One Week in Hollywood

Shilling the Hard Sell

An indie movie about illegal immigrants in London would be a tough American sell in any season, let alone one filled with enraged superheroes and killer robot babes. Which is why director Stephen Frears (High Fidelity) is attempting to ratchet up the hype with an all-out American media blitz for his Dirty Pretty Things, culminating with a screening and Q&A session at the ArcLight theater. The film boasts Amelie's Audrey Tautou (in her first English-speaking role) as one of the aforementioned immigrants who stumble upon a black-market organ ring. The subject matter, announces one earnest audience member, made him think. ''Did you have these feelings when you saw Hulk?'' Frears (above left) quips amiably. ''If you feel they liked the film, you're all right,'' he adds after the screening. ''If they don't, it's horrible. [But] this seemed to go really well.''