Fiction’ puts Ferrell in drama

Will Ferrell’s acting future need not remain entrenched solely in comedy. Following the footsteps of Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler, Ferrell is starting to slowly place his feet in the pool of drama.

Ferrell’s more dramatic side was on display in “Winter Passing” earlier this year, and he stands to break more new ground in the touching “Stranger Than Fiction.” Columbia Pictures’ and Mandate Pictures’ “Stranger Than Fiction” opens in theaters Nov. 10.

While still comedy at some level, the funny moments of “Fiction” appear to be subtler than Ferrell’s more overt acting in “Anchorman” and “Old School.”

In this film, directed by relative newcomer Marc Forster, Ferrell stars as Harold Crick, the main protagonist in a novel being written by Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson). Harold leads a rather boring life as an IRS auditor who is generally hated by everyone, including baker and tax evader Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal). His life is changed when he begins to hear the narration of Eiffel, the writer of the story he’s in. He consults Dr. Jules Hilbert, played by the legendary Dustin Hoffman, who comically thinks he should try to change his life from a tragedy into a comedy.

All the while, the publishers have given Karen Eiffel an assistant in the form of Penny Escher (Queen Latifah) to expedite the writing process. Eiffel may or may not have writer’s block as she struggles to find a way to kill off her main character. Just when she seems to have discovered such a way, Crick hears it and has to alter this course of action.

The film originated when novice screenwriter Zach Helm came up with the basic premise of the screenplay in 2001, the production notes explain.

“I wanted to tell the story of a man who found his life just before he lost it,” said Helm in the notes. “There’s something very poetic in the understanding of one’s place in the world and the meaning of one’s life, but it’s far more dramatic when such understanding occurs only days before that life ends.”

Director Marc Forster became interested in the project when he discovered the many facets and angles that make it up. The production notes point out he was fascinated that in the midst of this dramatic life-or-death situation, is a hilarious comedy as well.

“I saw ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ as the story of a man who’s been asleep for most of his life and suddenly wakes up and realizes he has very little time left and that he has to do something we all would like to do in some way — change our story,” said Forster in the production notes. “I thought it was a fantastic script, a very funny comedy with heart and soul.”

For more information, navigate to the film’s official site, http://www.strangerthanfiction.com.