Panic Button
Faced with the ruinous prospect of having to pay income tax on $500,000, business executive Frank Pagano decides to invest the money in a project that he believes is doomed to financial ruin: a television pilot film based on the story of Romeo and Juliet. Pagano hires Pandowski, an eccentric disciple of Stanislavski, to direct the film and casts Philippe Fontaine, a faded French actor long forgotten in Hollywood, as Romeo. For the role of Juliet, Pagano hires Angela, a starlet with a voluptuous body but no talent. When the film is finished, Philippe and his ex-wife Louise steal a print and, disguised as nuns, take it to the Venice Film Festival. The film is mistaken for a satire by the festival jury and is awarded the Golden Lion for the best comedy. Fontaine swallows his wounded pride and accepts his new reputation as a comedian. Pagano arrives on the scene and, making the best of the situation, decides to become a film producer.
