In the late '90s, while big-budget blockbusters were busy conquering the box office, a quiet comedy about a loud-mouthed, low-rent producer snuck into theaters and became an instant cult classic. Written by and directed by Frank Oz , Bowfinger (1999) is a masterclass in satire that manages to mock the film industry while simultaneously celebrating the desperate, beautiful insanity of those who try to make it there. The Greatest Con Ever Filmed
The premise is pure comedic genius: Bobby Bowfinger (played by Martin) is a nearly 50-year-old filmmaker with exactly $2,184 in the bank and a dream to film a sci-fi epic called Chubby Rain . The script, written by his accountant, involves aliens hiding in raindrops—a concept Bowfinger is convinced will be a "go picture" if he can just land action star Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy). Bowfinger(1999)
When Ramsey predictably says no, Bowfinger decides to film the movie anyway—without Ramsey’s knowledge. What follows is a series of "guerrilla filmmaking" tactics, including: In the late '90s, while big-budget blockbusters were