Generally, when a movie star is shown playing a Beethoven sonata or a Rachmaninoff prelude on a piano in a film, their hands appear to be moving apace with the music; are they really playing?

No. In most cases, they are playing a silent keyboard and their motions are synched to match a recording of an actual musician. Still, the stars do have to learn how to fake it. Enter Margie Balter, an L.A.-based pianist who has taught many a star the difference between middle C and a hole in the ground. Margie's first major film-coaching job was with Holly Hunter for "The Piano." Hunter won an Oscar; Margie went on to coach Scarlett Johansson for "The Man Who Wasn't There," Barbara Hershey for "The Portrait of a Lady," Sandra Bullock for "The Net" and Mr. Psychology, Tom Cruise for "Interview With a Vampire."

"There was a role we could really get our teeth into," Margie did not tell The Bosh. (By Scott Rose)