not required to be on set. She showed up anyway, after having brainstormed an idea the previous day for her to do an unplanned cameo in the scene as the Lounge's cocktail waitress. She, Todd Oldham, Victoria Farrell, and I all tossed around ideas about the character: she's a Russian immigrant (Tatiana? Svetlana? Anastasia?) with a cocaine habit and no eyebrows. The make-up artist took care of the eyebrow situation and a little powdered sugar from a craft services doughnut served as the coke.
• Amy Sedaris's crafts club and people from Todd Oldham's studio, including Todd himself, made most of the Science Fair projects, posters, and props for the film's climactic scene.
• According to Dr. Putney (Sir Ian Holm), Jerri Blank was the only baby that he ever delivered who was born with a full set of teeth, and he claims to have the scars to prove it.
• After Sir Ian Holm's son, a "Strangers With Candy" fan, convinced him to appear in the film, the writers considered naming his character Dr. Baggins in honor of his Lord of the Rings Hobbit character, Bilbo Baggins.
• It was originally reported in TV Guide and other places that Sarah Jessica Parker would be playing a "very funny, sexy French teacher".  Although it probably would have been easy to write jokes involving a French teacher it was probably too difficult to weave her into the storyline.  The presence of Parker's grief counselor, Peggy Callas, makes more sense in the plot.
• The role of Alice, played by Allison Janney ("The West Wing", Drop Dead Gorgeous), was originally intended for Amy Sedaris's Maid in Manhattan co-star, Natasha Richardson; however, she was in France at the time that the scene was to be filmed. If they couldn't get Allison Janney, the next actress on their wish list was Joan Allen (The Bourne Supremacy, Pleasantville). They also considered the possibility of retailoring the part for Jennifer Coolidge (Legally Blonde, Best in Show).
• Amy Sedaris previously worked with Allison Janney in a brief scene at the beginning of the Harrison Ford film, Six Days, Seven Nights. Amy had also worked on stage with Callie Thorne in "The Country Club" and with Sarah Jessica Parker in "Wonder of the World."  Amy and Sarah Jessica became fast friends and Amy soon had a recurring role on Sarah Jessica's hit HBO series, "Sex & and the City", as Courtney Masterson, Carrie Bradshaw's book publisher. David Rakoff and Amy's brother David have been friends for many years, and Rakoff worked with Amy on stage in the Talent Family's play "The Book of Liz."  Rakoff and Amy both also appeared in the short film, "Bad Bosses Go To Hell."  Paul Dinello had previously worked for producers Mark Roberts and Lorena David in their 1997 film, Plump Fiction.  Other celebs making cameos in the SWC movie—Matthew Broderick, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Justin Theroux, Kristen Johnston, Todd Oldham—have been close friends of Amy Sedaris for years.
• Roger Beekman appears on the cover of Science Teacher Weekly.
• David Rakoff's character, Boswell, is named for James Boswell (1740-95), a Scottish lawyer whose chronicle of the life of English lexicographer and poet Samuel Johnson (1709-84) is considered to be one of the first true biographies.
• Geoffrey Jellineck was rejected by the Peace Corps.
• Sara was a stewardess before she marryied Guy Blank.
• Brason's locker is number 3093.
• The Fagan family, members of which appeared in almost every episode of "Strangers With Candy", visited the Science Fair set on July 21, 2004.  Liz Fagan returned to the set on July 30, 2004, the final night of filming, to watch them shoot the party scene at Monica's house. Tim Fagan can be seen in the "Sniper Drill" deleted scene on the DVD. He can be seen on the left side of the frame, beneath the window.
• Amy Sedaris wanted to do a cameo as Principal Blackman's mother, who would have had a gambling problem and been chained to a radiator.
• According to a sign on the cafeteria wall ("For a good time call Jerri"), the Blank's phone number is 555-6175.
• Ileana Douglas and Jason Biggs were among the stars who wanted parts in the film.
• Canadian actor and former Abercrombie & Fitch model Taylor Kitsch was supposed to have a role in the movie (Brason?), but the Vancouver native had to bow out because of work-visa problems. He went on to appear in three other summer 2006 films, though: The Covenant, Snakes on a Plane, and John Tucker Must Die.
• Carlo Alban's character, Megawatti, was named for Megawati Sukarnoputri (born 23 January 1947), former President of Indonesia (July 2001 - October 2004).  Some Indonesian sources spell her name Soekarnoputri.  Sukarnoputri means "daughter of Sukarno" and it is not the former President's surname: Javanese do not have surnames.  She should simply be referred to as Megawati or Mega.
• Carlo Alban auditioned for, and was the top choice for the role that went to Orlando Pabotoy on the "Strangers With Candy" TV series.
• When Noblet enters his classroom after the Teachers Lounge scene the formula on the blackboard is for trinitrotoluene (aka TNT).
• Mark Ibold, former bassist for Pavement, designed the Fig Neutrons shirts.
• The prison scenes, at the beginning of the film, were the first ones shot. And the party at Monica's house was the last day of filming.
• When Noblet says to Jerri, "I kill you," during the scene in which she tries to come up with a new Science Fair idea, Colbert was doing an hommage to William Shatner's Captain Kirk, who said that line to Leonard Limoy as Mr. Spock. Also in the same scene, when the students are supporting the prostrate Noblet, the visual imagery references Michelangelo's Pietá, among other artistic rendition's of Christ after his descent from the cross.
• Chuck reads a passage of "Galileo's Letters to the Corinthians" (chapter 3, verse 16) to his class from his "science" text book (page 15):  "And when the demon did give me the telescope I was sore afraid, for the lights of heaven were beyond my knowing."
• The moment in which Jerri stabs Derrick's hand with a fork is reminiscent of a similar hand stabbing in the John Waters film Desperate Living.
• Sarah Jessica Parker (Peggy Callas) played Dan Hedaya's (Guy Blank) mistress in the 1996 comedy The First Wives Club.

 
 
Deleted Scenes
(These scenes were cut due to budgetary and/or time constraints)

• There was a prison scene that was supposed to be shown at the beginning of the film, a portion of which was included in a montage, in which Jerri was being led to a cell by one inmate, thinking that she was going to be ambushed, but it turned out that she was being given a surprise going-away party. Before she realized her mistake, Jerri had already stuck the woman who'd brought her to the cell in the stomach with a shiv. Chandra Wilson, from the ABC hit "Grey's Anatomy," appears in this scene, which is included as part of the DVD's Deleted Scenes feature. Many other prison sequences were not included with the Deleted Scenes, but portions of some were used during the montage.
• Much more footage of Jerri's ride on the prison bus was filmed, but doesn't appear with the Deleted Scenes on the DVD. Amy Sedaris's brother Paul played the part of the bus driver, and his wife Kathy was a passenger.
• An extension of the scene in which Sara agrees to let Jerri stay in her old room shows Jerri actually entering the room and settling herself on the bed. The room is to clean and prissy for her taste, though. This extension appears on the DVD.
• An extension of the scene in which Sara drives Jerri to school shows Jerri turning on the car radio, which is playing Delano Grove's "Atomic Car," and Sara promptly turning the radio off again. This extension can be seen on the DVD.
• An extension of the scene in which Blackman frets about the money he owes Nico shows him talking to the school mascot, telling him to keep the costume clean to cut back on dry-cleaning bills.
• A quick clip of Jerri slipping and falling in the hallway can be seen on the DVD.
• A hallway scene involving a sniper drill can be seen on the DVD.  The sound shooting fills a hallway and students drop to the floor. Then Blackman announces that it was just a drill and the students rise and continue on their way as though nothing unusual happened.
• Callie Thorne and Billy Erb originally had dialogue during the Teacher's Lounge scene—the one in which Matthew Broderick's character was introduced. Their excised conversation would have alluded to another deleted scene of students going wild and throwing desks out of the windows of an adjoining classroom, while their teachers are all in the Lounge, leaving their pupils unattended. These clips don't appear with the DVD's deleted scenes.
• After the clips of rioting students, there was a scene in which Noblet storms down the hallway after leaving the Lounge and, upon returning to his classroom, finds Megawatti at the blackboard teaching his class. This can be seen on the DVD.
• The character played by Cal Robertson, Les Tuckles, was cut from a scene that was to take place just before Jerri enters the office of Grief Counselor, Peggy Callas. The joke was supposed to involve the fact that Ms. Callas has a habit of flirting with guys who are unavailable, uninterested, or who just happen to prefer other guys. Peggy still mentions Les at the end of the scene, though. She lets Jerri know that it's Les's fault that she runs out of time and has to cut the appointment short. The joke about Peggy's predilection for uninterested men was also tied to another deleted portion of the Teacher's Lounge scene in which Peggy tries to flirt with Geoffrey Jellineck, who is clearly unavailable to her. Plus, in another deleted/extended scene that can be found on the DVD, Peggy enters the Faculty Steam Room after Geoffrey leaves and asks Chuck what he thinks of her legs.
• The scene in which Jerri eats popcorn while trying to come up with Science Fair ideas was intended to be longer. After Jerri falls asleep there was supposed to be a lot of street noise (traffic, construction) that failed to waken, but as soon as she heard a can opener in the kitchen she sprung awake. This joke was inspired by Paul's late dog, Cagney. Another Cagney-inspired scene involved Jerri's toenails clicking on the tiled flooring at Monica's house.
• There was a locker room scene in which Jerri was trying to have a serious conversation with Tammi, but she kept getting distracted by all of the teen girls getting undressed around her. A portion of this scene appears as part of the DVD's Deleted Scenes feature.
• There's an alternate version of the scene in which Beekman tells his Science Fair team about pizzazz. This can be seen on the DVD.
• The scene in which Geoffrey shows Roger the team's "Atomic Car" dance routine can be seen on the DVD.
• An extension of the scene in which Blackman runs out of the Faculty Steam Room in a thong can be seen on the DVD.
• The scene in which Jellineck has his class outside in the parking lot was actually longer. They filmed a moment when Justin Theroux's character, Carlo Honklin, drives through in a Drivers Ed car. Theroux almost didn't make it to the set because his dog was sick, so Stephen Colbert dressed as Carlo and was going to fill in, but Theroux showed up in time for his scene. This footage does not appear with the Deleted Scenes on the DVD.
• A scene in which Jerri goes into her parents' bedroom to seek Guy's advice ("I'm in a K-hole") and finds Stew in bed with them can be seen on the DVD.
• A funny, but unnecessary, scene in which Jerri packs her things to run away can be seen on the DVD. She takes a pillow out of its pillowcase and begins to stuff a number of large items into the empty pillowcase, not realizing that everything is falling through a hole at the other end. Then after stuffing the pillow itself back into the pillowcase, along with a blanket, she sets it down on top of the pile of items and leaves it just leaves it there.
• Before Roger's team performs at the Science Fair, Blackman says a team prayer, asking the Almighty to crush their godless opponents, and invoking Einstein, who is rotting in his Hebrew hell. This lovely prayer can be seen and heard on the DVD.
• The montage in which Noblet finds Jellineck on the floor after the Science Fair stampede and then sees his wife and son actually had dialogue. This extended scene can be seen on the DVD.
• Although the Teacher's Lounge scene marks the first time that Matthew Broderick and his real-life wife Sarah Jessica Parker have appeared together in a film, their characters didn't have any interaction. However, a scene had been filmed in which Roger Beekman and Peggy Callas would have gone off together after the Science Fair at the end of the movie. This appears as one of the Deleted Scenes on the DVD.
• Blackman's bookie, Nico, was supposed to show up at the Science Fair to collect the money that Onyx owed him, then Nico was to be injured during the "explosion" of the winning competition entry, but the scene was cut. It does not appear on the DVD as a Deleted Scene either.
• Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert came up with a scenario years ago, probably during their Second City days, in which two closeted guys would get into a fender-bender and then have sex in one guy's vehicle while the other guy's children were waiting in his car. They intended to work this into a "Strangers With Candy" episode, but never got around to it. They wrote this scenario into the movie script and Jonah Bobo was cast as Noblet's son Shamus, and Stephen's real-life wife, Evelyn McGee, was cast as Noblet's wife Clair, who would coincidentally drive by the accident scene and wave to her hubby. Due to time and budget constraints the scene was never filmed. Clair does appear at the end of the film, at the Science Fair, holding Shamus.