“Player” is a movie . A screen version of a work by Michael Tolkien . Grand Prix and ICF prize.
| Player | |
|---|---|
| The player | |
 | |
| Genre | detective / comedy / drama |
| Producer | Robert Altman |
| Producer | David brown Michael Tolkien Nick Weschler |
| Author script | Michael Tolkien |
| In the main cast | Tim Robbins Fred ward Greta Skachki Whoopi Goldberg Sydney Pollack Lyle Lovett Cynthia Stevenson Peter Gallagher |
| Operator | Jean Lepin |
| Composer | |
| Film company | Fine line features |
| Duration | 124 minutes |
| Budget | $ 8,000,000 |
| A country |  USA |
| Tongue | |
| Year | 1992 |
| IMDb | ID 0105151 |
This is an American black comedy from 1992, filmed by Robert Altman . The screenwriter was made by Michael Tolkien based on his own novel of the same name in 1988 [1] . The main actors were: Tim Robbins, Greta Skakki, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Gallagher, Brion James, Cynthia Stevenson.
The picture has many references to Hollywood films. Director Altman once stated that this film is "a very soft satire" and does not offend anyone.
Content
Story
Griffin Mill, a large official at the Hollywood film studio, is empowered to decide which of the proposed scenarios to put into production. He has hundreds of enemies, because for most projects he is forced to say no. Someone begins to intimidate him, tossing threatening notes. Griffin is nervous and, in a fit of rage, commits the ridiculous murder of an innocent playwright . He converges with the widow of the murdered woman, an avant-garde artist, and tries to solve two difficult tasks: to avoid punishment for a crime and to maintain a managerial chair, which staggered as a result of studio intrigues.
His work begins to be in danger when a novice writer, Larry Levy, starts working in the studio. Mill also received threatening letters, allegedly from a screenwriter whose work he rejected - David Kahane. Kahane's friend, June Goodmundsdottir, tells Mill that David is in the theater in Pasadena. Mill finds Kahane and, pretending to be interested, invites him to contract for his script, hoping that this will put an end to the threats. They go to a bar where Kahane gets drunk and rejects Mill's offer; he calls Griffin a liar and continues to poke fun at his studio work. Mill freaks out and puts up a fight in the parking lot, and then drowns David in a puddle, furnishing everything like an accident.
The next day, Mill is late, having encountered security chief Walter Stackel, who tells him about the murder and says that the police know that he was the last to see Kahane alive. After Mill receives another threatening letter, the man realizes that he killed the wrong person.
Griffin attends Kahane’s funeral, where he talks with June. Detectives Avery and Delongpre suspect Mill is guilty of murder. Mill receives another letter inviting him to meet at the hotel bar. He comes to a meeting and waits, but two screenwriters suddenly speak to him: Tom Oakley and Andy Sivella, and since Mill is not alone, his pursuer does not appear. Returning to his car, he receives a letter advising him to look under the cloak. There he discovers a live rattlesnake and in horror kills her with his umbrella.
Mill talks about this situation in June, and that this experience made him realize that he had feelings for her. Fearing that Larry Levy will continue to encroach on his work, Mill offers two managers to transfer work on the script of one film, convincing Levy that the picture will become a contender for an Oscar. Mill's plan is for Levy to fail at the box office, but at the last moment, Griffin intervenes, proposing some changes to save the box office. After he convinces Bonnie to leave for New York and start working in the studio business.
In June, Griffin leaves for the resort at Desert Hot Springs Spa. There, Mill and June make love, a man confesses to her killing Kahane, and June replies that he still loves him. Mill’s lawyer tells him that studio manager Joel Levison was fired and that Pasadena police want Mill to be involved in the investigation. The witness could not identify him.
A year later, studio workers are watching the Larry Levy movie, with a new, intense Hollywood ending and famous actors starring. Mill's plan to save the film worked, and he heads the studio. Griffin receives a voice message from Levy and realizes that he was the mysterious pursuer. Milla is presented with an idea for the plot of the new film: about the head of the studio, who kills the screenwriter and avoids punishment. Impressed, Griffin agrees if a happy ending is guaranteed in which the leader leads a happy life together with the scriptwriter's widow.
Cast
- Tim Robbins - Griffin Mill
- Greta Skacca - June Goodmundsdottir
- Fred Ward - Walter Stuckel
- Whoopi Goldberg - Detective Susan Avery
- Peter Gallagher - Larry Levy
- Bryon James - Joel Levison
- Cynthia Stevenson - Bonnie Sharow
- Vincent D'Onofrio - David Cahane
- Dean Stockwell - Andy Siwell
- Richard E. Grant - Tom Oakley
- Sydney Pollack - Dick Mellon
- Lyle Lovett - Detective Paul DeLongpre
- Dina Merrill - Celia
- Gina Gershon - Whitney Gersh
- Jeremy Piven - Steve Reeves
Criticism
On the Rotten Tomatoes website , the film has an approval rating of 98%, based on 62 critics reviews, with an average rating of 8.8 / 10. The critical consensus of the site is: “Reserved cynical, not giving in to bitterness,“ Player ”is one of the greatest Hollywood satires of all time - the top creativity of Altman ” [1] .
On the Metacritic site , the picture scored 86 points out of 100, based on 20 reviews, which indicates "universal recognition" [2] .
Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and called it a “smart and funny movie.” He came out at the right time. After the scandals with savings and loans, after Michael Milken , after unnecessary taxes and stolen pensions, here is a movie that uses Hollywood as a metaphor for the greed of the 1980s. This film "Bonfire of Vanity", which was supposed to be " [3] .
Awards and nominations
- 1993 - three Oscar nominations: Best Director (Robert Altman), Best Adapted Screenplay (Michael Tolkien), Best Editing (Geraldine Peroni)
- 1993 - two Golden Globe awards: the best film is a comedy or musical, the best male role is a comedy or musical (Tim Robbins), as well as 2 nominations: best director (Robert Altman), best script (Michael Tolkin)
- 1993 - two BAFTA awards : best director (Robert Altman), best adapted script (Michael Tolkien), as well as 3 nominations: best film, best male role (Tim Robbins), best editing (Geraldine Peroni)
- 1993 - US Scriptwriters Guild Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (Michael Tolkien)
- 1993 - Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Film
- 1993 - nomination for the Cesar Award for Best Foreign Film
- 1992 - getting into the top ten best films of the year according to the National Council of Film Critics of the USA
- 1992 - two Cannes Film Festival awards: Best Director (Robert Altman), Best Actor (Tim Robbins), and Golden Palm Branch Nomination
Production
Altman had problems with the Hollywood studio system in the 1970s. With the film "The Player", the director returned to creating paintings in Hollywood [4] . This marked the beginning of a new filmmaking period for Altman, who continued the adaptation of Raymond Carver ’s short stories, Short Cuts (1993).
Intimate Scene
Altman was praised for an intimate scene in which Tim Robbins and Greta Skakchi were shot from bottom to top. Later, Skakchi claimed that the director wanted a completely naked scene, the actress categorically refused [5] .
Notes
- ↑ The Player (1992 ) . Circulation date May 20, 2019.
- ↑ The Player . Circulation date May 20, 2019.
- ↑ Ebert, Roger. "The Player" // RogerEbert.com. - 1992. - April 24.
- ↑ The Player (film) (English) // Wikipedia. - 2019-05-02.
- ↑ Scacchi, Greta . Greta Scacchi: 'I'm done with taking off my clothes on screen' (July 24, 2008). Circulation date May 21, 2019.
Links
- The Player on the Internet Movie Database
- Player (English) on allmovie