The Player
original film poster
Directed by	Robert Altman
Produced by	David Brown Michael Tolkin Nick Wechsler
Written by	Michael Tolkin (screenplay and novel)
Starring	Tim Robbins Fred Ward Greta Scacchi Whoopi Goldberg Sydney Pollack Lyle Lovett
Distributed by	Fine Line Features
Release date(s)	3 April 1992 (premiere) 10 April 1992 (theatrical release)
Running time	124 min.
Language	English
Budget	USD$8,000,000 (estimated)
IMDb profile

The Player (1992) is a movie that tells the story of Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins), a Hollywood studio executive who believes he is being blackmailed by a screenwriter whose script he once rejected. It was directed by Robert Altman using a screenplay by Michael Tolkin based on his own novel. One of the more notable features of the film is the inclusion of over 60 cameo appearances by major Hollywood actors, producers and directors—all playing themselves—intertwined throughout the story.

The film, loaded with movie references and Hollywood insider jokes, is a critique of the Hollywood movie business, which treats artists poorly and sacrifices quality for commercial success. It might seem surprising that so many big Hollywood names agreed to play themselves in the film, but Altman himself admits that "it is a very mild satire" and it offended no-one.^[1]

Altman had had his troubles with the Hollywood studio system in the '70s after a number of studio films (McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The Long Goodbye) lost money or had trouble finding audiences despite the critical praise and cult adulation they received. Altman continued to work outside the studios in the late '70s and throughout the '80s, often doing small-budget projects or filmed plays to keep his hand in. The Player was a comeback to making films in Hollywood, although it was made for Fine Line Features rather than a major studio. It ushered in a new period of filmmaking for Altman, who continued on to an epic adaptation of Raymond Carver's short stories, Short Cuts (1993). Altman won a number of European best-director awards for The Player (the BAFTA, best director at the Cannes Film Festival) and he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe as best director (the film won the Golden Globe for best "comedy or musical"). Tolkin received an Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.

[edit] Cast

• Tim Robbins as Griffin Mill
• Greta Scacchi as June Gudmundsdottir
• Fred Ward as Walter Stuckel
• Whoopi Goldberg as Detective Susan Avery
• Peter Gallagher as Larry Levy
• Brion James as Joel Levinson
• Cynthia Stevenson as Bonnie Sherow
• Vincent D'Onofrio David Kahane
• Dean Stockwell as Andy Civella
• Richard E. Grant as Tom Oakley
• Sydney Pollack as Dick Mellon
• Lyle Lovett as Detective DeLongpre

[edit] Cameos

This is a list of the Hollywood people who play themselves in the movie:

[edit] Trivia

• Few of the cameos were planned for in advance. Since the movie was shot in Hollywood and in so many locations that Hollywood figures frequent, most of the cameos were just coincidences and their lines were improvised. Most of the actors with cameos received no payment.^[1]

• The DVD edition of the film includes several deleted scenes, with more cameos from people such as Tim Curry. It also includes a director and writer audio commentary where they talk about the production of a television series, based on the film.^[1]

• A TV spin-off was created and a pilot shot in 1997. However, the pilot was never picked up. It starred Patrick Dempsey as Griffin Mill, Jennifer Garner, and Jennifer Grey.

• The opening tracking shot lasts about 8 minutes without a single camera break. It took them 15 takes in order to accomplish the task. This pays homage to Orson Welles' Touch of Evil and Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, which are both mentioned throughout the scene.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} DVD commentary on The Player.

[edit] External link

• The Player at the Internet Movie Database