Stardom

French Canadian director Denys Arcand pushes the boundaries of the mockumentary with Stardom , the tale of a fictional neophyte supermodel ( Jessica Pare ) told entirely through clips of her appearances on talk shows, television interviews, and documentaries. Originally titled 15 Moments , Stardom begins its portrait at a women's hockey game in the nether regions of Ontario, Canada. When the team's formidable teenage forward Tina (Pare) pulls her helmet off, letting her brunette tresses fly, a bystander snaps a photo, and Tina soon becomes the buzz at the country's hottest fashion houses. Her rise through the industry, however, is plagued by advances from older men with sundry motives: a smitten French photographer ( Charles Berling ), a smarmy entrepreneur ( Dan Aykroyd ), the Canadian Ambassador to the U.N. ( Frank Langella ), and a slick promoter ( Thomas Gibson , the latter half of TV's Dharma and Greg ). Stardom was the closing film at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, marking the first time in over 50 years that a Canadian production was chosen for such an honor; it would go on to open the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival before its theatrical premiere. — Michael Hastings