Silberling, 39, was a hot young TV director when Schaeffer was killed in 1989. “I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to work again,” he says. He started writing “Moon-light” in 1993, after he was “propelled back into life” with the help of Schaeffer’s parents. Joe Nast likewise repairs his world with help from his fiancee’s mother and father (Susan Sarandon and Dustin Hoffman). Silberling directed “Casper” and “City of Angels,” both stories about ghosts and the afterlife, before making his passion project. Some may find the movie’s upbeat romantic conclusion at odds with its grief-isn’t-easy theme, but consider this: four years after Schaeffer died, Silberling met “Judging Amy” actress Amy Brenneman, and the couple now have an 18-month-old daughter. In “Moonlight Mile,” art imitates life imitating art.
