Stranger than Fiction is a 2006 American fantasy comedy drama film directed by Marc Forster, produced by Lindsay Doran and written by Zach Helm. Partially inspired by Playtime by Jacques Tati, the film stars Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah and Emma Thompson. The main plot follows Harold Crick (Ferrell), an IRS agent who begins hearing a disembodied voice narrating his life as it happens – seemingly the text of a novel in which it is stated that he, the main character, will soon die – and he frantically seeks to somehow prevent his death.