With his career on the skids, a Hollywood screenwriter enlists the aid of a modern-day muse, who proves to test his patience.
Acting
Sharon Stone commits fully to absurd divinity; Brooks perfects anxious everyman.
Writing
Meta Hollywood jokes that bite harder than they should for '99.
Direction
Brooks directs his own spiral with surgical self-awareness.
Director
Albert Brooks
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Greek diner where the muse first appears is a real LA institution, and the film's cameo-packed Hollywood party scene features actual Brooks collaborators including James Cameron and Rob Reiner.
Brooks conceived this after genuine struggles with writer's block post-Mother, essentially making a $15 million therapy session about creative impotence that tanked with critics who'd lived the same anxiety.
US
