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, Catherine Keener, Rachel Roberts

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:

holographic image | artificially created woman | film within a film | reference to pygmalion | photograph of ronald reagan | 

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Taglines:

A star is... created.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sensuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

SPOILER: In the post credits scene at the supermarket, Viktor is seen filming with a camcorder. When the finished footage with S1m0ne is shown, it is clearly shot in 35mm anamorphic, as the rest of the movie, and nothing like a camcorder. However, this scene plays like a joke after the film is over with no pretension to be realistic at all.

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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

In the film's title and in the credits, the letters I and O in people's names are replaced with the numerals 1 and 0.

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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.

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Connections

References Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

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Soundtracks

Requiem - in Paradisum
Written by Gabriel Fauré
Performed by La Chapelle Royale, Ensemble Musique Oblique with Philippe Herreweghe
Courtesy of Harmonia Mundi USA

User Reviews

Interesting Premise, But Nothing Special Movie-Wise

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.

Details

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

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,813,463, 25 August 2002

Gross USA:

$9,688,676

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$19,576,023

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