Sunday, March 2, 2014

My tribute to movies about writing (in honor of the Oscars!)


After reading “The Paris Wife,” which I think should be made into a movie, and then watching “The Hours” on Netflix the other day, I began thinking about movies that have writing themes. I never tire of watching “Finding Forrester,” and I liked “Adaptation,” “The Words,” and “The Shining.”

Then I searched online for movies about writing and a few more titles came up that made me question my ability to recall information. There they were, two of my favorites: “Wonder Boys” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” I love both of those movies for completely different reasons, and yet they had slipped my mind. 

So I searched a few more lists, and was reminded of “Barfly,” about Charles Bukowski’s sometimes rough and difficult life, “Misery,” another Stephen King entry, “Bullets Over Broadway” by Woody Allen, and “Miss Potter,” a sweet love story about Beatrix Potter. I think your brain might explode if you watched “Barfly” and “Miss Potter” on the same day.
   
Other movies I wasn’t familiar with included “Quill,” which chronicles the Marquis de Sade’s confinement to a mental institution, and the lengths to which he went in order to write, and “Gothic,” about the circumstances surrounding the creation of Mary Shelley’s "Frankenstein.” 

So excuse me for now, I’m heading over to Netflix to watch a movie or two. How about you? What are your favorite movies about writers or writing? 

Write soon,
Mary 

Here are some links to websites that feature lists of movies about writing: 

6 comments:

  1. Mary--I love the movie "Once" (although they're writing music) and "Stranger Than Fiction," which is probably my favorite Will Farrell movie. (I generally am not crazy about his films.)

    "Sideways" has the Paul Giamatti character as a writer, but you don't really know WHY he's making all those phone calls until the middle of the film.

    What a clever way to turn Oscar Night into a writer's night. Bravo, Mary.

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  2. OMG, here's another one I forgot about, one of my all-time favorite movies, "Stranger Than Fiction!" Thanks, Sioux, for reminding me! Now there's another one I need to watch again.

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  3. I've seen plenty of movies taken from books, but not as many about writers/writing...a least not that come to my snow and ice-clogged brain at the moment.

    Pat
    Critter Alley

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  4. This was a fun post! Thanks for the links.

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  5. Enjoyed this post! For me, one of my all time favorites was Out of Africa. Movie taken from a book, about a story teller and eventually a writer. I think this movie is sensual, moving, astute to nature of humans. I went on to read the book Out of Africa, the bios of Karen Blixen, and of Denys Finch Hatton among others.

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  6. Although not a movie, one of my favorite TV series about a writer is Castle. Oh, and Murder She Wrote is another TV favorite.

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