A Prairie Home Companion
A look at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of America's most celebrated radio show, where singing cowboys Dusty and Lefty, a country music siren (Streep), and a host of others hold court.

• Directed by
Robert Altman

• Cast
Woody Harrelson ... Dusty
Tommy Lee Jones ... Axeman
Garrison Keillor ... Garrison 'G.K.' Keillor
Kevin Kline ... Guy Noir
Lindsay Lohan ... Lola Johnson
Virginia Madsen ... Dangerous Woman
John C. Reilly ... Lefty
Maya Rudolph ... Molly
Meryl Streep ... Yolanda Johnson
Lily Tomlin ... Rhonda Johnson
Marylouise Burke ... Lunch Lady
L.Q. Jones ... Chuck Akers
Sue Scott ... Donna
Tim Russell ... Al
Tom Keith ... Sound Effects Man

• Trivia

• Michelle Pfeiffer was originally slated to play the Dangerous Woman, but then backed out of the project.
  
  
• George Clooney was offered the role of detective Guy Noir, but was forced to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts.
  
  
• Tom Waits and Lyle Lovett were originally slated to play singing cowboys Lefty and Dusty.
  

• For insurance purposes, and in the event that 80-year-old director Robert Altman was unable to finish shooting the film, Paul Thomas Anderson was employed as a standby director.
  
  
• Robert Altman's last movie.
  
  
• Originally, Robert Altman didn't like the character of the Dangerous Woman and reduced her role significantly. Virginia Madsen was able to convince him otherwise.
  
  
• Shot largely on-site at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota, the home of the actual A Prairie Home Companion radio show.
  
  
• The Fitzgerald Theatre is in downtown St. Paul and is the real home of the radio show "A Prairie Home Companion".
  
  
• Maya Rudolph, who plays the pregnant character Molly, was actually pregnant during the filming of the movie.
  
  
• "The Penguin Joke" was first featured on the Joke Show several years ago. Garrison Keillor mangled the delivery of the joke badly and ever since then the joke has regularly resurfaced on the show.
  
  
• When 'Kevin Kline (I)' 's character pops the cork off a bottle of champagne, the cork shoots off-camera and hits director Robert Altman in the forehead. A small cry of "OW!" can be heard and Kline says, "Sorry!" without breaking character.
  
  
• Instead of pre-recording their parts in studio sessions, cast members performed live in the theater, singing and playing their own instruments.
  
  
• Meryl Streep's mother-in-law helped her practice the Midwestern accent necessary for this role.
  
  
• Garrison Keillor got the name Lola for Lindsay Lohan's character from the song "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets" after Lohan successfully lobbied for a place in the film, even though there was no part written for her in the original script.
  
  
• The name for the character, Chuck Akers, comes from the name Garrison Keillor's friend Chet Atkins uses when he checks into hotel rooms
  
  
• Was originally going to be titled 'The Last Broadcast