The first scene of The Player is iconic. It's shown in film schools all over the country about how to ad-lib a master shot all in one take, and director Robert Altman is the master that that type of scene. After the first scene, the movie tends to go downhill, but if you're super impressed by it, or if you love movies about Hollywood, you might like it.
Tim Robbins stars as an executive who hears pitches from screenwriters all day long about the next big hit. The first scene is hilarious, with cameos from countless screenwriters claiming "a cross between" two ridiculously unrelated movies as a way to market their pitches. Tim rejects dozens of pitches a day, and when he starts receiving threatening notes, he and police officer Whoopi Goldberg try to find out which disgruntled writer they're coming from. Add in a romance with Greta Scacchi, and the usual business of the Hollywood grind, and he's got a pretty busy schedule. Stuffed with cameos from over 65 movie stars-no, I won't list them, just look up the full list-as well as a supporting cast comprised of Peter Gallagher, Vincent D'Onofrio, Richard E. Grant, Dean Stockwell, Fred Ward, Lyle Lovett, Cynthia Stevenson, Brion James, and Sydney Pollack, you'll make yourself dizzy with the amount of familiar faces crammed into two hours of screen time. Just as Sunset Boulevard was fun to see a bunch of Hollywood greats playing themselves for a few seconds, The Player is equally fun to see so many stars gathered together.
Tim Robbins stars as an executive who hears pitches from screenwriters all day long about the next big hit. The first scene is hilarious, with cameos from countless screenwriters claiming "a cross between" two ridiculously unrelated movies as a way to market their pitches. Tim rejects dozens of pitches a day, and when he starts receiving threatening notes, he and police officer Whoopi Goldberg try to find out which disgruntled writer they're coming from. Add in a romance with Greta Scacchi, and the usual business of the Hollywood grind, and he's got a pretty busy schedule. Stuffed with cameos from over 65 movie stars-no, I won't list them, just look up the full list-as well as a supporting cast comprised of Peter Gallagher, Vincent D'Onofrio, Richard E. Grant, Dean Stockwell, Fred Ward, Lyle Lovett, Cynthia Stevenson, Brion James, and Sydney Pollack, you'll make yourself dizzy with the amount of familiar faces crammed into two hours of screen time. Just as Sunset Boulevard was fun to see a bunch of Hollywood greats playing themselves for a few seconds, The Player is equally fun to see so many stars gathered together.