This film takes a look at contemporary Hollywood, in much the same way that The Bad and the Beautiful looked at the Hollywood of the studio era. The level of cynicism is considerably higher in the more recent film: Kirk Douglas' producer manipulates people, but he doesn't commit and get away with murder, as Tim Robbins' Griffin Mill does in this film. But the differences between the two films also reflect differences in how films are made. Consider the ways in which the role of the producer, and of the studio, has changed from one era to the other. How does a film get put together? How do pitches for new products work? Who is really in control? How does the producer stand in relation to directors, actors, and screenwriters?
Consider also how questions of cinematic style and form are raised in the course of the film. During the opening credits sequence, one of the conversations we hear involves the question of long, continuous takes as opposed to quick MTV-style cutting. Reference is made to famous long takes, such as the opening sequence of Orson Welles' Touch of Evil. And Altman himself presents this opening sequence in the form of a long, continuous take of something like 8 minutes. Consider the effects of such a strategy, and what a different it makes in comparison to a more conventional presentation of the same script material.