Trama

A reporter interviews a psychic, who tells her that she's going to die and her life is meaningless.

Reporter Lanie Kerrigan interviews psychic homeless man Prophet Jack (Tony Shalhoub) for a fluff piece about a football game's score. Instead, he tells her that her life has no meaning and will end in just a few days. This sparks her to action to change the pattern of her life.—Greg Dean Schmitz

Lanie Kerrigan, a successful reporter for a Seattle television station, interviews a self-proclaimed prophet, Jack, to find out if he really can predict football scores. Instead, Prophet Jack not only predicts the football score, and that it will hail the next day, but also that Lanie will die in seven days, on the following Thursday. When his first two prophecies come true, Lanie panics and again meets with Jack to ask for another prophecy to test him again. Jack tells her that there will be a relatively significant earthquake in San Francisco at 9:06 am, which also happens. Now Lanie is convinced that she is going to die and is forced to reevaluate her life. Lanie tries to find consolation in her famous baseball player boyfriend Cal Cooper and in her family, but there is little there. Her lifelong ambition of appearing on network television begins to look like a distant dream. In her desperation, she commits professional blunders but ends up finding support in an unlikely source: her archenemy, the cameraman Pete Scanlon, with whom she once had casual sex. He introduces her to a new approach to life: to live every moment of her life to the fullest and to do whatever she had always wanted to do. Lanie moves in with Pete for a day, and he introduces her to his son Tommy, who lives with his mother. They spend a whole day together with Tommy. That night Lanie and Pete sleep together for the second time. The next day Lanie receives an opportunity for the job she always dreamed of in New York. She asks Pete to come with her, but he declines. She hits interview gold but declines the position to get together with Pete.—Garon Smith

Lanie Kerrigan (Angelina Jolie) is a successful reporter for a Seattle television station. As a kid Lanie was inspired by Marilyn Monroe and dyed her own hair blonde. Lanie has it all, a great job, health, a famous boyfriend (who is a baseball star) and so on. Lanie's boss Dennis (Gregory Itzin) tells her that the national network is looking for a new anchor and is asking the affiliate stations to send in audition tapes for prospective candidates, and he is sending in the tape for Lanie. Dennis asks Lanie to learn more about the camera work by working with cameraman Pete. Lanie is hesitant to do that as she and Pete hooked up once and things have been weird between them since.

Lanie interviews a self-proclaimed prophet, Jack (Tony Shalhoub), to find out if he really can predict football scores. Jack says that he comes from a long line of Prophets and that his pedestal brings him closer to God and gives him the power to heal people with his prophesies. Prophet Jack not only predicts the football score, and that it would hail the next day, but also that she would die in seven days, meaning the following Thursday.

When his first two prophecies turn out to be correct, Kerrigan panics and again meets with Jack, asking him for another prophecy so that she can prove it wrong, which would imply uncertainty of her death. Jack says that he cannot choose what to see, and the images come randomly to him. Jack tells her that there will be a relatively significant earthquake in San Francisco at 9:06 am the next day; she hopes that it will be wrong but again it also becomes reality. Now Lanie becomes sure of her upcoming death and is forced to reevaluate her life.

Lanie's father Pat (James Gammon) lives with her sister Gwen. Lanie vies for his attention against her sister Gwen (Lisa Thornhill).

The remainder of the story-line, which runs for the week of the prophecy, revolves around Lanie's attempts at introspection. She seeks consolation in her famous baseball player boyfriend Cal Cooper (Christian Kane), and in her family, but finds little there. Cal is simply unable to comprehend Lanie's situation and believes that she is on her period and hence acting weird and anxious. Cal does not even understand the difference between ESP and ESPN. Lanie realizes that Cal has trouble accepting Lanie for who she is. He only sees her as a steeping stone to his own success and hence wants the sexy version of Lanie to be on all the time. Cal cannot see Lanie as a normal glass wearing, nerdy girl, who likes to let do once in a while. Cal also cannot comprehend that Lanie is having an emotional crisis.

Her lifelong ambition, that of appearing on network television, begins to look like a distant dream. In her desperation, she commits professional blunders (like doing a news report on the striking transit workers, but then siding with the workers and terming their demands as "reasonable"), but ends up finding support in an unlikely source: her archenemy, the cameraman Pete Scanlon (Edward Burns), with whom she once had casual sex; he introduces her to a new approach to life. Pete tells her to live every moment of her life and to do whatever she always wanted to do, including meeting the people that mattered the most to her. He encourages her to speak out and say all the things that she wanted to say but was too afraid to.

Pete says that Lanie has the habit of planning every moment of her life, to project a certain image of herself, which is extremely stressful. Now, Lanie acknowledges that Pete has nothing material in his life, and yet is content and happy. Lanie starts by reaching out to Gwen and making peace with her. Both sisters accuse each other of being an attention seeker. Lanie's attempt fails as Gwen asks her to leave her house.

Lanie implements Pete's advice; she moves in with Pete for a day, he introduces her to his son Tommy (Jesse James Rutherford) who lives with his mother who had separated with Pete, and they spend a whole day together with Tommy; that night they sleep together for the second time. The next day Lanie receives an opportunity for a job she always dreamed of in New York; she asks Pete to come with her, but he declines and tells her that her appetite for success and fame will never end. Lanie sadly leaves for New York.

Pete meets Jack and tells him how wrong he is, as Lanie got the job which Jack foretold, she would not get. But Jack explains that he was right as Lanie will never be able to get the job as she'll die before it begins; he again gives a prophecy of a death of a famous former baseball player in a plane crash. Pete receives the news of the death of the baseball player as foretold by Jack and tries to call Lanie to warn her.

When he cannot reach her, he also flies to New York. Lanie, unconcerned with Jack's prophecy, interviews her idol, famous media personality Deborah Connors (Stockard Channing), which receives huge television ratings. Lanie is offered a better opportunity, but she declines as now she knows what is worthwhile in her life-she goes to Pete in Seattle. Outside in the street a police officer gets into a conflict with a man, who shoots a bullet into the air. Pete tries to warn Lanie across the street, but she is shot in the crossfire. Luckily, Lanie survives, and Pete tells her in the hospital that he has loved her since the first time he saw her; Lanie says she loves him, too.

Later, Pete, Lanie and Tommy watch Cal's baseball game, where Lanie (in a voiceover) says that one part of her has died-the part which didn't know how to live a life.