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The train crash depicted in Hugo's dream was the Montparnasse derailment on October 22, 1895. The train was running late and was speeding to make up for time. The brakes were not applied, and the train plowed through the station.
The guitarist, who appeared early in the movie and at the Georges Méliès party near the end, was modeled after famed Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt. The filmmakers even went so far as to have the actor's left-hand match Django's. He doesn't use his fourth and fifth fingers (which were burned in a fire).
Martin Scorsese and Sir Christopher Lee were excellent friends but, up until 2010, had never worked together. Lee's response when Scorsese asked him to appear in Hugo was: "It's about time!"
After a screening that James Cameron attended, he called this movie a "masterpiece" and told director Martin Scorsese it was the best use of 3-D he had seen, including his movies.
Sir Christopher Lee, having been born in 1922, makes him the only supporting actor to have lived in the age this movie is set: 1931.
"Hugo" also gave director Martin Scorsese the opportunity to refer to his passion for film preservation and restoration. Scorsese is the founder and chair of The Film Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to preserving, restoring, and exhibiting classic cinema.
Brian Selznick: The book's author can be seen at the end of the movie at Méliès' apartment. He is wearing glasses, following behind Méliès and the film professor.
Michael Pitt: The star of Martin Scorsese's Boardwalk Empire. El Imperio del Contrabando (2010) has an uncredited appearance as the projectionist.
Martin Scorsese: The photographer who is taking a picture of young Georges Méliès outside his new studio and a minute later can be heard in Méliès' studio saying, "Good, that's good, yes."