For scheduling reasons, Julia Roberts and George Clooney worked together very little in this film. All of the 'Money Monster' TV show, within the movie, were shot first, using both broadcast TV cameras and movie cameras. Then the entire TV show and everything that happened in the TV studio and was seen in the control room and broadcast live was edited and synchronized together. Then synchronized playback filling all 140 monitors in a working CBS control room, was played back for each scene with Julia Roberts interacting with the prerecorded George Clooney on the screens. The control room scenes were shot at the CBS Broadcast Center in an actual working control room. Pre-recorded clips of the TV studio were played back on various locations so that actors could react to the 'live' TV show. The 'Money Monster' studio set was built at Kauffman Astoria Studios and all scenes happening on that set were shot several weeks before the control room scenes were shot. George Clooney and Julia Roberts were briefly together for a scene on the TV studio floor set and for the hospital scene at the end of the film.
When Patty is in the van with the computer tech, they try to figure out what "Mambo" might mean. While searching online, the tech suggests "Mambo Italiano", a song by George Clooney's aunt, Rosemary Clooney.
Screenplay Recognition: The screenplay for Money Monster was featured in the 2014 Blacklist, a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year.
Character Inspiration: The character of Lee Gates, portrayed by George Clooney, was not based on any specific real-life individual. However, the film's premise drew inspiration from the world of financial television and the public's distrust of financial pundits.