Hollywood scenemaking, a svelte shape, a showy new role: Is Moore gearing up for a full-fledged comeback? The answer is as complicated as her hide-and-seek relationship with fame. Once known for her sometimes-abrasive ambition -- and her penchant for baring her toned bod offscreen and on -- Moore put her career on the back burner after G.I. Jane (save for a short stint in '98 shooting the art-house drama Passion of Mind). "She stepped back by choice," says Todd. "It wasn't like she wasn't getting roles and was being drummed out of business. She was at the top of her game." Perhaps, but a string of box office disappointments had made it a precarious perch. After her star-making turn in 1990's Ghost, she pursued roles in movies like Striptease and G.I. Jane that "portrayed her tough, harder side," says a top Hollywood director. Both films flopped. "It's good to see her getting something lighter," he adds. "Demi needs a movie that brings out the vulnerable side of her."

Her villainess in Angels satisfies at least the first part of the prescription. Moore agreed to take the role at a meeting at Barrymore's house. "We wrote the part for her," says Barrymore. "We had to say, 'Please trust us.' " Moore, who turned down a host of offers during her hiatus, liked the idea -- and the 20-day shooting schedule. "Being a mother is her No. 1 priority," Angels director McG says of Moore, who brought her brood to the set during a roller-derby scene. "They were running around the track being chased by the Steadicam operator," says McG. "It was a real blast."

Barrymore, 27, couldn't agree more. On-set, Moore was "very focused" but "incredibly kindhearted," she says. "There's nothing cold. Yet there's an ultimate strength there. You look at her body and her soul and all that she's done and think she's created these three extraordinary girls, and it makes her seem enviably accomplished." On the professional front, "she was a huge influence in my life. She changed the business for women as far as saying women can get paid the same as men," says the younger actress, noting Moore's prowess as a producer. (Her company Moving Pictures brought the Austin Powers movies to the screen.)