Celebrity (1998 Woody Allen & scr)

Woody's meditation on the title subject has everyone in its cast - I mean everyone - half the cast of The Sopranos and Donald Trump (who's pulling down an old cathedral to replace it with a shiny new building), for example, not to mention Sam Rockwell and Adrian Grenier as non-speaking extras.

The story sprawls somewhat but loosely follows the parallel lives of former couple Judy Davis and Kenneth Branagh and their various adventures with Joe Mantegna, Charlize Theron, Melanie Griffith, Winona Ryder and Leonardo di Caprio. With Dylan Baker, J.K. Simmons, Michael Lerner, Debra Messing, Famke Janssen, Bebe Neuwirth, Tony Sirico, Alison Janney, Hank Azaria, Aida Turturro.

Ends where it begins. There was no copy of the novel Ken had been working on for two years. Highlights include Aston Martin crash, plastic surgeons, skinheads at TV studio, usual stupid behaviour of people (Davis trying to sabotage her own relationship, for example). Not only Ken but Judy become Woody Allens at different points. Funny and stinging. Shot by Sven Nykvist.