Disgraced and desperate, director Viktor Taransky faces the collapse of his career when his leading actress, Nicola Anders, storms off the set, refusing to complete his latest film. Contractually barred from using her likeness, Viktor is left scrambling for a replacement. Enter Hank Aleno, a mysterious programmer who gifts Viktor an experimental software capable of generating a hyper-realistic digital actress. The program, titled Simulation One, enables Viktor to create a virtual performer with absolute precision. Naming her Simone, short for Simulation One, he integrates her seamlessly into the film. To the shock of critics and audiences alike, Simone delivers an astonishing performance, capturing hearts and minds worldwide.
The film becomes an unexpected sensation, elevating Simone to stardom. However, curiosity surrounding the enigmatic actress spirals out of control. The world demands to see her, but Viktor, determined to maintain the illusion, insists that Simone is a private individual. This only fuels the frenzy. He pledges to reveal the truth after her next film but, as the hysteria builds, he resorts to elaborate deceptions—fabricated interviews, manipulated press footage, and holographic illusions—to sustain the ruse.
The charade intensifies when two investigative tabloid journalists uncover inconsistencies in Simone’s supposed live interviews. Armed with proof that Viktor has doctored footage, they blackmail him into presenting Simone in person. Rising to the challenge, Viktor orchestrates a dazzling stadium event where Simone appears in a cloud of smoke, an impeccable holographic projection reinforced by real-time digital manipulation. The deception is flawless, catapulting Simone’s fame to even greater heights. She even achieves the unprecedented feat of winning two Academy Awards for Best Actress—both awarded to herself in a tie.
As Simone’s renown eclipses his own, Viktor becomes resentful. Seeking to sabotage her career, he masterminds her directorial debut, I Am Pig, a shockingly controversial film designed to alienate audiences. To his horror, the film is hailed as a bold artistic statement, cementing Simone as a fearless visionary. Every attempt to discredit her fails. Publicly portraying her as a troubled, rebellious star—making her drink, smoke, and spew inflammatory remarks—only enhances her appeal, endearing her to fans as a refreshingly raw celebrity.
Frustrated and desperate to reclaim his own identity, Viktor makes a final attempt to erase Simone from existence. Deploying a powerful computer virus, he wipes her data, disposes of the hard drive and storage disks in a steamer trunk, and sinks them into the ocean. He then announces her tragic demise, attributing it to a rare illness contracted during a humanitarian tour. Yet even in death, Simone captivates the world. At her highly publicized funeral, the police arrive with damning evidence: surveillance footage of Viktor dumping the steamer trunk at sea. Arrested for her “murder,” he is forced to confess that Simone was never real—merely a digital construct. But when authorities recover the trunk, it is inexplicably empty.
Hope emerges in the form of Viktor’s daughter, Lainey, and his ex-wife, Elaine, who suspect Simone can still be salvaged. Searching Viktor’s studio, they discover his virus disk and deploy an antivirus program. Miraculously, Simone is restored. In an unprecedented twist, she appears live on national television, holding a newspaper bearing her own obituary. She declares her death a hoax, spinning a media spectacle that further entrenches her celebrity status. Elaine and Viktor rekindle their relationship, while Simone and Viktor publicly embrace their newfound “romance.” To complete the illusion, they even announce the birth of a virtual child—a digital offspring conceived entirely for the cameras, ensuring that Simone’s legacy endures.
