The Player (1992)
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A Hollywood studio executive kills a screenwriter he believes is sending him death threats, only to realize he has murdered the wrong man.
The story
Griffin Mill is a Hollywood studio executive who green-lights only a fraction of the screenwriting submissions he receives. His position is threatened by a new executive, Larry Levy, while Mill simultaneously receives mysterious death threat postcards. Suspecting a disgruntled writer named David Kahane is responsible, Mill tracks him down to a theater in South Pasadena. After a confrontation at a nearby bar leads to a physical altercation, Mill kills Kahane, believing him to be the stalker. He then stages the scene to look like a robbery, unaware that the actual stalker is still active and aware of his mistake.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Griffin Mill, a Hollywood studio executive, is plagued by death threats he attributes to a rejected screenwriter. After murdering David Kahane in a parking lot—only to realize via a subsequent fax that he killed the wrong person—Mill attempts to navigate the fallout. He begins a complex scheme to reclaim his status by involving a new executive, Larry Levy, in a mediocre film project called Habeas Corpus, intending to let it flop so he can 'save' it later. During this time, Mill enters a relationship with June Gudmundsdottir, the girlfriend of the man he killed. After a series of events including a terrifying encounter with a live rattlesnake, Mill eventually succeeds in his plan; the film is retooled with a happy ending and famous actors, making Mill the head of the studio. Gudmundsdottir becomes his wife. However, the real stalker eventually contacts Mill with a pitch for a movie about a studio executive who kills a writer and gets away with it. Mill agrees to the deal on the condition that the executive lives happily with the writer's widow, resulting in the film 'The Player'.
- First release year
- 1992
- Runtime (minutes)
- 124
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Robert Altman
- Writers
- Michael Tolkin · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Tim Robbins · Griffin Mill; Greta Scacchi · Bonnie Sherow; Fred Ward · Walter Stuckel; Whoopi Goldberg; Peter Gallagher; Brion James; Cynthia Stevenson
- Genres
- satirical; black comedy; neo-noir; mystery
- Themes
- Hollywood satire; corporate greed; identity; mortality
- Tone and mood
- cynical; irreverent; satirical; dark comedy
- Premise and plot tags
- Hollywood; Murder Mystery; Satire; Black Comedy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Michael Tolkin's 1988 novel, The Player
- Reception
- The film received universal acclaim, being described as one of the all-time great Hollywood satires. It was praised for its cynical yet good-natured tone and its exploration of the Hollywood subculture.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 97% · review count: 66; Metacritic · score: 86 · scale: 100 · review count: 20
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe · Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical · Won; Golden Globe · Best Actor – Comedy or Musical · Won; Academy Award · Best Director · Nominated; Academy Award · Best Adapted Screenplay · Nominated; Academy Award · Best Editing · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film features 65 celebrity cameo appearances.; The film is notable for having more Oscar-nominated actors than any other film, with 24.; The film was placed on 80 critics' year-end best lists, second only to Howards End in 1992.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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