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.
On the day that a serial killer that he helped put away is supposed to be executed, a noted forensic psychologist and college professor receives a call informing him that he has 88 minutes left to live.
After suffering a career-ending knee injury, a former college football star aligns himself with one of the most renowned touts in the sports-gambling business.
In 16th century Venice, when a merchant must default on a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead.
Two symbiotic sociopaths play obscurely deviant mind games with each other while engaging in perversely brutal acts of violence against victims apparently chosen at random.
Johnny has just been released from prison, and gets a job in a café beside waitress Frankie. Frankie is a bit of a loner, but Johnny is determined their romance will blossom.
Director:
Garry Marshall
Stars:
Al Pacino,
Michelle Pfeiffer,
Hector Elizondo
Gennaro lives with his ailing grandpa, who sits outside holding tight to his last quarter. But grandpa's not ready to die, he has some unfinished business with a woman from his past and he enlists Gennaro to act as his emissary.
Director:
James Foley
Stars:
Al Pacino,
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio,
Jerry Barone
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.Written by
Sujit R. Varma
In order to keep her role in the film a secret, Rachel Roberts worked on the movie under the pseudonym Anna Green (short for anthropomorphic green screen), and is referred to by this name on one of the behind-the-scenes documentaries on the DVD release. Live footage of Rachel Roberts was computer enhanced in order to create the synthetic look of Simone. During some computer screen scenes, a detailed, computer animated version of the actress was used. See more »
Goofs
After Elaine and Lainey find the computer and the virus, they restore it. However, Viktor threw the hard disk away. See more »
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!
See more »
Crazy Credits
Despite the fact he has an important role in the film, the actor who plays Hank is not credited. See more »
Alternate Versions
In the initial August 2002 theatrical release, Rachel Roberts, the actress who portrays "most aspects" of Simone, is uncredited. According to an Associated Press interview with Roberts published after the film's release, this will be changed in the video release so that Roberts is credited. See more »
This wasn't a bad comedy starring a famous actor who is known more for his dramatic roles: Al Pacino.
For a one-joke storyline, I thought the film was pretty good, and certainly better than the critics would have you believe. The story moved well, only getting a little preposterous in the final 15-25 minutes, although the whole film is a tongue-and-cheek look at Hollywood fame.
It's a nice-looking DVD and Rachel Roberts falls in that category, too, as the beautiful computer-generated new movie star who isn't what people think.
This turned out to be an "okay" but not one that people raved about or added to their collections. Maybe it was the weak ending.
23 of 38 people found this review helpful.
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This wasn't a bad comedy starring a famous actor who is known more for his dramatic roles: Al Pacino.
For a one-joke storyline, I thought the film was pretty good, and certainly better than the critics would have you believe. The story moved well, only getting a little preposterous in the final 15-25 minutes, although the whole film is a tongue-and-cheek look at Hollywood fame.
It's a nice-looking DVD and Rachel Roberts falls in that category, too, as the beautiful computer-generated new movie star who isn't what people think.
This turned out to be an "okay" but not one that people raved about or added to their collections. Maybe it was the weak ending.