Based on the novel "The Wave" by Todd Strasser (under the pen name Morton Rhue), a fictionalized account of the "Third Wave" teaching experiment by Ron Jones that took place in a Cubberley High School history class in Palo Alto, California in April 1967.
Ron Jones, the initiator of the original experiment, attended the film's world premiere at Sundance Film Festival.
Director Cameo: [Dennis Gansel] The guy Dennis (Jacob Matschenz) talks to at the bar, who is later seen making out with Marco's mother.