Incident at Loch Ness

Incident at Loch Ness is a 2004 mockumentary starring, produced by and written by Werner Herzog and Zak Penn, while also serving as the latter's directorial debut. The small cast film follows Herzog and his crew (Gabriel Beristain, Russell Williams II) while working on the production of a movie project on the Loch Ness Monster titled Enigma of Loch Ness. Incident at Loch Ness won the New American Cinema Award at the 2004 Seattle International Film Festival. Plot After a mysterious shot of a body floating in Loch Ness (reprised near the end), Incident at Loch Ness flashes back to the beginning of a documentary called Herzog in Wonderland being directed by John Bailey with an overview of Herzog's work as he himself begins work for a separate documentary to be called Enigma of Loch Ness, in which he is exploring the Loch Ness Monster myth. Throughout the film, Herzog asserts the Loch Ness Monster is merely a creation of a collective psychological need in society. As the film continues, Herzog hosts a dinner party to kick off film production. In attendance are his wife (Lena Herzog), several Hollywood celebrities (actors Jeff Goldblum, Ricky Jay, and Crispin Glover and editor Pietro Scalia), and the film's crew. Difficulties begin to arise as the untested producer, Zak Penn, attempts to transform Herzog's film into a high-grossing blockbuster. In this attempt, Penn commits several Hollywood clichés such as hiring a beautiful woman (Kitana Baker) for a dubious role as a sonar operator and a delusional cryptozoologist (Michael Karnow) for comic relief. As the shooting progresses, the tension between Herzog and Penn escalates with each revelation that Penn is acting in an underhanded manner. First, it becomes quite apparent the producer has commissioned a fake "Nessie" to be used. Then both Kitana and Karnow are revealed to be actors hired by Penn.