The overhead shot of the wounded Trevor is almost identical to the overhead shot of the wounded Dr. Crowe at the beginning of The Sixth Sense (1999), even down to the position of the injury. Both films star Haley Joel Osment.
In the book, the teacher is a black man named Reuben St.Clair. The role of Reuben was originally offered to Denzel Washington but was turned down due to other commitments. When Kevin Spacey agreed to the movie the character was changed to a white man named Eugene Simonet.
Several pieces of promotional material (including some press kits) mistakenly referred to Kevin Spacey's character as Reuben Simone.
Trevor is supposed to be in Jr. High School. However, the school scenes were filmed at a High School in Las Vegas.
The bridge that the "jumper" is on, is the Saint Johns Bridge in Portland,Or.
Haley Joel Osment celebrated his 12th birthday on the set during the last day of shooting. Although Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt had completed their own filming, they turned up on the set just to celebrate his birthday. Coincidentally, Trevor McKinney, the character played by Haley, celebrated his 12th birthday in the movie.
The Jaguar owner is played by director Mimi Leder's husband, Gary Werntz. His character's asthmatic daughter is their real-life daughter, Hannah Werntz.
In the scene where Helen Hunt's character strikes her son Trevor across the face, Haley Joel Osment requested that she actually hit him to make it seem more realistic. However, director Mimi Leder declined