Synopsis

Harold Crick, an IRS auditor living by the clock, begins hearing a narrator describe his every action. When the voice predicts that his life will soon end, Harold seeks help from a literary professor and discovers that he may be the protagonist of an unfinished novel. His growing friendship with a rebellious baker and his search for the mysterious author force him to reconsider how he has been living.

Factoids & Trivia

• The screenplay was Zach Helm's first produced feature script. During development, the project was informally known as "The Narrator Project."

• The film was shot on location in Chicago between April 25 and July 20, 2005. Locations included the University of Illinois at Chicago, the River City Condominiums, and several neighborhoods throughout the city.

• Will Ferrell used an earpiece during filming so Emma Thompson's narration could be fed to him while scenes were being performed. This helped create more natural reactions to the otherwise unseen voice.

• The production's visual approach was influenced in part by Jacques Tati's "Playtime," particularly its depiction of modern urban life and characters surrounded by impersonal systems.

• The music combines an original score by Brian Reitzell and Britt Daniel with indie-rock selections. Daniel was the frontman of Spoon, whose music also appears in the film.

• Harold's recurring wristwatch was treated almost like a character, reinforcing the film's theme of time controlling his life.

• The story's title echoes a line from Lord Byron: "Tis strange - but true; for truth is always strange, stranger than fiction."

• The dog appearing in the production was monitored under the American Humane Society's "No Animals Were Harmed" program. Trainers familiarized the dog with the locations before filming.