Oliver Assayas' new 'meta-drama' for HBO, Irma Vep, is a satirical and Avant-garde retelling of his own 1996 movie of the same name. Rather than being a cinematic technique often associated with pretentious auteurs, meta storytelling is actually a very mainstream concept. The 'Multiverse' is a term that has become familiar with fans of the MCU with the recent Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home exploring themes linked to string theory.

But the self-referential dynamic these movies hinge upon can be interpreted in two ways. Firstly, a simple mechanism whereby characters from adjacent movies in a franchise can be incorporated into the narrative. Or, alternatively, an indulgence in techniques that are prevalent within 'metafictional' filmmaking. To be 'meta' often means to simply break the fourth wall and blur the lines between what is seen on the screen and what is present in reality, and many movies and TV shows have dared to do just that.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Evelyn with blood on face in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Metafictional filmmaking can be described as 'on the nose' or 'tongue in cheek.' The Daniels' Everything Everywhere All At Once was also a 'jaw on the floor' kind of movie. Part meta-comedy, part martial-arts epic, A24's newest crowd-pleaser took meta concepts and threw them into a cinematic blender of sound and color.

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Everything Everywhere All At Once not only referenced movies such as Ratatouille and In The Mood For Love, but imagined iterations of these films from across sprawling intertwined universes where humanity is often differentiated by something as significant as giant inflatable hands.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm

Actors playing themselves in movies or television shows is not a particularly groundbreaking concept. However, Larry David's portrayal of himself in Curb Your Enthusiasm has set the benchmark for meta-comedy, and with 11 seasons and counting of the show on the air, there is clearly no end of 'enthusiasm' for this particular brand of storytelling.

David's bumbling and misanthropic vision of himself for the screen was shot in an almost a psued0-verité style which became television vogue at the turn of the 21st century, inspiring countless other sitcoms, including Ricky Gervais' seminal show The Office.

Adaptation

Nicolas Cage in Adaptation

When one thinks of the term 'meta' in filmmaking, Charlie Kaufman's name is one of the first to spring to mind. Each project Kaufman is attached to has some kind of nuanced metafictional element to it. Perhaps the most famous of these is Spike Jonze's Adaptationwhich sees a fictionalized version of Kaufman himself attempt a fictional adaptation.

Adaptation is a head-spinning, whirlwind work of art that can't help but furrow into deeper and more perplexing narrative rabbit holes the second it becomes even remotely tangible and straightforward. As long as Kaufman is still writing and directing movies, his unique approach to storytelling will continue to confound audiences.

This Is The End

James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel and Danny McBride acting scared of the apocalypse in This Is The End.

The 2013 all-star slacker comedy This Is The End could be on the surface dismissed as simply being a self-indulgent ensemble movie with cheap toilet humor. In reality, this Seth Rogen vehicle is a fairly accomplished piece of meta-comedy that is as entertaining from start to finish as it is consistently hilarious.

The premise of the movie follows Seth Rogen and friends (all of whom play themselves) faced with the mortifying proposition of an apocalyptic end of days scenario. The script is razor-sharp and incredibly self-deprecating, making each character an archetype of a gormless celebrity who, when faced with oblivion, reveals their true nature.

Scream

The Ghostface killer in Scream

Scream is perhaps the most famous example of metafiction on-screen with franchise potential. With countless self-referential set-pieces, Wes Craven's seminal movie has left an indelible mark on the history of cinema and with every installment and sequel has continued to garner critical acclaim.

Related: Every Scream Movie Ranked, According To Rotten Tomatoes

In satirizing the horror genre and all of its slasher tropes, Scream has become a sensation in its own right and plays fast and loose with the stylings of the films that inspired it, including Halloween and Friday the 13th. Scream was such a meta-success that it even spawned its very own pastiche in the Scary Movie franchise.

Community

Abed giving a thumbs up in Community

Situational comedy has a habit of playing with meta concepts. For many sitcoms, the fourth wall is essentially broken with the introduction of audience laughter. But Community has a habit of taking it one step further and referencing its own position in the world of sit-com storytelling.

Out of all the characters in Communityit is arguably Abed who uses metafictional tropes the most. Abed is acutely aware that he is a fictional character in a television show and constantly calls into question where the writers intend to position him next. Rather than being pedantic, Community is a consistently complex and hilarious piece of television.

Our Beloved Month Of August (2008)

A woman sings into a microphone in Our Lovely Month of August

Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes has evidently, throughout his career, been dissatisfied with approaching any project in a conventional manner. The opening scene of Our Beloved Month Of August sees the director and his crew preparing to film the movie in question, and will continue to break the fourth wall throughout its running time.

It is a jarring but sublime piece of intuitive filmmaking that rather than detracting from the poignant and intoxicating tale being told using its metafictional elements, actually pulls into focus what it means to view cinema and even why an audience empathizes with characters in the first place, knowing full well that they are ficitional.

Funny Games

Peter and Paul sitting on the couch in Funny Games (1997)

Michael Haneke is a filmmaker who is undaunted by the complexities of filmmaking. Haneke never makes a straightforward movie and Funny Games is perhaps the best example of a cinematic two-fingered salute to his audience and those who dare to criticize his work.

Related: 10 Horror Movies That Nailed Their Final Scene

The English-language version of Funny Games is a standalone horror movie, but it is also a shot-for-shot remake of his original German-language film. Funny Games is a terrifying watch that deconstructs itself and breaks the fourth wall in such a sadistic fashion that it leaves its audience quaking in their boots.

The Cabin In The Woods

The kids in Cabin in the Woods.

Horror movies are all somewhat meta in design. The archetype for a good horror movie is rich in metaphor and symbolism and usually references the socio-political climate of the time. Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods took a very conventional horror premise and made a remarkable film out of it.

The movie intelligently shines a light on horror movie conventions and repeatedly dupes its audience with breathtaking regularity. The Cabin In The Woods is metafiction made fun and is consistently regarded as one of the best horror movies of the 2010s.

Synecdoche, New York

Philip Seymour Hoffman as Caden Cotard (Synecdoche, New York)

Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut Synecdoche, New York continued his idiosyncratic brand of meta-comedy that spoke not only to the art of filmmaking but also to what it means to live in a stylized world which at times can be stranger than fiction.

Synecdoche, New York is as confusing as it is spellbinding, and watching any Kaufman film is a philosophical journey into what it means to be alive and that not-knowing one's place or purpose is usually the very foundation of being human. This is, perhaps, what metafiction strives to achieve.

Next: 10 Other Actors Who Deserve Their Own Meta-Movie (Like Nicolas Cage), According To Reddit