S1m0ne (2002)

A producer's film is endangered when his star walks off, so he decides to digitally create an actress to substitute for the star, becoming an overnight sensation that everyone thinks is a real person.

Director:

Andrew Niccol

Writer:

Andrew Niccol

Stars:

Al Pacino, Benjamin Salisbury, Catherine Keener

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Al Pacino	...	Viktor Taransky
Benjamin Salisbury	...	Production Assistant
Winona Ryder	...	Nicola Anders
Darnell Williams	...	Studio Executive #1
Jim Rash	...	Studio Executive #2
Ron Perkins	...	Studio Executive #3
Jay Mohr	...	Hal Sinclair
Catherine Keener	...	Elaine Christian
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Lainey Christian Taransky
Jeffrey Pierce	...	Kent
Jeff Williams	...	Man in Suit
Rachel Roberts	...	Simone (as Simone)
Mitzi Martin	...	Premiere Audience Member
Carole Androsky	...	Premiere Audience Member (as Carol Androsky)
Christopher Neiman	...	Premiere Audience Member

Storyline

The career of a disillusioned producer, who is desperate for a hit, is endangered when his star walks off the film set. Forced to think fast, the producer decides to digitally create an actress "Simone" to sub for the star--the first totally believable synthetic actress. The "actress" becomes an overnight sensation, with a major singing career as well, and everyone thinks she's a real person. However, as Simone's fame skyrockets, he cannot bear to admit his fraud to himself or the world.

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Plot Keywords:

actress | fraud | film set | creditor | men's bathroom | 

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Taglines:

A star is... created.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

"Amalgamated Films" (New Line [us]) "Eternity Forever - Amalgamated Films" (New Line [us])

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Simone

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$222,276 (Japan) (12 September 2003)

Gross:

$1,155,054 (Japan) (26 September 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Niccol Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hank Aleno's last name is an anagram of "alone".

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Goofs

The hard drive which holds "S1m0ne" data is shown to be without a cover over the disk platters. Viktor (Al Pacino) is shown to put his hands on the surface of the top platter when he inserts the hard disk into his PC. Any reasonably well informed PC user or repairman knows that a hard disk's platters are extremely sensitive to both dust and finger oils: exposing the platters to open air and finger oils would quickly render the hard disk useless. While we can't expect Viktor to know this, we can expect his scientist/supplier Hank Alano to have known this. Hank Alano should not have provided such an obviously unreliable piece of PC hardware.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Production Assistant: Uh, Mr. Taransky, she's...
Viktor: She's walking? Don't tell me she's walking. She can't walk!
[heads off running]
Viktor: Nicola!

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Crazy Credits

The special thanks list at the end of the credits includes an acknowledgement to Hank Aleno Software.

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Connections

Referenced in I Woke Up One Morning and Found Myself Famous (2010)

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Soundtracks

"The Girl I Dream About"
Written by B. Caldwell and H. Marx
Performed by Bobby Caldwell
Courtesy of Sin Drome Records, Ltd.

User Reviews

Why, we can do this on our computer.....!

S1m0ne (SIMONE) is a creative little piece of filmmaking from the young New Zealand writer director Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, The Truman Show, Lord of War, The Host, Dali & I:The Surreal Story). While this may not register in the 'best films of the decade' category, it certainly challenges both our thinking and our imagination and creates a sense of wonder at just how far we have come with computer generation.

Has-been movie director/producer Viktor Taransky (Al Pacino, shining) faces disaster when his star Nicola Anders (Winona Ryder) deserts his latest desperate need for a hit film and comes up with the alternative

• create a superstar by using a digital synthespian, a creature who via

computer codes is destined to do anything the creator decides. And voila! Simone (or rather S1m0ne - Sim-One, the technology used to creature such ventures.) Viktor is saved as Simone (Rachel Roberts) becomes the superstar of Viktor's dreams - winning awards, and Viktor's heart - only requiring that he ultimately tell the public of his sham, a deed he attempts to avoid through means that place him in big trouble. The story is fantasy, but in Niccol's hands the fantasy becomes possibility and makes us question just how far advanced have we become...perhaps too far.

The strong supporting cast includes, along with Winona Ryder, Catherine Keener, Benjamin Salisbury, Jay Mohr, Evan Rachel Woods, and of course the digitally altered Rachel Roberts. The test of a good comedy is whether it can incorporate tragedy and still entertain. This film succeeds.

Grady Harp