Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

An I.R.S. auditor suddenly finds himself the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire life, from his work, to his love-interest, to his death.

Director:

Marc Forster

Writer:

Zach Helm

Stars:

Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Will Ferrell	...	Harold Crick
William Dick	...	IRS Co-Worker #1
Guy Massey	...	IRS Co-Worker #2
Martha Espinoza	...	IRS Co-Worker #3
T.J. Jagodowski	...	IRS Co-Worker #4
Peter Grosz	...	IRS Co-Worker #5
Ricky Adams	...	Young Boy
Christian Stolte	...	Young Boy's Father
Denise Hughes	...	Kronecker Bus Driver
Peggy Roeder	...	Polish Woman
Tonray Ho	...	IRS Co-Worker #6
Tony Hale	...	Dave
Maggie Gyllenhaal	...	Ana Pascal
Danny Rhodes	...	Bakery Employee #1
Helen Young	...	Bakery Customer #1

Storyline

Everybody knows that your life is a story. But what if a story was your life? Harold Crick is your average IRS agent: monotonous, boring, and repetitive. But one day this all changes when Harold begins to hear an author inside his head narrating his life. The narrator it is extraordinarily accurate, and Harold recognizes the voice as an esteemed author he saw on TV. But when the narration reveals that he is going to die, Harold must find the author of the story, and ultimately his life, to convince her to change the ending of the story before it is too late.

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Plot Keywords:

author | fate | professor | novelist | writer | 

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Taglines:

He's not crazy. He's just written that way.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some disturbing images, sexuality, brief language and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site [Turkey] Sony [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Killing Harold Crick

Filming Locations:

John Hancock Center Condominium Owner's Entrance - 875 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$38,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,411,093, 12 November 2006, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$40,137,776, 17 December 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Mandate Pictures, Three Strange Angels

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last names of all of the characters (and the bus line and publishing firm names) are the names of mathematicians, scientists, engineers, artists, et cetera, (Harold) Francis Crick, with Watson and Wilkins, found the structure of DNA; (Ana) Blaise Pascal, French mathematician and philosopher; (Karen) Gustave Eiffel, engineer and designer of the Eiffel Tower; (Penny) M.C. Escher, Dutch graphic artist; (Dr.) Magnus Gustaf Mittag-Leffler, Swedish mathematician; (Professor Jules) David Hilbert, German mathematician; (Doctor) Gerardus Mercator, sixteenth century Flemish cartographer; (Kronecker Bus Line) Leopold Kronecker, German-born mathematician and logician; (Banneker Press) Benjamin Banneker, free African-American mathematician, astronomer, clockmaker, and publisher; (Dr. Cayly) Arthur Cayley, nineteenth century British mathematician. Even Dave (no last name) seems to be a reference to the main character from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). It is speculated that these characters can possibly be the "heroes" of the writer.

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Goofs

Near the beginning, Ms. Eifel dictates "When asked by a co-worker for the product of 67 and 453, Harold drew a blank. He quickly answered 30,351 despite the answer really being 31,305." The product of 67 and 453 actually is 30,351. This was meant to get viewers to question who was dictating Harold's life, the narrator or Harold himself. It wouldn't be a coincidence that the "incorrect" number given by Harold would in fact be the correct answer.

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Quotes

Penny Escher: Man in tweed?
Kay Eiffel: There's nothing wrong with him, he just likes looking at sick people.
Penny Escher: Oddly spoken with disdain.

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits, the names of the characters and the actors who played them were displayed against stylized images of the places where the characters worked.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan/Flushed Away/Unknown/Volver/Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

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Soundtracks

Death or Glory
(1979)
Written by Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, and Topper Headon
Performed by The Clash
Courtesy of Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Limited
By Arrangement with BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Saw it this evening at the Merrill Lynch Conference

I saw an advanced screening of Stranger than Fiction tonight on the Sony lot, as part of the Merrill Lynch media conference being held this week in Pasadena, CA.

I hadn't heard much about this movie prior to seeing it tonight, so I had NO expectations, which is really how I like to see a movie (without any preconceived notions, good or bad).

The movie was very well acted, and told an interesting story. I kind of look at Will Ferrell in this movie the way I looked at Adam Sandler after "Punch Drunk Love". You're not sure how to react to Ferrell/Sandler's on-screen persona's, as up to this point, you've always thought of them as the funny men, who couldn't (or wouldn't) attempt a more dramatic role. For Ferrell, who's probably at the height of his popularity, this was a good move for him, as well as an ideal role.

All in all, I really liked this movie, and I would definitely recommend it to friends/family.