History Literature / ThePlayer

** Griffin Mill is a hack and executive. He initially talks up his love for ''The Bicycle Thief'', the Italian classic to the writer who points out that he would never allow a film in that style to be made in Hollywood today. Later, he attends a gala event proclaiming cinema as art and dropping names of outsider film-makers like Creator/OrsonWelles while still shilling the same shlock day-in-and-day-out.
** Screenwriter Tom Oakley initially defends his story "Habeas Corpus" as a serious edgy crime drama with a DownerEnding and fights for it to Griffin Mill, [[spoiler:by the end he has cheerfully and cyncially become a SellOut, happily taking the bigger cheque and deal offered to him by Mill]].

** Creator/BrionJames - Joel Levison obviously saw the 1988 remake of ''{{Film/DOA}}'', since he talks about it, but it's unknown if he noticed that the actor who played Detective Ulmer happened to look a lot like himself.

** Brion James - Joel Levison talks about the 1988 remake of ''{{Film/DOA}}'', but apparently didn't notice that the fellow who played Detective Ulmer sure looks a lot like himself.

* CelebrityCameo: Tons and tons of them: Music/HarryBelafonte, Creator/GaryBusey, Music/{{Cher}}, Creator/JamesCoburn, Creator/AnjelicaHuston, Creator/JohnCusack, Martin Mull, Creator/PeterFalk, Creator/JeffGoldblum, Creator/MalcolmMcDowell, Creator/JackLemmon, Marlee Matlin, Creator/NickNolte, Creator/BurtReynolds, Creator/JuliaRoberts, Creator/SusanSarandon, Kathy Ireland, Andie [=MacDowell=], Creator/LilyTomlin, David Carradine, Creator/BruceWillis, Creator/ElliottGould, Creator/ScottGlenn... and those are just a handful of the ''actors''. Appearances are also made by well-known producers, screenwriters, and directors. Most of whom worked for nothing; if they were charged their normal asking prices, the film's budget would've exceeded $100 million.

* CelebrityCameo: Tons and tons of them: Music/HarryBelafonte, Creator/GaryBusey, Music/{{Cher}}, Creator/JamesCoburn, Creator/AnjelicaHuston, Creator/JohnCusack, Martin Mull, Creator/PeterFalk, Creator/JeffGoldblum, Creator/MalcolmMcDowell, Creator/JackLemmon, Marlee Matlin, Creator/NickNolte, Creator/BurtReynolds, Creator/JuliaRoberts, Creator/SusanSarandon, Kathy Ireland, Andie [=MacDowell=], Creator/LilyTomlin, David Carradine, Creator/BruceWillis, Elliott Gould, Creator/ScottGlenn... and those are just a handful of the ''actors''. Appearances are also made by well-known producers, screenwriters, and directors. Most of whom worked for nothing; if they were charged their normal asking prices, the film's budget would've exceeded $100 million.

* DrinkOrder: Griffin constantly drinks various brands of spring water (like Evian and Volvic).

A 1988 satirical novel by Michael Tolkin, ''The Player'' was brought to the screen in 1992 by Creator/RobertAltman with a screenplay also by Tolkin. The film version starred Creator/TimRobbins, Peter Gallagher and a '''ton''' of stars as themselves.

* CelebrityCameo: Tons and tons of them: Music/HarryBelafonte, Creator/GaryBusey, Music/{{Cher}}, Creator/JamesCoburn, Creator/AnjelicaHuston, Creator/JohnCusack, Martin Mull, Creator/PeterFalk, Creator/JeffGoldblum, Creator/MalcolmMcDowell, Creator/JackLemmon, Marlee Matlin, Creator/NickNolte, Creator/BurtReynolds, Creator/JuliaRoberts, Creator/SusanSarandon, Kathy Ireland, Andie [=MacDowell=], Creator/LilyTomlin, David Carradine, Creator/BruceWillis, Elliott Gould, Scott Glenn... and those are just a handful of the ''actors''. Appearances are also made by well-known producers, screenwriters, and directors. Most of whom worked for nothing; if they were charged their normal asking prices, the film's budget would've exceeded $100 million.

* CelebrityCameo: Tons and tons of them: Music/HarryBelafonte, Creator/GaryBusey, Music/{{Cher}}, Creator/JamesCoburn, Creator/AnjelicaHuston, Creator/JohnCusack, Martin Mull, Creator/PeterFalk, Creator/JeffGoldblum, Creator/MalcolmMcDowell, Creator/JackLemmon, Marlee Marlin, Creator/NickNolte, Creator/BurtReynolds, Creator/JuliaRoberts, Creator/SusanSarandon, Kathy Ireland, Andie [=MacDowell=], Creator/LilyTomlin, David Carradine, Creator/BruceWillis,... and those are just a handful of the ''actors''. Appearances are also made by well-known producers, screenwriters, and directors. Most of whom worked for nothing; if they were charged their normal asking prices, the film's budget would've exceeded $100 million.

* CelebrityParadox: A notable number of recognizable actors [[CelebrityCameo appear in the film]] [[AsHimself as themselves]]. Notably at the end (delivering the punch line to the movie's main BrickJoke) are Actor/BruceWillis and Actor/JuliaRoberts. No mention is made of the film's principal actors, notably:
** Tim Robbins, who would later co-star with Julia Roberts in ''Film/PretAPorter''. Also, making a cameo in this movie are Actor/SusanSarandon, with whom Robbins was married to at the time, and John Cusack, who co-starred with a young Tim Robbins in ''Film/TheSureThing'' and ''Tapeheads''.
** Actor/WhoopiGoldberg, who had co-starred with Bruce Willis in an episode of ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}''.

* CelebrityCameo: Tons and tons of them: Music/HarryBelafonte, Creator/GaryBusey, Music/{{Cher}}, Creator/JamesCoburn, Creator/AnjelicaHuston, Creator/JohnCusack, Martin Mull, Peter Falk, Creator/JeffGoldblum, Creator/MalcolmMcDowell, Creator/JackLemmon, Marlee Marlin, Creator/NickNolte, Creator/BurtReynolds, Creator/JuliaRoberts, Creator/SusanSarandon, Kathy Ireland, Andie [=MacDowell=], Creator/LilyTomlin, David Carradine, Creator/BruceWillis,... and those are just a handful of the ''actors''. Appearances are also made by well-known producers, screenwriters, and directors. Most of whom worked for nothing; if they were charged their normal asking prices, the film's budget would've exceeded $100 million.

* CharacterNameAlias: The blackmailer uses the name 'Joe Gillis'; the name of the narrator character in ''Film/SunsetBoulevard''.

** Tim Robbins, who would later co-star with Julia Roberts in ''Film/PretAPorter''. Also, making a cameo in this movie are Actor/SusanSarandon, with whom Robbins was romantically involved at the time, and John Cusack, who co-starred with a young Tim Robbins in ''Film/TheSureThing'' and ''Tapeheads''.

* DoubleMeaningTitle: InUniverse, in another context, the literal translation of the proposed "LawProcedural" ''Habeas Corpus'' ("produce the corpse") is a play on Griffin's job as a film producer and "corpse" being a slang term in the industry for a film that performs poorly, signifying that the screenwriters, are in fact, pitching a completely ludicrous idea for a movie that has no chance of being successful. Griffin points out the absurdity of it all when he notes that Tom Oakley's pitch distinctly lacks a [[ThreeActStructure Second Act]]; in the originally proposed story, there wouldn't be any meaningful development of the plot or its main character (the District Attorney) until after [[ShockingSwerve a sudden plot twist]] near the very conclusion. Later [[ExecutiveMeddling studio changes]] after the film gets produced only take an already absurd premise (for a movie) and make it even stranger.

* DoubleMeaningTitle: InUniverse, in another context, the literal translation of the proposed "LawProcedural" ''Habeas Corpus'' ("produce the corpse") also signifies the fact that the screenwriters are pitching a completely ludicrous idea for a movie that has no chance of being successful. Griffin points out the absurdity of it all when he notes that Tom Oakley's pitch distinctly lacks a [[ThreeActStructure Second Act]]; in the originally proposed story, there wouldn't be any meaningful development of the plot or its main character (the District Attorney) until after [[ShockingSwerve a sudden plot twist]] near the very conclusion. Later [[ExecutiveMeddling studio changes]] after the film gets produced only take an already absurd premise (for a movie) and make it even stranger.

* HotterAndSexier: One of the spontaneous pitches Larry Levy cooks up based on a newspaper story is having Jimmy Smits star in a "sexy ''Film/StandAndDeliver''."

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: The Rialto Theater, where Griffin meets and eventually kills David Kahane, is a real theater in the city of South Pasadena, California. South Pasadena is distinct from its neighbor to the north, Pasadena, both of which have separate city halls and police departments. Yet it's the detectives on Pasadena's police force who are asking Griffin questions about what happened at the Rialto. {{Justified|Trope}}, as keeping the distinction between the cities would likely have just confused any viewers not familiar with the Southern California area.

* FocusGroupEnding: Griffin uses this justification for changing the DownerEnding of ''Habeas Corpus.''

* CelebrityCameo: Tons and tons of them: Music/HarryBelafonte, Creator/GaryBusey, Music/{{Cher}}, Creator/JamesCoburn, Creator/AnjelicaHuston, Creator/JohnCusack, Martin Mull, Peter Falk, Creator/JeffGoldblum, Creator/MalcolmMcDowell, Creator/JackLemmon, Marlee Marlin, Nick Nolte, Creator/BurtReynolds, Creator/JuliaRoberts, Creator/SusanSarandon, Kathy Ireland, Andie [=MacDowell=], Creator/LilyTomlin, David Carradine, Creator/BruceWillis,... and those are just a handful of the ''actors''. Appearances are also made by well-known producers, screenwriters, and directors. Most of whom worked for nothing; if they were charged their normal asking prices, the film's budget would've exceeded $100 million.

A 1988 satirical novel by Michael Tolkin, ''The Player'' was brought to the screen in 1992 by Creator/RobertAltman with a screenplay also by Tolkin. The film version starred Creator/TimRobbins, Creator/PeterGallagher and a '''ton''' of stars as themselves.

A 1988 satirical novel by Michael Tolkin, ''The Player'' was brought to the screen in 1992 by Creator/RobertAltman with a screenplay also by Tolkin. The film version starred Creator/TimRobbins, [[Series/TheOC PeterGallagher]] and a '''ton''' of stars as themselves.

* XMeetsY: The pitches Griffin hears inevitably get simplified into something familiar, like "''Film/PrettyWoman'' meets ''Film/OutOfAfrica''" or "''Film/{{Ghost}}'' meets ''Film/TheManchurianCandidate''." Altman said that these were [[SelfDeprecation poking fun]] at his own use of ''{{Film/Nashville}}'' as a reference point when he was trying to pitch ''Film/ShortCuts'' to studio execs.

A 1988 satirical novel by Michael Tolkin, ''The Player'' was brought to the screen in 1992 by Creator/RobertAltman with a screenplay also by Tolkin. The film version starred Creator/TimRobbins, Creator/PeterGallagher and a '''ton''' of stars as themselves.

* CelebrityParadox: A notable number of recognizable actors [[CelebrityCameo appear in the film]] [[AsHimself as themselves]]. Notably at the end (delivering the punch line to the movie's main BrickJoke) are Actor/BruceWillis and Actor/JuliaRoberts. No mention is made of the film's principal actors, notably Tim Robbins (who would later co-star with Julia Roberts in ''Film/PretAPorter''), Actor/WhoopiGoldberg (who had co-starred with Bruce Willis in an episode of ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}'') and Lyle Lovett (who for awhile was married to Julia Roberts in real life). Also making a cameo in this movie is Actor/SusanSarandon, with whom Tim Robbins was romantically involved at the time. Also making a cameo is John Cusack, who co-starred with a young Tim Robbins in ''Film/TheSureThing''.
** Joel Levison talks about the 1988 remake of ''{{Film/DOA}}'', but apparently didn't notice that the Brion James fellow who played Detective Ulmer sure looks a lot like himself.
* CharacterNameAlias: The blackmailer uses the name 'Joe Gillis'; the the name of the narrator character in ''Film/SunsetBoulevard''.

* TheUnpronounceable: June...Gudmundsdottir. It's from UsefulNotes/{{Iceland}}.