The Player (1992)

A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected, but which one?

Director:

Robert Altman

Writers:

Michael Tolkin (screenplay), Michael Tolkin (novel)

Stars:

Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 24 wins & 29 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Robbins	...	Griffin Mill
Greta Scacchi	...	June Gudmundsdottir
Fred Ward	...	Walter Stuckel
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Detective Avery
Peter Gallagher	...	Larry Levy
Brion James	...	Joel Levison
Cynthia Stevenson	...	Bonnie Sherow
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	David Kahane
Dean Stockwell	...	Andy Civella
Richard E. Grant	...	Tom Oakley
Sydney Pollack	...	Dick Mellen
Lyle Lovett	...	Detective DeLongpre
Dina Merrill	...	Celia
Angela Hall	...	Jan
Leah Ayres	...	Sandy

Storyline

Events in the life of a Hollywood studio executive, unfold with the same unrealistic positive coincidences, ultimately culminating to a "happy ending", much like the movie scripts, with which he works day in and out, after he accidentally murders someone.

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Plot Keywords:

hollywood | multiple cameos | long take | film industry | male nudity | 

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Taglines:

In Hollywood, it's not who you know, it's who you kill.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, and for some sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 May 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Igrač

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$302,216, 10 April 1992, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$21,706,100

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$28,876,701

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avenue Pictures, Spelling Entertainment, Addis Wechsler Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The roughly eight-minute opening uncut tracking shot was planned with models before production began. The area of the studio lot used was repaved so the camera dolly would move smoothly. Director Altman rehearsed the scene with the cast and crew the day before shooting began. According to the American Film Institute Catalog entry for this film, ten takes of the scene were done, although another source states it was fifteen.

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Goofs

When Mill reads the newspaper story about the murder, a closeup of article reveals that it is just the same few paragraphs printed over and over.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Man 1: [voiceover] Quiet on the set.
Woman: [voiceover] OK, everybody, quiet on the set.
Man 2: [voiceover] Scene 1, take 10. Marker.
Man 1: [voiceover] And - action!

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Crazy Credits

Tim Robbins, Fred Ward and Cynthia Stevenson all enter the film when their names appear in the opening credits.

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Connections

References Lolita (1962)

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Soundtracks

PRECIOUS
Written by Les Hooper
Copyright Chesford Music Publications

User Reviews

A movie for movie fans

During Robert Altman's "The Player" the criteria for a good Hollywood movie are established by the lead character: "Suspense, laughter, violence, hope, heart, nudity, sex, and happy endings, mainly happy endings". If you look close enough you'll find all of them in the film, as well as some in the film within this one. "The Player" is a scathing, smart, and funny attack on the Hollywood studio system and doubtless one that will be enjoyed more by those who have prior knowledge of the studio system, or are simply just movie fans. This film is packed with cameos, specific references to film history and only a truly dedicated movie fan could catch all of them.

The film opens with an eight minute long continuous shot which follows the lives and discussions of several executives and other personnel at a movie studio. This shot establishes several important characters as well as the cynical tone of the film (we hear a pitch for "The Graduate 2" set 25 years after the original among other ridiculous discussions). It also pays tribute to Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock, even mentioning Welles' "Touch of Evil" and its similar opening shot as well as Hitchcock's "Rope". Soon we meet Griffin Mill, a studio executive whose job is basically to hear pitches and either approve them or turn them down. His job isn't to pick the good movies, it's to pick the moneymakers (later in the film a character talks about "The Bicycle Thief", a product of Italian Neo-Realism and says: "that's an art film, it doesn't qualify. We're talking about movie movies"). One of the writers Mill turned down starts to send him threatening postcards and he assumes this person is David Kahane (Vincent D'Onofrio), so he tracks him down and semi-accidentally kills him, leading to a rather typical police investigation into the matter. Mill begins a romance with Kahane's widow, further adding to the convoluted Hollywood thriller plot.

In a wonderfully funny subplot Mill approves a pitch for a bleak, dark drama in which an innocent woman is sent to the gas chamber. The pitch is for the film not to include a happy ending and also 'no stars, only talent'. The subplot is developed alongside the main plot and used mainly for pure comic relief (nothing in "The Player" is serious drama, but the main plot is played straight and is mainly satiric in its ridiculousness, mostly avoiding big laughs in favor of more subtle humor). Over the course of the film the criteria for a good Hollywood film are all met. There's suspense (suspense in the Hollywood sense), laughter, violence, hope and heart (we manage to feel supportive of Griffin Mill even though he's mostly heartless and cruel), some nudity thrown in for good measure, and even an utterly idiotic sex scene which of course has nothing whatsoever to do with the plot. The brilliant double-ending is played for laughs and remains one of the best I've ever seen.

The screenplay by Michael Tolkin (who also wrote the book) is pitch-perfect in its balance, it manages to be satiric without descending to farce and scathing while remaining good-natured. The acting is excellent all around, particularly from Tim Robbins, who is perfectly capable of a strong performance (see Clint Eastwood's "Mystic River"), but plays his role here like any bland lead in a Hollywood thriller. He doesn't even bother emoting for the majority of the film, which only makes the satire stronger.

With "The Player" Robert Altman returns to form and makes a worthy addition to his impressive filmography (which includes films like "Nashville", "Gosford Park" and "MASH"). The film is funny both in a traditional manner and also in a dark, satirical manner. By including all of the elements of typical Hollywood in his film Altman has crafted a crowd-pleaser as well as a tribute to film and film fans everywhere. One of precious few films that are truly perfect.

5/5