As a writer, I spend my days in front of a computer screen. It’s not an easy gig. But movies about writers are as old as the medium itself. They can be comedies or tragedies, dramas or mysteries. Some are even documentaries! And if you’re also a writer looking for something to watch on Netflix this weekend, here’s my list of six good ones:
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The Phantom of Liberty
Jean-Luc Godard’s 1973 film The Phantom of Liberty is a French meta-comedy that follows a group of filmmakers as they attempt to make a movie about freedom. While it may sound boring, the results are anything but. The Phantom of Liberty is quite possibly the most subversive and surrealist movie ever made, and it features some stunning cinematography from legendary director Jean Pierre Lefèbvre.
The plot centers around a group of filmmakers who have been hired by the president to make a documentary about liberty. However, their first attempt at shooting footage for their documentary quickly goes awry when their equipment gets stolen by mysterious “phantom” thieves who magically appear whenever anyone tries to capture them on camera. The only way these characters can get back what was taken from them? By making another film about freedom…or so they think!
Hannah and Her Sisters
The film is about a family of sisters. They’re in their 30s, and they’re all married, so their relationships with each other are complicated and messy. The movie also tells the story of one of the sisters’ husbands, who has been cheating on her with another woman since before they got married. The sister doesn’t know about it until much later in life—in fact, she only finds out after her husband dies in an accident while driving drunk (one of his many vices).
The film follows these relationships as they change over time: sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. It’s one of those movies that feels like it could go on forever because there are so many stories to tell within its characters’ lives; at some point you start thinking “I wish I could see what happens next,” which means there must be something wrong with me because I usually hate when movies end!
Adaptation
Adaptation is a meta-commentary on the writing process: Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage), a screenwriter whose work has been criticized for being too self-indulgent and “meta,” has just finished adapting Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief for the screen. As he waits to see if his script will be accepted, his brother Donald offers him a deal: if Charlie agrees to write an adaptation of their father’s life story, Donald will give him total control over it.
Donald Kaufman (Chris Cooper) was once an aspiring writer who gave up his dreams after marrying and having children. He spent much of his life working at a book store and trying to understand what went wrong with his life as a writer before he dies unexpectedly in 2001 at the age of 43. The film follows both brothers as they attempt to adapt their father’s work into something that can be filmed without compromising its original intent—and without compromising their own identities as writers or artists in general
The Shining
The Shining is a 1980 horror film about an aspiring writer who moves his family to a remote resort during the winter and uses it as inspiration for his book. But things get creepy when he starts having visions of what happened in the hotel before they arrived, leading him to believe that something sinister is going on at the Overlook Hotel.
The movie is based on Stephen King’s 1977 novel of the same name, which was inspired by his own experience working as a caretaker at a remote Colorado hotel during its off-season. The movie was directed by Stanley Kubrick and stars Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, who experiences hallucinations while slowly being driven insane by ghosts haunting the hotel.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?
The movie stars Johnny Depp as Gilbert Grape and Juliette Lewis as Mary Jo Walker, a young woman who moves into town. The film follows the lives of Gilbert and his family members. His mother’s cancer has come back, so she is on her deathbed in the hospital; meanwhile his younger brother Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio) is suffering from autism. Gilbert works at a grocery store in the town where they live (Wallsville) while caring for Arnie 24/7 because he cannot be left alone or he’ll wander off causing problems for himself and others.
Gilbert is smitten by Mary Jo but doesn’t know how to go about getting close to her since she’s from out of town–and he does not yet realize that she has just been released from prison for killing her abusive husband! She starts hanging out with Gilbert’s sister Becky (Darlene Cates), who is also interested in meeting new people since she hasn’t had many friends before moving into town with her father after her mother died when Becky was only seven years old
Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive, directed by David Lynch and starring Naomi Watts, Laura Harring and Justin Theroux, is a film about a young woman named Betty who meets an amnesiac woman named Rita while on the road to the Hollywood Hills. The two agree to become roommates at Betty’s aunt’s house in Los Angeles. However, things don’t go quite as planned when they discover that they are both actresses in Hollywood trying to make it big. As they try their best to survive in this harsh world where everyone seems too busy doing other things than really paying attention to them, they soon realize that there might be something more going on between them than just friendship.
These are six great movies about writers. Each one is different, but they all share the same fundamental truth: writing is hard. From the horror of seeing your words on the page to the humor of finding out what people think about them, these movies will make you laugh and cry and then laugh again. And maybe even cry again…
Sometimes it’s a good idea to watch a movie before writing something so that you can see how it should be done—and sometimes it’s not! That’s why we’ve put together this list of some of our favorite films featuring writers as main characters or important subplots, in order to help inspire your next masterpiece (or not). Writing about other writer’s work may be more than challenging — if you are not ready to create quality movie or book reviews, consider paying someone to write your essay at WriteMyPaperHub.com — an expert essay writing service with clients worldwide. It is more than OK to delegate some time-consuming tasks to writing experts. Hiring a professional paper writer, you just take a breather and save some energy for other, more important tasks.
With their stories of the trials and tribulations of being a writer, these movies are sure to be a great watch. Whether you’re looking for comedy or horror, there’s something here for everyone. If you’re not sure where to start, try The Phantom of Liberty first — it’s our top pick!
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