There’s nothing Hollywood loves to do more than to pay homage to itself. With so many filmmakers indebted to tinsel town, streaming services are littered with love letters to the place. It’s ironic that writers don’t get the credit they deserve, living in the shadows of directors, as there are so many movies that are actually based on the lives of screenwriters, both real and fictional.
Whether it’s a mockumentary about selling a screenplay, biopics grounded mostly in hearsay, or completely fantastical narratives full of ambiguity, it seems like there are nothing screenwriters like to write about more than themselves, for better or worse.
The Pitch (1997) - 6.4
The Pitch is a documentary that follows Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice as they roam Hollywood trying to sell their screenplay. The movie sees Al Pacino willingly taking a copy of the writers’ screenplay off them to read and it even features an awkward interview with Roger Ebert, in which the celebrated critic sees right through the transparency of the documentary.
Besides proving the fundamental truth that it’s extremely hard to sell a screenplay, there isn’t much depth to the movie. However, Rice and Hotz did go on to create the cult TV show, Kenny vs. Spenny, which has some crazy episodes.
Late Night (2019) - 6.5
Most likely based on her real-life experiences in various writer’s rooms, Late Night is one of the many projects that was written by Mindy Kaling.
Being about a late-night talk show host (Emma Thompson) who takes a writer (Kaling) under her wing, the movie feels like a spiritual sibling to The Devil Wears Prada, as the relationship between the two of them is borderline abusive, but there’s a lot more heart to it. Though the movie has gotten an average reception from general audiences, it was a huge success amongst film critics.
The Majestic (2001) - 6.9
The Majestic follows a screenwriter (Jim Carrey,) who suffers from amnesia after getting into a car crash, and is then accused of being a communist. The movie, though directed by the incredible Frank Darabont, has been scathed by critics, as it has been called derivative of other, much better movies.
However, with The Truman Show being highly regarded as Carey’s best dramatic role, The Majestic gets criminally underlooked, as his performance in the movie is one of the few things critics liked.
Mank (2020) - 7.1
After a six-year hiatus from directing movies, the celebrated filmmaker, David Fincher, returned last year with Mank, a movie about the man who penned Citizen Kane, and it’s one of the best biopics of 2020.
The movie might be exploring a subject that was disproved years ago, that Orson Welles didn’t deserve a writing credit for Citizen Kane, but Mank nevertheless gives a great fly-on-the-wall look at the film industry in that era.
Seven Psychopaths (2012) - 7.2
Being about an alcoholic screenwriter with writer’s block, Seven Psychopaths delves into the fantastical but gruesome world of Hollywood, and it brilliantly blurs the lines between reality and fiction.
As the screenwriter, Marty (Colin Farrell,) encounters several sick and twisted characters, it helps him to complete his screenplay, with many of those sick and twisted characters believing they deserve a place in the movie. It makes for a great comedy with some surprising dramatic turns, though it isn’t exactly a realistic look at the film industry.
Trumbo (2015) - 7.5
With the success of his role as Walter White in the massively popular Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston was having movie offers thrown at him from every direction. He mostly starred in high concept blockbuster movies, such as Godzilla and Total Recall, but when Trumbo came along, audiences finally got that big screen, Oscar-caliber performance from him that they had wanted for so long.
Trumbo follows the titular character (Cranston) who was blacklisted for being a member of the Communist Party of the USA, and it’s a fascinating movie about the political background of Hollywood, as well as featuring a captivating performance from Cranston.
Midnight In Paris (2011) - 7.7
With Woody Allen releasing tens of movies every decade, in recent years he has seemed to just throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.
However, Midnight In Paris was a late-career highlight from the director, as it follows Gil (Owen Wilson) in a Groundhog Day-like situation. The character goes back in time every night at midnight, and features beloved characters from history played to perfection by the cast. The movie is also amongst Owen Wilson’s best.
Barton Fink (1991) - 7.7
Barton Fink, curiously turning 30 this year, is almost timeless in its approach to the movie industry, as it’s set in the 1940s but the messages about screenwriting are still prominent in Hollywood today.
However, the movie isn’t about screenwriting, and the film is completely ambiguous and almost Lynchian in its storytelling, as the titular character (John Turturro) stays in a hotel room that literally grows teeth, and a painting on the wall predicts the future.
Adaptation (2002) - 7.7
Adaptation is one of the most meta movies of the 21st century and how it got greenlit is a mystery, but the result is surprisingly incredible. Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman was hired to write an adaptation of The Orchid Thief, but what he did instead was write a movie about writing The Orchid Thief, which resulted in Adaptation.
The movie’s protagonist is even the writer himself, Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage,) as he struggles with writer’s block and depression. The final product is an intertwined narrative of The Orchid Thief and Kaufman writing the movie, and as strange as it sounds, it’s one of the best Charlie Kaufman projects.
Sunset Boulevard (1950) - 8.4
There aren’t many other movies like Sunset Boulevard, as it brilliantly combines the gritty film noir of the 1940s and perfectly captures the vibe of the movie industry at that time.
The movie sees the lives of an aging silent movie star and a struggling screenwriter intertwine, as they believe they can help each other, that is until it erupts into murder. Sunset Boulevard is a thrilling murder mystery movie and it’s considered one of the greatest films ever made.