Whether the stereotypes or true or not, studio executives get a bad reputation in movies, as they all seem to have anger issues, are narcissistic, and are full of vulgar language. But that's part of why they make such great and memorable characters.
There isn't one moral character among them, and it comes off like it's the screenwriters getting back at the studio heads they've had to deal with in their careers. Between their outrageous dance moves, not allowing writers' blocks, and straight-up murdering their critics, studio execs in movies are equally hilarious and terrifying.
Tropic Thunder (2008)
- Stream on Amazon Prime and Paramount+
Impressively starring and directed by Ben Stiller, the 2008 classic comedy Tropic Thunder follows a group of fictional actors who act in a war movie in the jungle. It's part Apocalypse Now parody and part Hollywood satire, as it makes fun of method actors and over-the-top directors. But the centerpiece of all the drama is Les Grossman, who is a stereotypically ill-mannered and angry studio executive. He has a hilariously vulgar vocabulary and treats everyone around him terribly.
Most viewers wouldn't even know it, but what elevates the portrayal of Les Grossman is that, under all the prosthetics and bald wig, he's played by none other than Tom Cruise. It's a rare performance of his where he isn't afraid to look silly, and his dancing to Ludacris's "Get Back" is one of the most bemusing dances in cinema.
Barton Fink (1991)
- Rent on Apple TV
It's hard to pin down exactly what Barton Fink is about, as it's a fantastical movie that sees a painting predicting the future, a hotel with a mind of its own, and a serial killer who beheads his victims. It's almost like the Coen brothers' very own Alice In Wonderland.
However, the basic premise follows the titular character who is paid thousands of dollars a week to blast out one screenplay after another for Capitol Pictures, only he has severe writer's block. When it comes to movies featuring studio execs, a pattern seems to be forming where they're are depicted as impenetrable, volcanically angry narcissists. Studio head Ben Geisler becomes rattled with anger when Fink fails to hand in even a single page of a screenplay. The character also has a catchphrase that sends shivers down any writer's spine, "Whaddaya got for me?"
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
- Stream on Netflix
Being another movie directed by the Coen brothers, Hail, Caesar doesn't get the credit it deserves for being a highly entertaining fly on the wall-type comedy about Hollywood in the 1950s.
The underrated film doesn't just feature studio executives, but it's full of communist screenwriters, European directors, singing cowboys, and typically handsome Robert Taylor-type actors. When a famous actor is abducted from the set of the eponymous film, studio executives must work with a fixer, who hides actors' and studios' scandals, to keep the story out of the tabloids but still find a solution.
Swimming With Sharks (1994)
- Stream on Tubi
It's almost as if writers create these movies to spite every studio head they've ever been in a meeting with, and it's like it's their way of venting. Swimming With Sharks is the most convincing of that theory, as the film is a tale of revenge where a once-optimistic writer gets his own back on a movie mogul for treating him so badly.
The film is hilarious, but it has its dark moments and is surprisingly psychological too. The writer goes from spitting in his mentor's coffee to holding him gunpoint and pistol-whipping him.
The Player (1992)
- Stream on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel
Though most movies depict studio executives as being angry, vindictive, and hateful, their bark is usually louder than their bite. But in The Player, a studio head literally resorts to murder. Griffin Mill kills a writer who he suspects has been sending him death threats, and the executive spirals into a fit of paranoia.
Though the movie mostly focuses on the mystery of who is stalking Griffin rather than the actual movie industry, there's an astounding amount of cameo appearances in its two-hour runtime. And interestingly, there's a link between The Player and Barton Fink, as Ben Geisler's office in the 1991 movie is the exact same as Griffin's.
Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
- Stream on Disney+
2013's Saving Mr. Banks is about the most famous studio executive there has ever been, Walt Disney. And what makes the film so fascinating is that it isn't just any ordinary biopic, but it follows the trials and tribulations of bringing Mary Poppins to the big screen.
Even more interesting is that it's just as much about Pamela Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, as it is about Disney, if not more so. It's a great look into the behind-the-scenes development of a Disney movie, which is something that isn't so well-documented, even if it does have tons of that Disney showmanship.
Get Shorty (1995)
- Stream on Amazon Prime, Roku, Hoopla, and Tubi
To be honest, Get Shorty isn't so much a movie about a studio executive as it is about a gangster. But what makes the film so unique is that mobster Chili Palmer inadvertently falls into that very role.
After traveling to LA to collect a gambling debt from a B-movie director, Chili becomes consumed in movie production, but it turns out that the movie industry isn't that much more wholesome than the mob life. There was even a sequel, Be Cool, and just as good TV series adaptation of the movie that lasted for three seasons.
Entourage (2015)
- Stream on TNT and TBS
As the TV show was all about the movie industry, Entourage was full of celebrity cameos, and some of them were from celebrated directors like Martin Scorsese. But the 2015 movie took it to another level, as the film has more than 50 cameos in just 100 minutes. And in the movie, the smart and fearless former talent agent Ari Gold is now a studio executive.
For the most part, Entourage is essentially a truncated season of the show, as it follows the tried and true formula of Ari being worried about a project Vince is working on, only for it to work out perfectly fine in the end. But it's still entertaining, and living vicariously through Vince is still the best way to experience Hollywood.
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
- Rent on Vudu
At its core, the latest Quentin Tarantino epic is all about the friendship between an actor and his stunt double, but there are so many more working parts to it. Along with revising history and fending off the Manson Family, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is a character study, as it follows Rick Dalton after his wake-up call with studio head Marvin Schwarz.
Though some Redditors think Hollywood is a big-budget student movie, Tarantino has a way of giving his characters so much depth despite them only appearing briefly, and Marvin is a perfect example of that. The character is in one major scene, and in that opening 10-15 minutes, Marvin shows off his knowledge of film and, unlike other studio heads, gently helps Rick come to his own conclusion that he's a has-been.
Adaptation (2002)
- Rent on Vudu
It isn't easy to explain the premise of Adaptation, as it follows a fictionalized version of the movie's writer, Charlie Kaufman, struggling to write the very film that audiences are watching. It's a half-adaptation of the non-fiction book The Orchid Thief and a half-sequel to Being John Malkovich, an equally weird movie also written by Kaufman.
The 2002 film once again deals with the idea of writer's block, and Kaufman is basically destroyed by the studio exec at Columbia Pictures when he has nothing to show them. The studio head is also understandably bewildered by some of the ideas that Charlie brings to the table.