Playmaker (1994)

A would-be actress uncovers horrifying files on other starlets.

Director:

Yuri Zeltser

Writers:

Kathryn Nemesh (story), Darren Block (story),

Stars:

Colin Firth, Jennifer Rubin, John Getz

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Colin Firth	...	Ross Talbert / Michael Condren
Jennifer Rubin	...	Jamie Harris
John Getz	...	Eddie
Jeff Perry	...	Allen
Arthur Taxier	...	Detective Chassman
Dean Norris	...	Detective Marconi
Belinda Waymouth	...	Angie
Diane Robin	...	Terry
Stephen Polk	...	Director
Alice Kushida	...	Casting Assistant
Clare Kirkconnell	...	Realtor
William James Shaw	...	Script Delivery Person

Storyline

A talented young actress seeks the professional help of an acting coach. But he seems quite odd, and she finds files of other pupils murdered by him. As he tries to kill her to, she shoots him. As the police arrive at the scene a different corpse is lying dead on the ground, which seems to be the real teacher. As she fell in some sort of love with the false teacher, she tries to find him, and discovers that he was just an actor like herself, and that she is just a puppet on a string in a perverse and bizarre story...

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Plot Keywords:

actress | actor | acting coach | woman in jeopardy | sex | 

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Taglines:

Passion. Seduction. Betrayal.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 1995 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Death Date - Eine tödliche Verabredung

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Playmaker Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The producer (Peter Samuelson) saw two people standing on a corner holding a sign "looking for money for movie". Their story was used as a basic for the screenplay.

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Goofs

While Jamie is at the table eating, Ross picks up a camera and takes several shots in a few seconds. The flash unit he is using is a Vivitar 283, which generally takes around 3 1/2 seconds to recycle after each shot.

User Reviews

Oh so close to making the play

This one works if you can suspend your disbelief just a wee bit more than you'd normally allow. The reward is a twisty ride through smoke and mirrors, stopping along the way to ask some pretty hefty questions.

Jamie is an aspiring actress who is long on ambition but short in the confidence department. Out of desperation, she hooks up with a brilliant but eccentric acting coach. He teaches her that nothing is what it seems, but what she really learns is that if you're good enough at deception, you can get away with murder. However, the real lesson here is that success achieved by becoming more ruthless than your enemies makes you the enemy.

Because your sympathy is with Jamie at all times, you are encouraged to believe that she is forced to take this position by people more evil than herself. This is a highly suspicious concept, I think. But it is an interesting idea and fairly well presented in a funhouse structure with enough surprises to keep you intrigued.