SIMONE
Released: August 23, 2002
New Zealand-born screenwriter-director Andrew Niccol gave us the subtle futurist yarn "Gattaca" (1997) and wrote "The Truman Show (1998) which stars Jim Carrey. Bearing more of a connection with Barry Levinson's "Wag The Dog" (1997) (where, just before elections, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to "fabricate" a war in order to cover-up a presidential sex scandal) than his own "The Truman Show", "Simone" is about a Hollywood director (Al Pacino) on the outs who "spin-doctors" his career back to life by creating a fully digital actress. Of course, she becomes an overnight sensation that everyone thinks is a real person. Pacino plays the desperate director Viktor Taransky. Catherine Keener plays his ex-wife who also happens to run the movie studio where he works. Faced with utter failure, Taransky is given some cutting edge software by strange code writer Hank Aleno (played by Canuck Elias Koteas) at the same time his prima-dona star (Winona Ryder) blows up and walks out, forcing the studio to fire him when he refuses to shelve the movie. And thus, Simone is born. And not only does everyone believe that she is a real person, she becomes a global star. Sure, the characters all pretty much put their skepticism on hold except for a couple of hell-bent reporters but that's part of the fun of watching "Simone". For a chance to see Al Pacino do a light comedy for a change, it's worth checking out. The supporting cast is all great - Evan Rachel Wood (from TV's "Once And Again"), Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jay Mohr, Jason Schwartzman (from "Rushmore") and Winona Ryder - they all shine here. I think this is one of those movies that will find its audience on home video. One thing for either theatre or rental viewers - there's some funny footage tacked on at the very end of the credits that's worth sticking around for...
Simone, the digital actress created by Pacino's Taransky character, may be 100% fictional but the likeness is most definitely of a real person. She is Vancouver native Rachel Roberts. She's done a lot of modelling work and this is her first film. She had to abide by an 18 month long confidentiality agreement enforced by New Line that she NOT disclose her involvement in the movie. The cat's outta the bag now, however! Roberts, the real woman, is stunning and it's easy to see why Niccol chose her for the role. There's little evidence on the movie's poster or cast credits that alludes that it's really her though - the credits say "Simone - herself". Apparently the home video versions will fully credit Roberts in the closing credits as the actress who plays Simone. Astute end credit readers will note that the producers thank a long list of Hollywood leading ladies past and present for contributing their cinematic presences to the making of the digital Simone. At the end of that long list, it states thank yous to Rachel Roberts and - tongue in cheek - Hank Aleno Software, Inc.
The folks at New Line cannot be said to under value using the internet as a marketing tool and one need only look at "Simone" to see their amazing efforts. Most of these sites are promoting fictional characters from the movie as if they were very real. Very entertaining is the result - both in the movie and the internet marketing. Check out "Simone" for a fun film experience and refer to these funny fictional sites to enhance it...
official Simone movie site
the fictional Amalgamated studio site
official Viktor Taransky site
fictional site for Simone's Eternity Forever fictional movie
another fake movie Simone starred in
I Am Pig, the fictional movie Simone directed
117 Minutes
New Line/Warner Bros.