Talk:Stranger than Fiction (film)

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Contents 1 No 2 Setting 3 Twilight Zone Episode 4 Who erased that stuff I put 5 Emma Thompson 6 Rip-Off? 7 out of order 8 Ana Pascal - Math Reference 9 Crick's wristwatch 10 Appearance of Mics and Cables? 11 Unmarked Spoilers! 12 Ending 13 Fender ad? 14 Tagline 15 Prior work? 16 Gay man? 17 I just want the heretofore authors of the plot section to know 18 WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[edit] No

This:

• During the movie, numerous references are made to The Beatles. Harold Crick is seen eating a green apple in numerous scenes, as a reference to Apple Records, The Beatles' record company. The name of Karen Eiffel's assistant is Penny Escher, as a reference to the song, Penny Lane. Harold Crick is seen crossing the road in some scenes, it looks somewhat like the cover of the album, Abbey Road. As a very simple observation, Harold Crick is a tax man, as a reference to the first song of the album Revolver, Taxman.

Is a real stretch... None of that is by any means proof of a connection. Crossing the street and a character having the first name (not even the last name, but just FIRST name) of Penny, and eating an apple is hardly evidence of a Beatles reference, and unless a citation can be produced, I have removed it. -- Ubergenius 19:29, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

EDIT: And again, this:

• In the scene where Harold gets off the bus after his chance meeting with Ana, a lit-up sign in the background reads 'Drury Lane'. This is a reference to the children's rhyme, 'Do You Know The Muffin Man', which tells about a baker who lives on Drury Lane.

Is also a stretch. You can't make these kinds of connections without a citation. Just because something shares a common name does not mean it has any connection, ESPECIALLY considering there REALLY IS a Drury Lane in Chicago. -- Ubergenius 19:35, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Agreed. –Pomte 03:34, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

I am Neutral on this matter. kzz* 20:06, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Setting

I'm not so sure the movie took place in Chicago. It was clearly filmed there, but street names (Euclid) and the MTA (as opposed to CTA) seem to indicate somewhere else, perhaps a fictional city.(67.163.51.254 07:05, 10 December 2006 (UTC))

  Yeah, isn't it set in New York City? That would make since for the MTA. Kdupuy9 02:26, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Saw the movie last week, and I don't think it ever specifically gives the name of a city.--Agent Aquamarine 13:58, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

The film never mentions the name of the city (reviews of the film also bring this up). However, it was clearly shot in Chicago. Bolt Vanderhuge 03:51, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Twilight Zone Episode

This movie has an extremely similar plot to an episode of The Twilight Zone from 2003 called "Gabe's Story". The link is here: http://www.tv.com/the-twilight-zone-2002/gabes-story/episode/212867/recap.html

[edit] Who erased that stuff I put

I know someone did it User:Marioman11 14:33, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Emma Thompson

I put Emma Thompson under the article cast list, because, for the English campaign at least, she is being marketed as the main character, with Will Ferrel supporting. 193.203.70.98 14:30, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

It is, however, an American film, so the cast should be listed with Ferrell first.206.116.141.183 06:20, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Rip-Off?

Wasn't there another movie JUST like this made in the 80s??? I can't remember the name but I want to say John Candy was the main character.

Maybe you should do some research first idiot[1]

No Personal Attacks Please. --ScarletSpiderDave 16:25, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

He's referring to the Delirious (film), although I'd hardly say they two are similar enough to consider the second a rip off. - Kevingarcia 06:54, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] out of order

I saw the film and some of that plot detail is out of order. For example, it says that he receives the book from the writer, than goes out and fulfills his life, when in the movie he did all of that before he even knew the writer's name. Also, the writer pondered about possibly having killed others before Harold died.

First of all I feel that the Plot is well written, but I also agree. The Plot doesn't say anything about scenes with Eiffel and Escher prior to the point in which Crick discover's who the voice is. For example, there are scenes where Eiffel is trying to find how to 'kill' Harold Crick by going to emergency rooms and contemplating car crashes. This should be added somewhere in the plot, unless it is too insignificant.142.46.7.18 01:11, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Ana Pascal - Math Reference

Could Ana's last name be a reference to the geometrically arranged triangle of the same name and thus a good match for Harold's orderly lifestyle? Has anybody heard if this was intentional and if it's worth noting under the trivia section? md10md; My talk. 02:58, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

See Pascal and sign your comments. It's a pre-existing human name. Ace Class Shadow; My talk. 03:05, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

And Pascal's Triangle is an invention of Blaise Pascal, the mathematician, so it could be an oblique reference to either, but there is no string evidence that I know of to suggest that this was a deliberate choice on the part of the writer, though it could have been.--Lemoncurry 03:35, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

From a review: "A devotee of riddles and puzzles, Zach Helm has lined the script with subtle cues and twists. The street names, business names, and the characters' last names--Crick, Pascal, Eiffel, Escher, Baneker, Kronecker, Cayly--are all mathematicians who have focused on the innate order of things. There is even a playful salute to mathematician David Hilbert and the 23 questions he put forth at the 1900 International Congress of Mathematicians." [2] -- Garfield226 05:40, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Crick's wristwatch

Does anyone know what the brand of wrist watch is that Harold wears? if not, do you know anything like it with analog hands and a digital face? --DannyBoy7783 00:41, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

Yahoo answers that question. BabuBhatt 21:43, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I just kept searching and I found a website about it. Here's the official timex page. I tried it on at a timex store today. Not a bad watch: Timex link --DannyBoy7783 06:43, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

There should be some mention of how the watch tries to warn him of danger. --ScarletSpiderDave 16:18, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Appearance of Mics and Cables?

Does anyone know why the boom mic was visible in so many shots (at least four I noticed). Was this a device, or a just mistake?192.88.212.44 16:16, 27 November 2006 (UTC)dogger

I didn't notice any such things. It was probably an instance of misframing by the projectionist

That can be a problem. Many projectionists lack the skill or the equipment to properly frame movies in their original aspect ratios. This problem is more common than you might think. When you see a boom microphone dipping down from the top of the screen, especially more than one in the same picture, the odds are overwhelming that the fault lies not with the filmmakers, but with the projectionist right there in your theater, who is showing the film in the wrong aspect ratio and allowing you to see more than the intended visible picture area. -- Roger Ebert

Thedward 19:36, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Unmarked Spoilers!

It marks spoilers for the main plot outline, and claims it ends there. However, in the character section, in Ana's character description, it states, "Ana ultimately reciprocates Harold's desire for her." This is definitely a spoiler. I feel spoiled, anyway...69.253.55.143

Sorry. I fixed the cast section. It should be fair less "spoilerish" and generally POV now. Ace Class Shadow; My talk. 06:56, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ending

On another note, dont you guys feel that this movie would have been much better if it had ended with him dead. As referenced to in the movie, after she decided to let him live, the film turned out to be alright, not a masterpiece. Thoughts or opinions? NeoXtremeX 08:47, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, but Wikipedia is not a forum. Not our place to discuss this at length. We discuss changes to the article. Ace Class Shadow; My talk. 08:55, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fender ad?

Could it be that fender payd to have an ad in this movie? the hall guitar buying act seems ditches gibsons "fat" guitar and then says that "everything you need is life is a Fender Stratocaster"... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 89.1.186.172 (talk) 21:09, 13 January 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Tagline

The "Harold Crick Isn't Ready To Go. Period." has been 'translated' in a way into "Harold Crick Isn't Ready To Go. Full Stop." in countries like Australia, The UK, and New Zealoand, where Full Stop is used instead of Period to end a sentence. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 125.238.3.103 (talk) 03:19, 2 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Prior work?

When I heard the opening monologue from the narrator, I was positive I had hear or read it before. Is this an adaptation of a prior work? I can't find any evidence that it is, but I can't shake the feeling. I almost want to say it was a five second Monty Python sketch. When I saw Mr. Creosote in the film, I took that as a confirmation, but now I can't find anything to validate that idea. 04:53, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Gay man?

Ummm... why does it say "Gay Man" on the poster? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.160.104.25 (talk) 05:23, 5 March 2007 (UTC).

The correct credit is to Dustin Hoffman. Someone really should fix that. Starfox Pilot 01:05, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] I just want the heretofore authors of the plot section to know

that some parts of your summary will not make sense to those who have not seen the flick or do not have a natural jules hilbert-like problem solving style/sensibility. I am working on it tho. holler if you know what I'm talkin about. kzz* 16:20, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

his favorite word is integer. this is important info. kzz* 03:23, 25 March 2007 (UTC)