Source: http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/the-big-sick/
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 06:57:39+00:00

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Does Kumail Nanjiani play himself in the movie?
Yes. The Big Sick true story reveals that comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani (HBO's Silicon Valley) portrays himself in the movie. It tells the story of the first year of his courtship with his wife Emily V. Gordon, who co-wrote the movie with him.
Did Kumail and Emily meet like they do in the movie?
Yes. "It was a lot like in the movie. She sort of woohoo-ed, heckled me at a comedy show," Kumail said with a smile during an interview with Fabulous TV. "That's how we meet in the movie, and that's how we met in real life too." He said that particular part of the movie is very close to the true story.
"The only difference is that instead of speaking that night after his set, we actually spoke a couple nights later," added Emily. "We kind of both looked for each other that night, but I had to go home or something, and so we ended up meeting a couple nights later."
Where was their first date in real life?
"Our first date was at a restaurant right by my house," said Kumail.
Left: The real Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, who portrays himself in the movie. Right: Actress Zoe Kazan and Kumail in the film.
Did Kumail Nanjiani really work as an Uber driver?
When did Kumail come to America?
Kumail Nanjiani as a boy in Pakistan. He came to America in 1997 for college.
Did Kumail and Emily really have a two-day rule?
Yes. In the movie, Kumail and Emily make a rule that they can see each other no more than two days in a row. When asked about it in an interview with Tribute Magazine, Kumail responded, "That is true. I don't know how she put up with it."
"It feels like the most made up thing [in the movie]," said the real Emily, "and it is absolutely true and somehow I put up with it."
Had the real Emily already been married and divorced when she met Kumail Nanjiani?
Did Kumail really want to look like Hugh Grant in high school?
Kumail's man crush on Hugh Grant is real. He even tweeted a 2017 picture with the actor (bottom).
Did Kumail Nanjiani's wife really become very sick after they started dating?
Yes. "It's sort of based on the first year of our relationship," said Kumail in a Hollywood Reporter interview. "This is true. When Emily and I were dating for a few months she got really sick, and it's sort of about that period in time." Emily's illness occurred in March of 2007 when she was 27 years old, roughly ten years prior to the movie's release.
Did Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon really break up before she got sick?
The real Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon (top) were not broken up when she was in the medically-induced coma. Pictured at the bottom are Nanjiani and the onscreen Emily, portrayed by actress Zoe Kazan.
What disease does Emily Gordon have that made her so sick?
The following day Emily was put into a medically induced coma to prevent her from dying while the doctors had time to figure out what was wrong with her. She underwent lung surgery and ended up remaining in the hospital for almost a month. On day eight of her coma, she was diagnosed with adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD), a rare systemic auto-inflammatory disease that presents with high fevers, severe fatigue, joint pain, swollen lymph nodes, a salmon-pink rash, and in severe cases like Emily's, fluid accumulation in the lungs and heart. It can be managed once diagnosed and is first treated with steroids like prednisone.
Is The Big Sick based on a book?
No. The Big Sick is not based on a book. It is from an original screenplay by the movie's subjects, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon. However, Gordon is a published author and a former couples and family therapist. She wrote the tongue-in-cheek self-help book Super You: Release Your Inner Superhero, published in 2015. The well-reviewed book is infused with humor and references to comics, video games and superheroes, just some of the things she often discussed on her podcast The Indoor Kids, which she hosted with her husband. She has also written for Hello Giggles, Huffington Post, The New York Times, Mashable, The Daily Beast, and Lenny.
The real Emily V. Gordon wrote the tongue-in-cheek self-help book Super You.
Did Kumail really not know Emily's parents at the time she became ill?
Did Emily's father really ask Kumail how he felt about 9/11?
No. During an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Kumail Nanjiani said that Emily's father never asked him what his feelings were on 9/11.
Did Emily's mother really try to attack a racist heckler at his comedy show?
No. One of actress Holly Hunter's best moments in the movie is when her character defends Kumail against a racist frat-boy heckler at his comedy show. It marks the moment that we first visibly see her dislike for Kumail begin to change. It unfolds into an intense scene but we found no evidence of it actually happening in real life.
In real life, did Kumail realize he wanted to marry Emily when she was in a coma?
Yes. It was while Emily was in a medically-induced coma that Kumail realized she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Though it's not shown in the movie, they married just months after she got out of the hospital.
How long was Emily Gordon in a coma?
The real Emily V. Gordon was put into a medically-induced coma for roughly eight days while doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with her.
Were Kumail Nanjiani's parents upset when they found out he had a white girlfriend?
The Big Sick movie is availabe to watch here. Like in the film, Kumail's parents were upset he was dating a non-Muslim.
Are Emily and Kumail's parents in the movie similar to their real-life parents?
Is Kumail really a big X-Files fan?
Yes. In the movie, one of the potential women Kumail's parents try to set him up with awkwardly reminds him that "the truth is out there," a reference to The X-Files TV show. While fact-checking The Big Sick movie, we discovered that Kumail's love for The X-Files goes much further than what is seen in the film. In 2014, he started hosting The X-Files Files, a podcast in which he and a guest analyze an episode of the show. Then in 2015 he got to guest star on an episode of The X-Files 6-part revival on FOX. Kumail tweeted, "I got to be in an ep of my favorite show (X Files) written & directed by my favorite writer (Darin Morgan.) And this script is wonderful." Kumail played an Animal Control Officer in episode 3, titled "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster."
Kumail Nanjiani's love for The X-Files reached a crescendo when he guest starred on an episode of the 2015 X-Files revival on FOX.
Was the real Emily upset and angry when she came out of the coma?
How long did it take for Emily and Kumail to get married when she got out of the hospital?
"I became so fearless that I married my boyfriend in a manic haze three months after getting out of the hospital," says Emily (LennyLetter.com). Kumail and Emily married on July 14, 2007 at City Hall in Chicago, with six friends present as witnesses. They got matching tattoos because they didn't have money for wedding rings (Variety.com). Kumail had proposed to her with a $20 ring from Walmart. Emily first met Kumail's parents after the city hall nuptials (The View). Two weeks later, Kumail's parents held a Pakistani wedding for them in New Jersey. "I think that the ceremony was my mom's way of saying to Emily, even though you're not the bride I imagined, I'm trying my best to include you in the family." Kumail said. His mom gave Emily a collection of jewelry that she had been saving for Kumail's future wife. Emily and Kumail have been together ever since (NewYorker.com).
Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon on the day of their Pakistani wedding ceremony in the summer of 2007.
Did Kumail really move to New York first without Emily?
Did the real Emily Gordon ever consider playing herself in the movie since her husband does?
Actress Zoe Kazan and her character's real-life counterpart, screenwriter Emily V. Gordon, on the set of The Big Sick movie.
The videos below offer a closer look at The Big Sick true story, including interviews with the real couple, screenwriters Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon.

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