Taglines: A star is… created.
S1m0ne movie storyline. Is the time approaching when a persona in its entirety could be a mere fabrication of modern culture and technology? Or did Hollywood enter that time long ago? Either way Viktor Taransky (Al Pacino) finds himself growing more and more aware of the media-obsessed culture in which he tries to earn his living.
Taransky is a film director struggling to survive in an industry that doesn’t require or want his artistic vision. When first he meets a stranger whose vision is considered somewhat questionable, he doesn’t realize the potential of the idea to digitally incorporate a character into his otherwise unsalvageable film. However, in time, not only the director and the entire studio, but American pop culture at large will grow to embrace Simone.
As Taransky earns popularity and acclaim via the success of the digitally constructed actress he “discovered,” he struggles to define his own identity as an artist and a person, and finds that lying to cover up Simone’s non-existence is altering his life entirely. His ex-wife and former employer Elaine (Catherine Keener) notices the difference in his personality, upsetting their daughter Lainey (Evan Rachel Wood) and her hopes of their reconciliation. Meanwhile, stray paparazzi turned private investigators threaten to make public incriminating evidence, which could destroy the limelight Taransky enjoys while “hiding” Simone. Amazingly, what Simone doesn’t say or do creates all the more buzz, and causes Taransky to face the reality of his industry.
Simone (stylized as S1MØNE) is a 2002 American satirical science-fiction film written, produced and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Al Pacino, Catherine Keener, Evan Rachel Wood, Jason Schwartzman, Winona Ryder, Rachel Roberts, Mitzi Martin, Carole Androsky, Christopher Neiman and Maureen Mueller. The film opened at #9 on the North American box office chart, grossing US$3,813,463 in its opening weekend. The film grossed $19,576,023 worldwide.
About the Story
When Nicola Anders (Winona Ryder), the star of out-of-favor director Viktor Taransky’s (Al Pacino) new film, refuses to finish it, Taransky is forced to find a replacement. Contractual requirements totally prevent using her image in the film, so he must re-shoot. Instead, Viktor experiments with a new computer program he inherits from late acquaintance Hank Aleno (Elias Koteas) which allows creation of a computer-generated woman which he can easily animate to play the film’s central character.
Viktor names his virtual actor “Simone”, a name derived from the computer program’s title, Simulation One. Seamlessly incorporated into the film, Simone (Rachel Roberts) gives a fantastic performance, exactly controlled by Viktor. The film is immediately a huge success. The studio, and soon the world, ask “who is Simone?”
Viktor initially claims that Simone is a recluse and requests her privacy be respected, but that only intensifies media demands for her to appear. Viktor intends to reveal the secret of her non-existence after the second picture. To satisfy demand, he executes a number of progressively ambitious stunts relying on misdirection and cinematic special effects technology. Eventually it escalates to simulated remote location video live interviews.
In one instance, two determined tabloid reporters discover Viktor used out-of-date stock photography as a background during an interview instead of being on that site as claimed and blackmail him into getting Simone to make a live appearance. He arranges her to perform a song at a stadium event appearing in a cloud of smoke and then using flawless holographic technology. The perception of being in person is reinforced with realtime visualization on the stadium’s monitors. Simone becomes even more famous, simultaneously becoming a double winner for the Academy Award for Best Actress, tying with herself in the process.
Once the pressure of serving his creation reaches a breaking point for Viktor, he decides to ruin Simone’s career as an act of vengeance. Simone’s next film, I Am Pig, is her directorial debut and a tasteless treatment about zoophilia intended to disgust audiences, which not only fails to achieve the desired effect of audience alienation, but also serves to foster her credibility as a risk-taking, fearless and avant-garde artist.
Taransky’s subsequent attempts to discredit Simone by having her drink, smoke and curse at public appearances and use politically incorrect statements similarly backfire, when the press instead begins to see her as refreshingly honest. As a last resort, Taransky decides to dispose of Simone completely by using a computer virus to erase her and dumps the hard drive and floppy disks into a steamer trunk and buries it at sea, then announces to the press she has died of a rare virus contracted on her Goodwill Tour of the Third World. During the funeral, the police interrupt, open the coffin, and find only Simone’s cardboard cutout. He is arrested and shown a security camera video where he loads a large trunk on his yacht.
S1m0ne (2002)
Oirected by: Andrew Niccol
Starring: Al Pacino, Catherine Keener, Evan Rachel Wood, Jason Schwartzman, Winona Ryder, Rachel Roberts, Mitzi Martin, Carole Androsky, Christopher Neiman, Maureen Mueller
Screenplay by: Andrew Niccol
Production Design by: Jan Roelfs
Cinematography by: Derek Grover, Edward Lachman
Film Editing by: Paul Rubell
Costume Design by: Elisabetta Beraldo
Set Decoration by: Leslie A. Pope
art Direction by: Sarah Knowles
Makeup Department: Carrie Angland
Music by: Carter Burwell
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sensuality.
Distributed by: New Line Cinema
Release Date:August 23, 2002
Views: 187
