Simone (stylized as S1M0NE) is a 2002 American satirical science fiction comedy film written, produced and directed by Andrew Niccol.
Plot[]
When Nicola Anders, the star of a new film by disillusioned, out-of-favor director Viktor Taransky, refuses to finish the film and contractually requires her image to not be used in the film without risking a lawsuit, Taransky is forced to find an actress to replace her and re-shoot scenes from the film.
Instead of hiring another actress, Taransky experiments with a new computer program that he inherits from acquaintance Hank Aleno. It enables the creation of a computer-generated woman that he can easily animate to play the film's central character. Taransky names his virtual actor "Simone", a name derived from the computer program's title, Simulation One. Seamlessly incorporated into the film, Simone gives a fantastic performance, precisely controlled by Taransky. The film is a huge success, but the studio and world grow confused about Simone, and are eager to find out who she is.
Taransky initially claims that Simone is a recluse and requests that her privacy be respected, but that merely intensifies media demands for her to appear. Taransky decides that he will reveal the secret of her non-existence after her second starring motion picture. To satisfy demand, he executes a number of progressively ambitious stunts that rely on misdirection and cinematic special effects. Eventually, the ruse escalates to simulated remote live interviews.
Two determined tabloid reporters discover that Taransky used out-of-date stock photography as the background during an interview, and they blackmail him into providing Simone for a live appearance. He arranges for her to perform a song at a stadium event, appearing in a cloud of smoke and using flawless holographictechnology. The perception of being in-person is reinforced with real-time visualization on the stadium's monitors. Simone becomes even more famous, simultaneously becoming a double winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress, tied with herself.
Although initially happy that his hoax was successful, Viktor grows tired of Simone constantly overshadowing him in the press. So he decides to purposefully make her third film bad. Thus, Simone's next film, I Am Pig, is her "directorial debut", and a tasteless treatment about zoophilia intended to disgust audiences. Not only does it fail to achieve the desired effect of audience alienation, it 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 backfire when the press instead begins to see her as refreshingly honest. As a last resort, Taransky decides to completely dispose of Simone by using a computer virus to erase her, dumping the hard drive and floppy disks into a steamer trunk, burying the trunk at sea, and announcing to the press that she has died of a rare virus that she contracted on her Goodwill Tour of the Third World. During the funeral, the police interrupt, open the coffin and find only a cardboard cutout of Simone. Viktor is arrested and shown a security camera video that recorded him loading the steamer trunk onto his yacht.
After being charged with her murder, Taransky admits that Simone is not a person but merely a computer program. The chest containing the computer data is retrieved from the ocean, but it is empty. Taransky's daughter Lainey and ex-wife Elaine enter his studio to help him try to restore Simone. They find Taransky's virus source disk (Plague) and apply an anti-virus program to eradicate the computer virus. They restore Simone and have her appear on national television holding up a newspaper headline with her obituary, along with a story that her death was a hoax. Elaine and Taransky reunite, but Simone and Taransky create a "public relationship". They even have a virtual baby as a publicity stunt.
Cast[]
- Al Pacino as Viktor Taransky
- Catherine Keener as Elaine Christian
- Evan Rachel Wood as Lainey Christian
- Rachel Roberts as Simone
- Winona Ryder as Nicola Anders
- Jay Mohr as Hal Sinclair
- Pruitt Taylor Vince as Max Sayer
- Jason Schwartzman as Milton
- Claudia Jordan as Simone Lookalike
- Elias Koteas as Hank Aleno (uncredited)
- Rebecca Romijn as Faith (uncredited)
- Joel Heyman as Male
- Kelly Anna Cox as Young Simone