Peter Hedges directed a script he co-wrote with Pierce Garnder. Focus Features produce with distribution by Buena Vista Pictures. The film — shot in New York City and in Rhode Island — gets a wide release Oct. 26.
"Advice columnist Dan Burns is an expert on relationships, but somehow struggles to succeed as a brother, a son and a single parent," according to production notes. Steve Carell ("The Office," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin") stars as the title character opposite a slew of Broadway folk: Juliette Binoche (Betrayal), John Mahoney (Prelude to a Kiss), Dianne Wiest (Salome), Norbert Leo Butz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and Alison Pill (The Lieutenant of Inishmore).
Butz — who will be seen next on Broadway in Is He Dead? — lends his musical talents to the film in a scene where two brothers (the other played by Dane Cook) mockingly serenade their unlucky-in-love brother Dan.
Also featured in the film are Jessica Hecht (Julius Caesar), Amy Ryan (A Streetcar Named Desire), Matthew Morrison (Hairspray) and Frank Wood (Side Man). Marlene Lawston, Emily Blunt and Brittany Robertson round out the cast.
The film's casting directors were Tiffany Little Canfield ("Rent," "Across the Universe") and Broadway and stage talent provider Bernard Telsey. Among Telsey's casting credits are Legally Blonde, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Color Purple and Wicked.
For more information on "Dan in Real Life," visit the official website at daninreallife.movies.go.com.