neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Simone
	Andrew Niccol Al Pacino, Catherine Keener, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Jay Mohr, Jason Schwartzman, Evan Rachel Wood, Elias Koteas, Rachel Roberts 2002		Synthetic actors? From the lackluster performances that reach movie houses every week, it seems like they've been here all along. Now, leaps in computer animation make it feasible that filmmakers will be able to program digitally generated actors, indistinguishable from real people, to interact onscreen with human stars. Writer/director Andrew Niccol, whose script for "The Truman Show" earned an Oscar nomination, tries to address the consequences of such a technological marvel in the obvious satire "Simone." Al Pacino has to toil a little too hard for laughs as Viktor, a has-been director trying to revive his career. When his latest film is scotched by a tantrum-prone actress (Winona Ryder), Viktor uses a virtual-reality program invented by a mad genius to replace her with Simone, a believable, controllable cyber-actress. Simone becomes a sensation. Even the studio head, Viktor's ex-wife (Catherine Keener), is fooled into thinking Simone exists. Then, Viktor's attempts to maintain the illusion begin to eat at him.