Timecode (film)
Encyclopedia
Timecode is a 2000 American experimental film
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...

 directed by Mike Figgis
Mike Figgis
Michael "Mike" Figgis is an English film director, writer, and composer.-Personal life:Figgis was born in Carlisle, England and grew up in Africa. Figgis for several years had a relationship with the actress Saffron Burrows and cast her in several films...

.

The film is constructed from four continuous 90-minute take
Take
A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production.-Film:In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup"...

s that were filmed simultaneously by four cameramen; the screen is divided into quarters and the four shots are shown simultaneously. The film depicts several groups of people in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 as they interact and conflict while preparing for the shooting of a movie in a production office. The dialogue was largely improvised, and the sound mix of the film is designed so that the most significant of the four sequences on screen dominates the soundtrack at any given moment.

The movie was shot on videotape
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...

. This was transferred to film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 for the theatrical release, but the VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 releases present the original videotape stock.

The film was shot 15 different times over a period of two weeks and Figgis selected the best version for theatrical release; this version was recorded on November 19, 1999, beginning at 3.00 p.m, and ending a little after 4:30 p.m. The DVD release includes the first attempt as a bonus feature. Additionally on the DVD release, viewers have access to all audio tracks to allow for custom sound mixing, rather than the mix of the finished film.
The film takes place in and around a film production company office, and involves several interweaving plot threads which include: a young actress named Rose (Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek
Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...

) who tries to score a screen test from her secret boyfriend Alex Green (Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan John Skarsgård is a Swedish actor, known internationally for his film roles in Angels & Demons, Breaking the Waves, The Hunt for Red October, Ronin, Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist,...

), a noted but disillusioned director. Meanwhile, Rose's tryst with him is discovered by her girlfriend Lauren (Jeanne Tripplehorn
Jeanne Tripplehorn
Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn is an American film and television actress. She was brought to the public's attention through her supporting role in the 1992 film Basic Instinct, and since 2006 has starred opposite Bill Paxton in the HBO drama Big Love.-Early life:Tripplehorn was born in Tulsa,...

), an insanely jealous businesswoman who plants a microphone in Rose's purse and spends most of the time in the back of her limousine parked outside the office building listening in on Rose's conversations. Elsewhere, Alex's wife Emma (Saffron Burrows
Saffron Burrows
Saffron Dominique Burrows is an English actress and former fashion model, who starred as Det. Serena Stevens on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Lorraine Weller on Boston Legal.-Early life:...

) is seen with a therapist (Glenne Headly
Glenne Headly
Glenne Aimee Headly is an American actress of film, stage and television.-Early life:Glenne Headly was born in New London, Connecticut and her first years were spent living under the care of her mother in San Francisco and her maternal grandmother in Pennsylvania...

) debating about asking him for a divorce. In the meantime, numerous film industry types (played by Xander Berkeley
Xander Berkeley
Alexander Harper "Xander" Berkeley is an American actor. His roles include George Mason on the television series 24.-Early life:Berkeley was born in Brooklyn, New York, but has lived most of his life in New Jersey...

, Golden Brooks
Golden Brooks
Golden Ameda Brooks is an American actress. She is best known for her nine-year role as Maya Wilkes on the UPN/CW comedy Girlfriends.-Biography:...

, Holly Hunter
Holly Hunter
Holly Hunter is an American actress. Hunter starred in The Piano for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has also been nominated for Oscars for her roles in Broadcast News, The Firm, and Thirteen...

 and Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle Merritt MacLachlan is an American actor. MacLachlan is best known for his roles in cult films Blue Velvet as Jeffrey Beaumont, Showgirls as Zack Carey, as Paul Atreides in Dune, and Ray Manzarek in the Oliver Stone film The Doors...

), pitch ideas for the next big hit film.

A homage to this film can be heard during another of Mike Figgis's films, Hotel
Hotel (2001 film)
-Plot:While a British film crew are shooting a version of The Duchess of Malfi in Venice, they in turn are being filmed by a sleazy documentary primadonna while the strange staff share meals which consist of human meat. Then there is the hit man, the call girl and the Hollywood producer all...

, in the first moment the screen is split into four quadrants. The sound of milk being steamed in one quadrant and the sound of an actor tapping beats onto a paperback novel in another quadrant, combine to create a very subtle imitation of the sounds and music heard during the first few minutes in Timecode.

Cast (in alphabetical order)

  • Xander Berkeley
    Xander Berkeley
    Alexander Harper "Xander" Berkeley is an American actor. His roles include George Mason on the television series 24.-Early life:Berkeley was born in Brooklyn, New York, but has lived most of his life in New Jersey...

     as Evan Wantz
  • Golden Brooks
    Golden Brooks
    Golden Ameda Brooks is an American actress. She is best known for her nine-year role as Maya Wilkes on the UPN/CW comedy Girlfriends.-Biography:...

     as Onyx Richardson
  • Saffron Burrows
    Saffron Burrows
    Saffron Dominique Burrows is an English actress and former fashion model, who starred as Det. Serena Stevens on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Lorraine Weller on Boston Legal.-Early life:...

     as Emma
  • Viveka Davis
    Viveka Davis
    Viveka Davis is an American actress who has starred on television and in films. As a young actress, she was best known for her role in the 1983 NBC TV miniseries V as Polly Maxwell, a role she reprised in the 1984 sequel V: The Final Battle.Discovered at age 11, by Alan Parker in an inner city...

     as Victoria Cohen
  • Richard Edson
    Richard Edson
    Richard Edson is an American actor and musician.-Biography:Edson was born in New Rochelle, New York. He has one brother, Steven, who resides in the Boston area, and two sisters: Andrea, who resides in Newton, Massachusetts and Jennifer, who resides in New York City. His father Arnold was one of...

     as Lester Moore
  • Aimee Graham
    Aimee Graham
    Aimee Lynn Graham is an American actress, and the younger sister of actress Heather Graham.Graham was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the daughter of Joan, a schoolteacher and noted author of children's books, and James Graham, a retired FBI agent...

     as Sikh Nurse
  • Salma Hayek
    Salma Hayek
    Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...

     as Rose
  • Glenne Headly
    Glenne Headly
    Glenne Aimee Headly is an American actress of film, stage and television.-Early life:Glenne Headly was born in New London, Connecticut and her first years were spent living under the care of her mother in San Francisco and her maternal grandmother in Pennsylvania...

     as Dava Adair, Therapist (portrayed in the first take by Laurie Metcalf
    Laurie Metcalf
    Lauren Elizabeth "Laurie" Metcalf is an American actress. She is widely known for her performance as Jackie Harris on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Mary Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, the voice of Mrs. Davis in the Toy Story film series and as Debbie Salt in Scream 2...

    )
  • Andrew Heckler as Auditioning Actor
  • Holly Hunter
    Holly Hunter
    Holly Hunter is an American actress. Hunter starred in The Piano for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has also been nominated for Oscars for her roles in Broadcast News, The Firm, and Thirteen...

     as Renee Fishbine, Executive
  • Danny Huston
    Danny Huston
    -Early life:Huston was born in Rome, Italy. He hails from the illustrious Huston acting and filmmaking dynasty. He is the son of legendary director John Huston, half-brother of actress Anjelica Huston and screenwriter Tony Huston, uncle of actor Jack Huston, stepbrother of Allegra Huston, and...

     as Randy
  • Daphna Kastner
    Daphna Kastner
    Daphna Kastner is a Canadian film and television actress, screenwriter and film director.-Family:She has been married to actor Harvey Keitel since 2001. They have a son, Roman ....

     as Auditioning Actress
  • Patrick Kearney as Drug House Owner
  • Elizabeth Low as Penny, Evan's Assistant
  • Kyle MacLachlan
    Kyle MacLachlan
    Kyle Merritt MacLachlan is an American actor. MacLachlan is best known for his roles in cult films Blue Velvet as Jeffrey Beaumont, Showgirls as Zack Carey, as Paul Atreides in Dune, and Ray Manzarek in the Oliver Stone film The Doors...

     as Bunny Drysdale
  • Mía Maestro
    Mía Maestro
    Mía Maestro is an Argentine actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Nadia Santos in the television drama Alias, and as Christina Kahlo in Frida.-Life and acting career:...

     as Ana Pauls
  • Leslie Mann
    Leslie Mann
    Leslie Mann is an American actress best known for her roles in comedic films, many of which are collaborations with her husband, Judd Apatow.-Early life:...

     as Cherine
  • Suzy Nakamura
    Suzy Nakamura
    Susan Aiko "Suzy" Nakamura is an American actress. She starred opposite Ted Danson in the ABC sitcom Help Me Help You. Nakamura has also had many guest appearances on American sitcoms such as According to Jim, Half and Half, 8 Simple Rules, Curb Your Enthusiasm and How I Met Your Mother and had a...

     as Connie Ling
  • Julian Sands
    Julian Sands
    Julian M. Sands is an English actor, known for his roles in the Best Picture nominee The Killing Fields, the cult film Warlock, A Room with a View, Arachnophobia, Vatel, the television series 24 and as Jor-El in the television series Smallville.-Career:Sands began his film career appearing in...

     as Quentin
  • Stellan Skarsgård
    Stellan Skarsgård
    Stellan John Skarsgård is a Swedish actor, known internationally for his film roles in Angels & Demons, Breaking the Waves, The Hunt for Red October, Ronin, Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist,...

     as Alex Green
  • Jeanne Tripplehorn
    Jeanne Tripplehorn
    Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn is an American film and television actress. She was brought to the public's attention through her supporting role in the 1992 film Basic Instinct, and since 2006 has starred opposite Bill Paxton in the HBO drama Big Love.-Early life:Tripplehorn was born in Tulsa,...

     as Lauren
  • Steven Weber
    Steven Weber (actor)
    Steven Robert Weber is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the television show Wings which aired throughout the 1990s on NBC.-Early life:...

    as Darren
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