Trivia

Jodie Foster asked David Hyde Pierce to appear in the film after remembering him from college. They both attended Yale University.

Like the main character, both Jodie Foster and Harry Connick Jr. were considered child prodigies.

Jane takes Fred and several other children to an event for gifted children called "Odyssey of the Mind." Odyssey of the Mind is a real program, a creative problem-solving competition for children that has been in existence since 1978.

Jodie Foster's directorial film debut.

Most school scenes were filmed at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity house served as the home/office of Jane Grierson (Dianne Wiest).