The Player
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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. The movie's best known feature is its 62 cameo performances by major Hollywood actors, producers and directors, all playing themselves.
The movie can be enjoyed merely as an entertaining comedy/drama loaded with movie references and Hollywood insider jokes, but on a deeper level it is also a highly critical attack on the Hollywood movie business, which treats people poorly and sacrifices quality for commercial success. In that respect, it is surprising that so many big Hollywood names agreed to play themselves in the film.
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Cast
- Vincent D'Onofrio (as David Kahane)
- Whoopi Goldberg (as policewoman detective Susan Avery)
- Lyle Lovett (as policeman detective DeLongpre)
- Tim Robbins (as Griffin Mill)
- Greta Scacchi (as June Gudmundsdottir)
Cameos
This is a list of the Hollywood people who play themselves in the movie:
- Steve Allen
- Richard Anderson
- René Auberjonois
- Harry Belafonte
- Shari Belafonte
- Karen Black
- Michael Bowen
- Gary Busey
- Robert Carradine
- Charles Champlin
- Cher
- James Coburn
- Cathy Lee Crosby
- John Cusack
- Brad Davis
- Paul Dooley
- Thereza Ellis
- Peter Falk
- Felicia Farr
- Katarzyna Figura
- Louise Fletcher
- Dennis Franz
- Teri Garr
- Leeza Gibbons
- Scott Glenn
- Jeff Goldblum
- Elliott Gould
- Joel Grey
- David Alan Grier
- Buck Henry
- Anjelica Huston
- Kathy Ireland
- Steve James
- Maxine John-James
- Sally Kellerman
- Sally Kirkland
- Jack Lemmon
- Marlee Matlin
- Andie MacDowell
- Malcolm McDowell
- Jayne Meadows
- Martin Mull
- Jennifer Nash
- Nick Nolte
- Alexandra Powers
- Bert Remsen
- Guy Remsen
- Patricia Resnick
- Burt Reynolds
- Jack Riley
- Julia Roberts
- Mimi Rogers
- Annie Ross
- Alan Rudolph
- Scott Shaw
- Jill St. John
- Susan Sarandon
- Adam Simon
- Rod Steiger
- Joan Tewkesbury
- Brian Tochi
- Lily Tomlin
- Robert Wagner
- Ray Walston
- Bruce Willis
- Marvin Young
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 did their appearances for nothing.