non-satire had been the earlier and more successful The Truman Show. Pruitt Taylor Vince and Jason Schwartzman were cast as obese tabloid investigator Max Sayer and his shady-looking but peculiarly childlike assistant, Milton, respectively. Rebecca Romijn was cast later in the role of Faith, Viktor's secretary who is so obsessed with Simone that she begins dressing like Simone, dying her hair like Simone and even trying to have sex with Viktor just so that she can hear him call her "Simone". These side-actors built up much of the side comedy surrounding the bizarre cultural phenomenon surrounding Simone. Footage of character Holly Golightly from Breakfast At Tiffany's was obtained from Paramount Studios to be used in the film for part of the basis of the Simone character, while scenic footage used for Simone's "remote interview" backgrounds was obtained from Getty Images. Stylized elements present throughout the film and its post-credits included the use of #1 in place of any letter 'I', and a #0 in place of any letter 'O', which occurs for the entire duration of the credits, including for all cast and crew names featured. Principal photography was done by Edward Lachman, while the entirety of the production was made in California, using the Getty stock footage to fill in for locations such as Egypt's Great Pyramids. Simone featured a cover of (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, which Simone sings during a concert scene via hologram, and which later plays over the end credits. Additional music was created by Carter Burwell, and was released on CD alongside the film's 2002 release. Special effects The film shows how the fake is produced using the chroma key technique. A post-credits sequence shows Viktor creating fake footage of Simone in a supermarket, which one of her pursuers sees, believing it real. 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 Elias Koteas as Hank Aleno (uncredited) Rebecca Romijn as Faith (uncredited) Joel Heyman as Male Kelly Anna Cox as Young Simone Reception Box office 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. Critical response Simone received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator