Simon Sez

Simon Sez
Simon Sez
	Film poster
Directed by	Kevin Alyn Elders
Screenplay by	Andrew Lowery; Andrew Miller
Story by	Moshe Diamant; Rudy Cohen
Produced by	Moshe Diamant; Ringo Lam
Starring	Dennis Rodman; Dane Cook; Ricky Harris; John Pinette; Filip Nikolic;
Cinematography	Avraham Karpick
Edited by	Alain Jakubowicz
Music by	Brian Tyler
Production; company	Signature Films
Distributed by	Independent Artists Films (North America) ; Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (International)
Release date	September 24, 1999;
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Box office	$292,152

Simon Sez is a 1999 action film starring Dennis Rodman, Dane Cook, and John Pinette.^[2] The film was directed by Kevin Alyn Elders, and the score was composed by Brian Tyler.

The film received negative reviews and grossed $292,152.

Premise

Interpol agent Simon goes on a mission in France to save a kidnapped woman and defeat an arms dealer.

Cast

Dennis Rodman as Simon
Dane Cook as Nick Miranda
John Pinette as Micro, a fellow cyber-monk
Ricky Harris as Macro, a fellow cyber-monk
Filip Nikolic as Michael Gabrielli
Natalia Cigliuti as Claire Fence
Emma Wiklund as The Dancer
Jérôme Pradon as Ashton
Xiong Xin Xin as Xin Xin

Production

On June 18, 1998, Variety reported that Rodman had entered into an agreement with Sony to star in an action film, yet to be titled. Variety characterized the deal as a "byproduct of the [1998] lockout by NBA owners," as the work stoppage had temporarily put on hold Rodman's commitments to the league. Originally, Ringo Lam was set to direct along with Elders, with Lam, Moshe Diamont, and Dwight Manley producing.^[3] Ultimately, however, only Elders was credited as director, and only Lam and Diamont as producers.^[4] In August of that year, it was announced Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group would finance the film now known as Simon Sez under the direction of Kevin Alyn Elders.^[5]

Release

The film was released in 1999, opening in Los Angeles on September 24 and then in New York on September 25.^[1] The film grossed a total of $292,152.^[6]

Reception

Simon Sez has a 0% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 1.85 out of 10. The website's consensus reads, "Simon Sez no matter how starved you are for something to watch, there has to be a better option than this dreadfully misguided action thriller."^[7] Writing for The New York Times, Lawrence Van Gelder gave a scathing review of the movie, stating that "its plot seems as if it had been fished out of the wastebaskets of writers who have written scores of better examples of the genre dating at least as far back as Dr. No in 1962", though he did find Rodman "inescapably watchable".^[8] Entertainment Weekly gave the film a D− rating, calling it "a shoddy mess" and "a bargain-basement rip-off of Ronin," and adding that Rodman was "yesterday's threatening omni-sexual exhibitionist turned today’s overexposed cliché."^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Simon Sez". American Film Institute. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
^ "Simon Sez (1999)". AllMovie. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
^ "Burton eyes 'Hollow'; Rodman wrestles". Variety. June 18, 1998. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
^ Leydon, Joe (27 September 1999). "Review: 'Simon Sez'". Variety. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
^ "Col TriStar backs 'Sez'". Variety. Retrieved January 3, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
^ "Simon Sez (1999)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
^ "Simon Sez (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
^ Van Gelder, Lawrence (September 25, 1999). "FILM REVIEW; Dennis Rodman, a Terror for Terrorists". The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
^ Gleiberman, Owen (October 1, 1999). "Simon Sez". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 3, 2016.

External links

Simon Sez at IMDb

This article about an action thriller film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[afi-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Simon Sez". American Film Institute. Retrieved September 4, 2014.

[2] "Simon Sez (1999)". AllMovie. Retrieved December 13, 2020.

[3] "Burton eyes 'Hollow'; Rodman wrestles". Variety. June 18, 1998. Retrieved July 9, 2014.

[simonsez-4] Leydon, Joe (27 September 1999). "Review: 'Simon Sez'". Variety. Retrieved 28 February 2014.

[ColumbiaSez-5] "Col TriStar backs 'Sez'". Variety. Retrieved January 3, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[6] "Simon Sez (1999)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved September 4, 2014.

[7] "Simon Sez (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 13, 2020.

[8] Van Gelder, Lawrence (September 25, 1999). "FILM REVIEW; Dennis Rodman, a Terror for Terrorists". The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2023.

[9] Gleiberman, Owen (October 1, 1999). "Simon Sez". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 3, 2016.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]