"JustasGriffinsuspected,therewasameetinginLevison'sofficewithouthim."Withthisopening,wearetakenintothemindandlifeofGriffinMill,seniorvicepresidentofproductionatamajorHollywoodstudio.Itisamindfullofparanoia,duplicity,andguile--andalifefullofmoney,power,andfame.Itisthemoviebusiness.GriffinMillisruthlesslyambitious,driventocontroltheleversofAmerica'sdream-makingmachinery.Griffinlistenstowriterspitchhimstoriesallday,sittinginjudgmentontheirfantasies,theirlives.Butnowonewritertowhosepitchherespondedsogliblyissendinghimpostcards:"Yousaidyou'dgetbacktome.Youdidn't.AndnowinthenameofallwriterswhogetpushedaroundbystudioexecutivesI'mgoingtokillyou."Squeezedbetweenthethreattohislifeandthethreattohisjob,Griffin'sdeliberateandhorrifyingresponsespinshimintoanightmare.ThenhemeetsthesadandbeautifulJuneMercatorandhisobsessionforherthreatenstodestroythemboth.WithacompulsivelyreadablenarrativethatoffersadevastatingportraitofcontemporaryHollywood--thestudioexecs,thedeal-making,thepolitics,thepitches--ThePlayeristhesmartestbook.