1. Love, Simon is the first rom-com produced by a major Hollywood studio to feature a gay teen protagonist. But director Greg Berlanti is also responsible for another significant milestone – the first romantic gay kiss on network TV. As showrunner of Dawson's Creek, he threatened to quit if the network didn't allow Jack to kiss his male love interest on screen.
2. Berlanti took inspiration from classic John Hughes movies on everything from the framing of scenes to the soundtrack and score. He wanted to give the movie a nostalgic feel while still keeping it contemporary.
3. Nick Robinson's role in The Kings of Summer convinced Berlanti that he'd be perfect for the lead role of Simon.
4. Robinson didn't want to do any more high school movies, but he was so keen to do Love, Simon, he broke his own rule.
5. Katherine Langford, who plays Leah, read the script for Love, Simon while filming the first season of 13 Reasons Why and was drawn to the love story. She went straight into working on Love, Simon off the back of her 13 Reasons Why press tour.
6. Berlanti made Robinson watch Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway to help him prepare for the role of Simon, because he saw a lot of similarities between each story.
7. The main cast spent nearly two weeks in rehearsal before filming began to experiment and bond. Berlanti wanted them to get close off screen so that their friendship would feel more natural and authentic on screen.
8. During filming, Langford and Robinson would go out to dinner to connect more as friends, and the whole cast also went away together for the Easter long weekend.
9. The cast had a group chat with Berlanti, and then their own separate one that he wasn't allowed in.
10. Becky Albertalli, the author of the book the movie is based on, worked with the screenwriters to make sure moments from the book that were important to fans were included in the movie – such as the significance of Oreos in Simon and Blue's relationship.
11. The character of Ethan doesn't exist in the book, but Albertalli said he is like an "adopted child" to her, because she loves him and what he adds to the story so much.
12. The big scene between Simon and his mother, which made everyone cry, wasn't in the original script. It was Jennifer Garner's idea to add the special mother/son moment, which was also partially inspired by Berlanti's own experiences.
13. The art department took a lot of inspiration for the design of the film – and Simon's bedroom in particular – from music. You can listen to their playlist here.
14. Some of the messages on Simon's chalkboard walls were written by Becky Albertalli. (You can spot "hour to hour, note to note" amongst the scribbles, which is an Elliott Smith lyric that Simon uses as his email address in the book. In the movie, he uses a lyric from The Kinks' song "Waterloo Sunset" for his email.)
15. The art department built the carnival featured at the end from scratch, and it was fully functioning. The cast went on the rides when they weren’t filming.
16. Keiynan Lonsdale, who plays Bram, came out to the cast on the last day of filming Love, Simon. He came out publicly a few weeks later.
17. Lonsdale cried the first time he watched the movie because he'd never felt so represented on screen before.
18. An eight minute-long scene was cut from the movie which features Nick taking Simon to a gay bar, where he meets a character played by Colton Haynes. It takes place after Simon is outed, but before he goes back to school. It was cut because it slowed the movie down too much.
19. There were more than 20 takes of the big kissing scene at the end, to make sure it was "magical".
20. Langford has said she'd be open to starring in a sequel to Love, Simon based on Albertalli's upcoming Leah-focused book, Leah on the Offbeat.
21. You can email Simon and Blue and get a response. Try it: frommywindow1@gmail.com and blugreen118@gmail.com.