UK: Dustin Hoffman, Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson attend the LFF gala screening of dark comedy 'Stranger Than Fiction'

London Film Festival continued on Friday night (October 20) with a gala screening of dark comedy 'Stranger Than Fiction', with the film's A-list stars Dustin Hoffman, Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson bringing some Hollywood glamour to London's Leicester Square. In the film Ferrell plays Harold Crick, an IRS (Internal Revenue Service) agent, whose monotonous life is interrupted by a voice that seems to know all his thoughts, feelings and actions. The voice belongs to celebrated novelist Key Eiffel (Emma Thompson), who is blissfully unaware that the subject of her latest book is actually alive. Eiffel - who is famed for her tragedies - is struck with a bad case of writer's block and struggles with depression as she tries to find the best way to kill off Crick to complete her novel. When Crick hears his life is coming to an end, he seeks out the help of literary expert Dr Jules Herbert (Dustin Hoffman) to track down the voice before it's too late. In a reference to recent story about actor Wesley Snipes evading tax authorities, Ferrell, who recently spent time in London promoting 'Talladega Nights', said he was happy to be back in town but that his trip had nothing to do with the tax man. The actor said he had enjoyed playing the IRS agent but was happy he had had very little contact with the tax authorities in real life. "Well, let's see, fortunately I've never been audited by the IRS, that's good. And you know, it was kind of a wonderful challenge to try to get a handle on a character that is something different for me, something a little more real if you have, a little more subdued and subtle and that was a wonderful thing to get to play," said Ferrell. Thompson, however, had more of a connection with her character, having written various screenplays since the 1980s and the actress told Reuters she had suffered writer's block during the years. "Yes, I don't write novels, I write screenplays and I have, yes I have absolutely got to the point where I've thought 'I cannot remember any of this, I can't remember how to write my own name, never mind writing the next thing so, yes!" she said. Dustin Hoffman, who in 'Stranger Than Fiction' tries to help save the doomed tax man's life recently took some time off from the limelight to save his own career. According to reports the Hollywood heavyweight and star of a wide range of films including 'The Graduate', 'Tootsie', 'Rain Man' and 'Meet The Fockers' felt he was 'destroyed' by a Lifetime Achievement Award from the AFI (American Film Institution) in 1999. Hoffman took a three-year break from making films from 1999 to 2002. "I don't think I said it killed my career, I think I said, it just, it flattened me. I felt like, you know, they are telling me I shouldn't work anymore, that was my nuttiness. So that's why I've been working very steady since I got over that," he said. On the red carpet, comedic star Ferrell also took a moment to reflect on his career, recognising that he had enjoyed working on a film with a more serious undertone and adding that he would consider moving onto more serious work in the future. "You know, we'll see how it goes. This was just kind of an opportunity that kind of popped out of nowhere and I thought I'd give it a shot and I really did enjoy working on a film that's a little more dramatic so we'll see if more opportunities present themselves then I think it would be a fun thing," the 'Saturday Night Live', 'Anchorman' and 'Talladega Nights' star said. 'Stranger Than Fiction' is written by first time screenwriter Zach Helm and directed by German director Marc Forster. The film also stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as Harold Crick's liberal love interest and Queen Latifah, who is recruited to help Eiffel get over her writer's block. The film will be released in the UK on December 1 and the USA on November 10.

ITN Source | October 26, 2006

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