Trivia for
The Pianist (2002) More at IMDbPro »

• Adrien Brody lost 14 kg (31 lb) for the role of Wladyslaw Szpilman by eating a daily diet of two boiled eggs and green tea for breakfast, a little chicken for lunch, and a small piece of fish or chicken with steamed vegetables for dinner over a six week period. Initially his weight was 73 kg (161 lb).
  
  
• During the shooting of the movie, while scouting locations in Krakow, Roman Polanski met a man who had helped Polanski's family survive the war.
  
  
• Lew Rywin (the producer) was supposed to play the "Customer with Coins" who quiets Szpilman in restaurant. Because of Rywin's unexpected sunburn, the role was eventually given to Zbigniew Zamachowski.
  
  
• Roman Polanski provides the voice of the man waiting to cross the street who complains about a Gentile street being built in the ghetto.
  
  
• In order to connect with the feeling of loss required to play the role, Adrien Brody got rid of his apartment, sold his car, and didn't watch television.
  
  
• Over 1,400 actors auditioned for the role of Wladyslaw Szpilman at a casting call in London. Unsatisfied with all who tried, director Roman Polanski sought to cast Adrien Brody, who he saw as ideal for the role during their first meeting in Paris, around the time Brody was shooting The Affair of the Necklace (2001).
  
  
• Proceeds from the Amsterdam, Netherlands premiere were donated to the Anne Frank House.
  
  
• The scene in which Wladyslaw Szpilman is saved from going to the concentration camps and is told "Don't run!" is inspired by a similar event in director Roman Polanski's life.
  
  
• This is the first film ever to receive the Best Film Award at the Césars (France's national film award) with not a single word of French spoken in it.
  
  
• "Szpilman" sounds like the German word "Spielmann", meaning bandsman or minstrel, hence Hosenfeld's remark that it is a "good name for a pianist."
  
  
• Chosen by "Telerama" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2002 (#06)
  
  
• Jurek's voice is dubbed by Roman Polanski.
  
  
• Production of the film was stopped and delayed for one day following the death of associate producer Rainier Schaper. The film was dedicated to him.
  
  
• The music Wladyslaw Szpilman plays on the piano is Frederic Chopin's Nocturne No.1 in C# Minor.
  
  
• The music played for the German officer in the film was actually an edit of Chopin Ballade No.1 in G Minor, (Op. 23, No. 1). In real life, Wladyslaw Szpilman played the Nocturne mentioned above.
  
  
• Daniel Szpilman, the real grandson of the main character Wladyslaw Szpilman, plays the part of the boy in the ghetto (on the market place and later again on the Umschlagplatz).
  
  
• The film is based on the memoirs of Wladyslaw Szpilman. The director Roman Polanski tried to make the film as faithful of an adaptation as possible, with additional inspiration coming from events that happened to him while he was a boy during the war.
  
  
• Last feature film of Cyril Shaps.
  
  
• Adrien Brody became the youngest person to date to win an Academy Award for Best Actor when he won for this film at the age of 29.
  
  

• SPOILER: A nuance for those who don't speak German: In general, the German officers use the informal version of "you" ("du," etc.) when talking to the Jews, which reflects their views (you wouldn't talk to adult strangers that way); however, Hosenfeld (the officer who discovers Szpilman in hiding) always uses the proper formal form ("Sie," etc.) because of the way he personally feels.
  
  
• SPOILER: The music playing out of the truck toward the end of the film is the Polish National Anthem, which is why Szpilman knows he is safe.
  
  

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