Celebrity

"A funny look at people who will do anything to get famous... or stay famous."

1998 1h 53m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 520

DramaComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The career and personal life of writer Lee are at a standstill, so he divorces his bashful wife, Robin, and dives into a new job as an entertainment journalist. His assignments take him to the swankiest corners of Manhattan, but as he jumps from one lavish party to another and engages in numerous empty romances, he starts to doubt the worth of his work. Meanwhile, top TV producer Tony falls for Robin and introduces her to the world of celebrity.

“A funny look at people who will do anything to get famous... or stay famous.”

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Cast

Hank Azaria
David
Kenneth Branagh
Lee Simon
Judy Davis
Robin Simon
Leonardo DiCaprio
Brandon
Melanie Griffith
Nicole Oliver
Famke Janssen
Bonnie
Michael Lerner
Dr. Lupus
Joe Mantegna
Tony Gardella

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Woody Allen
Writers: Woody Allen
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 42% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

225+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Woody Allen, shot by Sven Nykvist. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Susan E. Morse shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Hank Azaria and Kenneth Branagh and Judy Davis carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A funny look at people who will do anything to get famous... or stay famous.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0120533 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Woody Allen directs. Sven Nykvist behind the camera. Susan E. Morse cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 42% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
228 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3225+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Woody Allen, shot by Sven Nykvist. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Susan E. Morse shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Hank Azaria and Kenneth Branagh and Judy Davis carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A funny look at people who will do anything to get famous... or stay famous.".
8IMDB entry: tt0120533 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sven Nykvist
Editing: Susan E. Morse
Production design: Santo Loquasto
Costume design: Suzy Benzinger
Makeup / hair: Romaine Greene
VFX supervisor: Ellen Poon
Sound: Lee Dichter
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $12,000,000
Box office: $5,078,660
Return: 42% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: Celebrity (1998)

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Woody Allen

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-12-07
★ 6/10
"Lee" (Kenneth Branagh) and wife "Robin" (Judy Davis) have been coasting along for quite a while when he suddenly declares to her that he wants a divorce. He's a writer largely reduced to churning out travelogues who has had his head banged against the wall following a high school reunion that made him realise that mundanity is set fair unless he does something about it. She doesn't take that so well, and seeks solace in a retreat that might be part of their problem. He feels that her strong Catholic religion has repressed their sex life and that, in turn, has impacted upon his literal creative juices. He certainly reckons that his new love "Bonnie" (Famke Janssen), herself a story editor, might be able to stimulate that. Meantime, "Robin" lands on her feet and is soon working with television executive "Tony" (Joe Mantegna) who offers her an whole new range of opportunities and as these two people begin to live independent lives, one begins to relish it and the other, well maybe less so. Is it a case of grass being greener or being careful what you wish for? It's an adequate drama this one that illustrates well the pulling power of Woody Allen in assembling a fairly stellar cast, but the episodic style of the storytelling is miss more than hit for me, and with the underpinning marital drama barely registering on the interesting scale, it really falls to one lively and authentic looking scene with Leonardo DiCaprio as the over-indulged film star having a mega-strop with his girlfriend and threatening to trash the hotel to bring the film to a brief form of life. It's too long, at times repetitive, and extremely verbose as the characters never seem capable of shutting up long enough to listen to what has already been said, let alone absorb or implement it's messages. Monochrome helps it's look, as does the classic sounding score, but as an opportunity to satirise the whole business of celebrity and the fickleness of fame, it rather disappoints.

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