FILM > The truth about S1M0NE

[KOS-MOS]

Original Article from: wired.com culture news

For Simone, 'Fake' Is Flattery
By Michael Stroud

The central conceit for writer-director Andrew Niccol's new movie Simone -- an A-list actress created from computer graphics software -- isn't quite technologically possible.

So Niccol did the next best thing. The New Zealander used technology to stitch together likenesses and voices of at least four different actresses -- most notably Canadian model Rachel Roberts.

"We created a poor man's artificial actor," Niccol said. "She's a fake fake."

While Roberts was the primary model for Simone, she had plenty of doctoring.

Sometimes, Niccol said, he'd splice words from different actresses in a single sentence Simone spoke. And Niccol's visual effects house, Black Box Digital, "simonized" the Simone character, using customized "electronic makeup" to remove her remaining flaws and give her eyes "a look you can't get from a human being."

As a result, Niccol said, "there is no time (in the movie) when you see an unadulterated actor."

The New Line Cinema production, which opens Friday, revolves around Viktor Taransky (Al Pacino), a down-and-out director, who stumbles upon software that allows him to create a wholly digital overnight sensation -- and briefly gives him the success he has always craved. Unfortunately, like all superstars, Simone also has a mind of her own.

On the Simone website, New Line's marketing team played up the artificiality theme, introducing Simone "as herself" in production notes and creating an entire filmography for its star -- complete with childhood photos. Rachel Roberts isn't even mentioned, a fact that has fueled a flurry of articles outing her as the "real" Simone.

It's an ironic twist for a film that examines illusion and reality in the creation of celebrity. "The studio would hope to continue the themes of the film in the marketing of the film," Niccol said. "Is she a real fake or a fake fake?"

If the themes sound vaguely familiar, it's probably because Niccol also wrote The Truman Show, in which Jim Carrey plays a character whose entire life is a reality show.

Niccol seems amused by the media's rush to expose the marketing of Simone.

"You have to keep a sense of humor," he said. "It's not the great ethical debate of our time. Should there be illusion in Hollywood? Oh, my God, no!"

Plenty of actors and other performers are already editing their film and video footage with far less fanfare, Niccol noted. He pointed to a pop singer he knows who "supervises the sculpting of her body in every frame."

So is a real Simone -- a computer-generated actress -- likely to find her way onto the big screen any time soon?

Niccol allows that visual effects artists can already create seconds, even minutes, when digital characters are mistaken for their living counterparts. And, yes, he thinks the technology for making them indistinguishable will soon exist.

But that doesn’t mean people will prefer artificial humans to the real McCoy.

"We can fool the eye, but it's very difficult to fool the heart," Niccol said. "We haven't fallen in love yet with an artificial actor, except perhaps with something like Toy Story. The problem is, it's very hard to get a genuine performance from pixels."

[Miss Silver Karakuri]

Admittedly I saw S1M0NE when it came out. If you could get past the idea that no Simone wasn't AI, wasn't a robot, wasnt actually ANYTHING but a simulacrum, or virtual golem, with no ability to do anything on its own. Then it was a pretty good movie. Infact I would see it again, because it was a nice film... no ASFR content, no real sexual content at all. But how hollywood is all over a pretty face and the more fake it is, the better.

There is also a small poke with those who know when you see Al Pacino's daughter doing a book report on Pygmalion...