walks off the set in disgust. Nick's confidence collapses, and he announces that the movie is over. At that moment, his mother intervenes, grabbing the apple, moving to Tito's mark and announcing that she is "ready". The crew scrambles to shoot the scene, and her manic performance injects fresh energy and conviction into it. Nick is delighted and decides to keep the new dream sequence, and there is a tense moment while the sound mixer records 30 seconds of room tone. The entire cast and crew manages to remain silent, and during this moment they each daydream about different things. They go on to shooting the next sequence. Cast Steve Buscemi as Nick Reve, an intense and hopeful independent film director. Nick is sensitive and thoughtful with actors and he tries to respect the status and dignity of everyone on the set, but sometimes the frustration just gets too much. Nick's surname 'Reve' is derived from and pronounced like the French word rêve, meaning 'dream'. Catherine Keener as Nicole, an actress playing the female lead in Nick's film. Nicole is secretly in love with Nick. Although Nick believes she is a fine actress, Nicole herself is fatalistic, believing that she will one day give up acting and seek work as a waitress or short order cook. Dermot Mulroney as Wolf, a talented but pretentious and prima donna-ish cinematographer and camera operator. Wolf is in a relationship with the film's First Assistant Director, Wanda (Danielle von Zerneck), although she breaks up with him at the beginning of Part Three. He is opinionated, sulky and obstinate. His surname is Überman, as shown on the clapperboard. James LeGros as Chad Palomino, the male lead in Nick's film, a major Hollywood star appearing in a low-budget movie to gain critical kudos. Chad is a selfish egomaniac; all of his suggestions about changing the blocking are in fact covert attempts to place himself in the foreground of the frame, instead of in the background. He turns out to be also a liar, admitting to Nick that he considers him a "loser" and that he only accepted the role "because I thought you were tight with Quentin Tarantino!" This character is sometimes assumed to be based on Brad Pitt, but this isn't the case according to the director on the DVD commentary track. Rica Martens as Cora Reve, Nick's Mother, who on set is both a