The Player

Robert Altman takes a scalpel to Hollywood ethics in the 1990s (or the lack thereof) in his acidic satire The Player , adapted from Michael Tolkin 's novel. (Tolkin also wrote the screenplay.) The film concerns a sleek and smooth Hollywood studio executive who starts receiving death threats from a disgruntled writer because he has committed the ultimate Hollywood sin — he promised the writer he would call him back and he never did. This is particularly ironic because the studio executive, Griffin Mill ( Tim Robbins ), is considered "writer-friendly," spending his days listening to pitches from such noted screenwriters as Buck Henry , who is pushing "The Graduate, Part II" and Alan Rudolph , who is hawking a Bruce Willis action film described as " Ghost meets The Manchurian Candidate ." But The Player finds Griffin's comfortable life style in danger of collapse. He is trying to find a way to unload his girlfriend ( Cynthia Stevenson ) whose independence and intelligence make her a poor candidate for a trophy wife. More importantly, it seems that Larry Levy ( Peter Gallagher ), a slippery executive from Twentieth Century Fox, is angling for his job. And then there are those nasty postcards and faxes from a screenwriter threatening to kill him. Altman cast over 65 stars in cameo roles as texture for his scabrous tale. — Paul Brenner