The Player

Admission is free. No advance reservations. Your seat will be assigned to you when you pick up your ticket at the box office. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis. The box office opens one hour before the event.

The Player

U.S., 1992

Not even the bitterest satire of Hollywood can escape mythologizing its subject to some degree. That’s the nature of the beast. Director Robert Altman and screenwriter Michael Tolkin lean into the dilemma, wrapping their sharp lampoon of corporate Hollywood’s solipsistic obsession with recycled concepts and the bottom line (Out of Africa meets Pretty Woman, anyone?) in a noir-soaked murder mystery straight from an old Hollywood writers room. This deep now into the age of streaming, it’s this blend of eras that makes The Player something more than a time capsule parade of celebrity cameos. For all its scathing insider’s critique, it captures more than most our love-hate relationship with our mythmakers.—Senior Public Programmer Paul Malcolm

DCP, color, 124 min. Director: Robert Altman. Screenwriter: Michael Tolkin. With: Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward.