Rossini (1997)

A J.D. Salinger-esque recluse butts heads with the visionary director of his latest book in the literary German comedy Rossini (1997). A wisecracking look at the nexus between book sales and film rights, Helmut Dietl’s award-winning comedy stars Joachin Krol as Jakob Windisch, a fiercely protective author who’s just penned the top-selling novel in Germany. When Uhu Zigeuner (Götz George) is recruited to lens the adaptation, he grows determined to cast a jaw-droppingly hot actress to play the lead. Zigeuner’s casting considerations are met with surprising blowback, however, from the ornery Windisch and the film’s tyrannical producer (Heiner Lauterbach). It’s hard to believe that anyone could quibble with the decision to put bombshell Veronica Ferres at the top of the bill––every second that the Deutsch goddess is on screen is like a gift from the celluloid gods.