As Helm proceeded, he finally had to confront the biggest question of all: Was Harold Crick’s story ultimately tragic or hopeful? “That’s the big crux, not only for Harold Crick, but for everybody,” admits Helm. “Of course, we all have to die eventually, but the real question is whether you perceive your life in the end as mostly tragic or mostly filled with love and joy … and comedy.”
Doran was thrilled with Helm’s solution. “One of the things I really like about Zach’s writing is his rare ability to mix strong jokes with equally strong emotions,” she says. “Out of some of the film’s deepest questions come some of its funniest moments, and the final sequence is a beautiful tribute to the little things in life that are, in the end, our salvation.”
When the screenplay was completed, word about it quickly began to spread around Hollywood. Although Doran had originally intended to bring the script quietly to a few choice directors, her phone was suddenly ringing off the hook. The response was extremely enthusiastic all around – but two executives began pursuing Doran with dogged tenacity: Joe Drake and Nathan Kahane of Mandate Pictures.
“They wouldn’t take no for an answer,” recalls Doran. “At first it was amusing. Then it was annoying. Then it was intriguing. And then it was a deal. They really listened to our ideas and they truly understood that you can’t ever compromise the intelligence of this kind of material just for the entertainment value. Or vice versa.”
The deal was sealed when director Marc Forster came onboard. Although many prominent directors had expressed interest, once the producers saw Forster’s then-unreleased FINDING NEVERLAND, they knew they’d found the right sensibility to bring Harold Crick’s comic fable to life. “I would say within the first ten minutes of watching FINDING NEVERLAND, I felt very, very strongly that Marc should direct this movie,” Doran recalls. “I’m not exaggerating. I felt such a sense of enchantment watching that film. And even though the tone is very different from STRANGER THAN FICTION, I was convinced that Marc had an understanding of that magical side of life which was the key to transforming Zach’s script to the screen.”
"Marc's take on the film couldn't have been more exciting," continues Doran. "His vision accommodated all the elements of the script — the comedy, the drama, the love story, the spiritual journey of Harold Crick — as well as the look and even the sound of the various scenes. So many directors were focused on just one aspect of the film; Marc was focused on them all."
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