Stranger than Fiction (2006 film) Stranger than Fiction is a 2006 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Marc Forster , produced by Lindsay Doran , and written by Zach Helm . The film stars Will Ferrell , Maggie Gyllenhaal , Dustin Hoffman , Queen Latifah , and Emma Thompson . The main plot follows Harold Crick ( portrayed by Ferrell ) , a nondescript white-collar worker 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 will soon die -- and he frantically seeks to somehow prevent that ending . The film was shot on location in Chicago , and has been praised for its innovative , intelligent story and fine performances . Ferrell , who came to prominence playing brash comedic parts , garnered particular attention for offering a restrained performance in his first starring dramatic role .
Gothic film The Gothic film is a film that is based on Gothic fiction or contains Gothic elements . Since various definite film genres -- including science fiction , film noir , thriller , and comedy -- have used Gothic elements , the Gothic film is challenging to define clearly as a genre . Gothic elements have also infused the horror film genre , contributing supernatural and nightmarish elements . To create a Gothic atmosphere , filmmakers have sought to create new camera tricks that challenge audiences ' perceptions . Gothic films also reflected contemporary issues . A New Companion to The Gothics Heidi Kaye said `` strong visuals , a focus on sexuality and an emphasis on audience response '' characterize Gothic films like they did the literary works . The Encyclopedia of the Gothic said the foundation of Gothic film was the combination of Gothic literature , stage melodrama , and German expressionism .   In The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction , Misha Kavka says Gothic film is not an established genre , rather contributing Gothic images , plots , characters , and styles to films . These elements are often found in `` the broader category of horror '' . Kavka quotes William Patrick Day 's definition of the Gothic , '' -LSB- it -RSB- tantalizes us with fear , both as its subject and its effect ; its does so , however , not primarily through characters or plots or even language , but through spectacle '' . Cinema suits the Gothic definition in creating images that establish the spectacle . Strangers Within Strangers Within is a 2017 British home invasion horror film . The film stars Elana Di Troya as Sam , the daughter of a world-famous artist who is left home alone for a weekend . Joined by her three best friends , Sam hosts a casual gathering . This lasts barely an hour as one of the girls ' boyfriend arrives with two friends who have attended the gathering with an ulterior motive . Seconds (1966 film) Seconds is a 1966 American science fiction drama film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Rock Hudson . The screenplay by Lewis John Carlino was based on Seconds , a novel by David Ely . The film was entered into the 1966 Cannes Film Festival and released by Paramount Pictures . The cinematography by James Wong Howe was nominated for an Academy Award .   In 2015 , the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry , finding it `` culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant . '' Alien (film) Alien is a 1979 British-American science-fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott , and starring Sigourney Weaver , Tom Skerritt , Veronica Cartwright , Harry Dean Stanton , John Hurt , Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto . The film 's title refers to a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature that stalks and kills the crew of a spaceship . Dan O'Bannon wrote the screenplay from a story he wrote with Ronald Shusett , drawing influence from previous works of science fiction and horror . The film was produced by Gordon Carroll , David Giler and Walter Hill through their Brandywine Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox . Giler and Hill made revisions and additions to the script . Shusett was executive producer . The eponymous Alien and its accompanying elements were designed by Swiss artist H. R. Giger , while concept artists Ron Cobb and Chris Foss designed the human aspects of the film . Alien launched the Alien franchise and is chronologically the first of the main series , with the prequel series set in an earlier timeframe .   Alien received both critical acclaim and box office success , receiving an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects , Saturn Awards for Best Science Fiction Film , Best Direction for Scott , and Best Supporting Actress for Cartwright , and a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation , along with numerous other award nominations . It has remained highly praised in subsequent decades , being considered one of the greatest films of all time . In 2002 , the film was deemed `` culturally , historically or aesthetically significant '' by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry . In 2008 , it was ranked as the seventh-best film in the science fiction genre by the American Film Institute , and as the 33rd greatest film of all time by Empire magazine .   The success of Alien spawned a media franchise of novels , comic books , video games , and toys . It also launched Weaver 's acting career by providing her with her first lead role , and the story of her character Ellen Ripley 's encounters with the Alien creatures became the thematic thread that ran through the sequels Aliens ( 1986 ) , Alien 3 ( 1992 ) and Alien : Resurrection ( 1997 ) . , a crossover with the Predator franchise produced the Alien vs. Predator series , which includes Alien vs. Predator ( 2004 ) and Aliens vs. Predator : Requiem ( 2007 ) , and also a prequel series of films , which includes Prometheus ( 2012 ) and Alien : Covenant ( 2017 ) . Sweeter Than Fiction `` Sweeter Than Fiction '' is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for the film One Chance . The song was written and produced by Swift along with Jack Antonoff , best known as the guitarist for indie pop band fun. , and was released through Big Machine Records as the lead single from the soundtrack album on October 21 , 2013 . Prophets of Science Fiction Prophets of Science Fiction is an American documentary television series produced and hosted by Ridley Scott for the Science Channel . The program premiered on .   The series covers the life and work of leading science fiction authors of the last couple of centuries . It depicts how they predicted and , accordingly , influenced the development of scientific advancements by inspiring many readers to assist in transforming those futuristic visions into everyday reality . The stories are told through film clips , reenactments , illustrations and interviews .   The first episode received mixed reviews . Commentators appreciated the approach of combining coverage of contemporary scientific research and biographical exposition , but criticized the series as `` light on the substance and heavy on the exaggeration '' . The series ' attempts to link Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein to developments such as organ transplants , supercomputers and DNA research were described by one critic as far-fetched but by another as successful . The Stranger (song) `` The Stranger '' is a song by rock artist Billy Joel from his 1977 album of the same name , The Stranger . The song was released as a single in Japan where it became very popular and peaked at # 2 on the Oricon chart . It charted in Australia too . It was the last single from the album in Japan , while the US and UK saw `` She 's Always a Woman '' , released the previous year , as the last single from the album .   The single is featured on Joel 's greatest hits album , Greatest Hits - Volume I & II .   An untitled two-minute instrumental `` hidden track '' reprise of this song is featured at the end of The Stranger , after `` Everybody Has a Dream '' .   Billy Joel originally wanted the melody to be played by some kind of wind instrument , but after Joel demonstrated the melody by whistling it , producer Phil Ramone convinced Joel to scrap the idea of a wind instrument and whistle instead . 28 Weeks Later 28 Weeks Later is a 2007 British science fiction horror film , structured as a sequel to the critically and commercially successful 2002 film 28 Days Later . 28 Weeks Later was co-written and directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo , with Danny Boyle and Alex Garland , director and writer of 28 Days Later respectively , now acting as executive producers . It was released in the United Kingdom and United States on 11 May 2007 . The plot depicts the efforts of NATO military forces to salvage a safe zone in London following the events in 28 Days Later , the consequence of two young siblings breaking protocol to find their infected mother , and the resulting reintroduction of the highly contagious virus to the safe zone . Truth Stranger Than Fiction Truth Stranger Than Fiction is a 1915 drama film featuring Harry Carey . Double Take (2009 film) Double Take is a 2009 essay film , directed by Johan Grimonprez and written by Tom McCarthy . The plot is set during the Cold War and combines both documentary and fictional elements . The protagonist is a fictionalised version of Alfred Hitchcock . The backdrop of the film charts the rise of the television in the domestic setting and with it , the ensuing commodification of fear during the cold war .   Double Take is a Belgian-Dutch-German co-production and premiered in Europe at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival and in the U.S. at the 2010 Sundance film Festival . Primer (film) Primer is a 2004 American independent science fiction drama film about the accidental discovery of time travel . The film was written , directed , produced , edited and scored by Shane Carruth , who also stars .   Primer is of note for its extremely low budget , experimental plot structure , philosophical implications , and complex technical dialogue , which Carruth , a college graduate with a degree in mathematics and a former engineer , chose not to simplify for the sake of the audience . The film collected the Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival , before securing a limited release in the United States , and has since gained a cult following . Factual film Factual film may refer to :   Historical film  Biographical film , a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people  Film based on a true story  Documentary film , a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspect of reality , primarily for the purposes of instruction , education , or maintaining a historical record Jim Jarmusch James Robert `` Jim '' Jarmusch ( -LSB- ˈdʒɑrməʃ -RSB- born January 22 , 1953 ) is an American film director , screenwriter , actor , producer , editor , and composer . He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s , directing such films as Stranger Than Paradise ( 1984 ) , Down by Law ( 1986 ) , Mystery Train ( 1989 ) , Dead Man ( 1995 ) , Ghost Dog : The Way of the Samurai ( 1999 ) , Coffee and Cigarettes ( 2003 ) , Broken Flowers ( 2005 ) , Only Lovers Left Alive ( 2013 ) , and Paterson ( 2016 ) . Stranger Than Paradise was added to the National Film Registry in December 2002 . As a musician , Jarmusch has composed music for his films and released two albums with Jozef van Wissem . Man in the Shadow (British film) Man in the Shadow , released in the United States as Violent Stranger , is a 1957 British crime film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Zachary Scott and Faith Domergue .   The film had to be retitled for the US market because of the release of the American film of the same name in the same year . B movie A B movie is a low-budget commercial movie , but one that is not an arthouse film . In its original usage , during the Golden Age of Hollywood , the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature . Although the U.S. production of movies intended as second features largely ceased by the end of the 1950s , the term B movie continues to be used in the broader sense it maintains today . In its post -- Golden Age usage , there is ambiguity on both sides of the definition : on the one hand , the primary interest of many inexpensive exploitation films is prurient ; on the other , many B movies display a high degree of craft and aesthetic ingenuity .   In either usage , most B movies represent a particular genre -- the Western was a Golden Age B movie staple , while low-budget science-fiction and horror films became more popular in the 1950s . Early B movies were often part of series in which the star repeatedly played the same character . Almost always shorter than the top-billed films they were paired with , many had running times of 70 minutes or less . The term connoted a general perception that B movies were inferior to the more handsomely budgeted headliners ; individual B films were often ignored by critics .   Latter-day B movies still sometimes inspire multiple sequels , but series are less common . As the average running time of top-of-the-line films increased , so did that of B pictures . In its current usage , the term has somewhat contradictory connotations : it may signal an opinion that a certain movie is ( a ) a genre film with minimal artistic ambitions or ( b ) a lively , energetic film uninhibited by the constraints imposed on more expensive projects and unburdened by the conventions of putatively `` serious '' independent film . The term is also now used loosely to refer to some higher-budgeted , mainstream films with exploitation-style content , usually in genres traditionally associated with the B movie .   From their beginnings to the present day , B movies have provided opportunities both for those coming up in the profession and others whose careers are waning . Celebrated filmmakers such as Anthony Mann and Jonathan Demme learned their craft in B movies . They are where actors such as John Wayne and Jack Nicholson first became established , and they have provided work for former A movie actors , such as Vincent Price and Karen Black . Some actors , such as Bela Lugosi , Eddie Constantine and Pam Grier , worked in B movies for most of their careers . The term B actor is sometimes used to refer to a performer who finds work primarily or exclusively in B pictures . BAFTA Award for Best Film The BAFTA Award for Best Film is given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards . It has been given since the 1st BAFTA Awards , representing the best films of 1947 , but until 1969 it was called the BAFTA Award for Best Film From Any Source . It is possible for films from any country to be nominated , although British films are also recognised in the category BAFTA Award for Best British Film and ( since 1983 ) foreign-language films in BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language . As such , there have been multiple occasions of a film being nominated in two of these categories .   There has been one tie for the Best Film award when , in 1962 , Ballad of a Soldier tied with The Hustler for Best Film from any Source . Until 1981 , the award was given to the director , except in 1976 and 1977 , when it was given to the producers . From 1981 to 1985 , it was given solely to the producers , and then in 1986 , it was shared between the Director and Producer . In 1998 , it was once again given to only the producers .   In the following lists , the titles and names in bold with a dark grey background are the winners and recipients respectively ; those not in bold are the nominees . The years given are those in which the films under consideration were released , not the year of the ceremony , which always takes place the following year . The Intruder (1962 film) The Intruder is a 1962 American film directed by Roger Corman , after a 1959 novel by Charles Beaumont , starring William Shatner . The story depicts the machinations of a racist named Adam Cramer ( portrayed by Shatner ) , who arrives in the fictitious small southern town of Caxton in order to incite white townspeople to racial violence against black townspeople and court-ordered school integration .   The film is also known under its US reissue titles as I Hate Your Guts ! and Shame , and The Stranger in the UK release . Not as a Stranger Not as a Stranger is a 1955 Drama film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer based on the 1954 novel of the same name by Morton Thompson . The romantic melodrama novel was widely popular , topping that year 's list of bestselling novels in the United States .   The film was Kramer 's directorial debut and featured Olivia de Havilland and Robert Mitchum in the lead roles , backed by a stellar supporting cast including Frank Sinatra , Gloria Grahame , Broderick Crawford , Charles Bickford , Lon Chaney , Jr. , Harry Morgan , and Lee Marvin . The film was released by United Artists .   Sinatra had catapulted back into the limelight as the result of a supporting role for a film from a similarly popular novel , From Here to Eternity , two years earlier . Initially a minor box office success , Not as a Stranger is seldom seen today , never receiving widespread distribution on home video . It was first released on DVD in 1992 . Speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre encompassing narrative fiction with supernatural or futuristic elements . This includes the genres science fiction , fantasy , horror and supernatural fiction , as well as their combinations . The broader usage of the term is attributed to Robert Heinlein , who referenced it in 1947 in an editorial essay , although there are prior mentions of speculative fiction or its variant `` speculative literature '' . The Other (novel) The Other '' is the 1971 debut novel by Thomas Tryon . Set in 1935 , the novel focuses on the sadistic relationship between two thirteen-year-old identical twin boys , one who is well-behaved , and the other , a sociopath who wreaks havoc on his family 's rural New England farm property .   Tryon , who had been a working actor prior , retired from his Hollywood career to become a novelist . Upon its release , the novel received wide critical acclaim , and was adapted into a 1972 film of the same name directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Uta Hagen . The novel was reprinted in a commemorative edition in 2012 by New York Review Books with an afterword by Dan Chaon .