The person posing as Reese's mother in the pictures on the wall is Zooey Deschanel's real-life mother, Mary Jo Deschanel. She also played Ed Harris's wife in The Right Stuff (1983).
The kitten playing Spike was found in an animal shelter and saved from being put to sleep. It was adopted by a producer's brother.
In The Right Stuff (1983), Mary Jo Deschanel played Ed Harris' wife. In this movie, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Jo Deschanel's daughter, plays Mary Jo's and Ed Harris' daughter.
In this film, Zooey Deschanel played the daughter of a reclusive author, much like J.D. Salinger. Zooey Deschanel was named after the character in the J.D. Salinger novel, "Franny and Zooey".