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Living in Oblivion
Low-budget independent filmmaker Nick Reve tries to keep everything together as his production is plagued with an insecure actress, a megalomaniac star, a pretentious beret-wearing director of photography, and lousy catering.
1995 · Directed by Tom DiCillo · 90 min · Comedy · Screenplay in the scene database · 8 frames
Tagline
Nick is about to discover the first rule of filmmaking: if at first you don't succeed... PANIC!
Plot
In New York City, a low-budget independent film's catering crew is underfunded and apathetic, deciding not to replace a carton of milk on the craft service table for a week. The scene being shot is about a young woman, Ellen, reproaching her mother for not intervening when the father beat Ellen as a child. Shots are spoiled because of how the microphone is visible; the camera assistant fails to keep the shot in focus, a light gets blown which then causes Cora, the actress playing the mother, to forget her lines and Nicole, the actress playing Ellen, to become unfocused and careless.
When Nicole berates herself for subpar acting, Cora reassures her with a gesture that reminds Nicole of a similar gesture made by her own terminally ill mother. Upset by the memory, Nicole turns in a passionate performance; Cora, taken aback, is equally good. However, their performance is not captured on film; cinematographer and camera operator Wolf, who has been diluting the substandard coffee with spoiled milk, has been vomiting in the toilet throughout. Nick calls for another take. This time, an incessant beeping sound distracts the actors. Nobody can tell where it is coming from and Nick becomes furious, berating everyone on the crew and cast for their inadequacies. Nick wakes up in his own bed; the beeping sound is his alarm clock. He has dreamed the entire situation. It is 4:30 a.m. and he is due on set.
Early the same morning, the film's lead actor Chad Palomino gets dressed in Nicole's hotel room. They have had sex, and Chad suggests that they might get together again later. Nicole politely declines. Chad and Nicole arrive on the set separately. Nicole's character Ellen and Chad's character Damian have been in love for years but have never admitted it, until the scene being shot on that day. Shooting the scene is made practically impossible by Chad's irregular acting. He continually moves to places where he is either invisible or badly lit. Nicole gets frustrated, and when Chad starts to stroke her head, she briefly loses her cool and apologizes. Irritated, Chad demands a private talk with Nick. He tells him that he has had sex with Nicole and makes out that it was she, not he, who had wanted to continue the relationship. To keep Chad happy, Nick agrees that Nicole is terrible. Nicole overhears this conversation on the sound mixer's headphones. Pretending to be contrite, she asks Nick if they can improvise a little, but when they do so, she announces to everyone that, although she had sex with Chad, she is not at all interested in him. Chad angrily quits the film. Relieved that he will no longer have to please Chad, Nick calls him a "Hostess Twinkie motherfucker" and a fight breaks out. Nick beats Chad senseless and fires him. He apologizes to Nicole and confesses that he loves her. They kiss, and Nicole abruptly wakes up, still in her bed, having dreamed the entire segment.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Written by: Tom DiCillo
- Cinematography: Frank Prinzi
- Edited by: Dana Congdon, Camilla Toniolo
- Music: Jim Farmer
- Production design: Thérèse DePrez, Stephanie Carroll
- Produced by: Marcus Viscidi, Michael Griffiths
Cast
- Steve Buscemi as Nick Reve
- Catherine Keener as Nicole Springer
- Dermot Mulroney as Wolf
- Danielle von Zerneck as Wanda
- James Le Gros as Chad Palomino
- Peter Dinklage as Tito
- Rica Martens as Cora
- Kevin Corrigan as Assistant Camera
- Robert Wightman as Gaffer
- Michael Griffiths as Sound Mixer / 'Speedo'
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: JDI productions, Lemon Sky Productions
- Budget: $500,000
- Box office: $1,148,752
- Themes: film in film, vomiting, 1990s, crying man, low-budget filmmaking
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