Some of the more unique projects in cinema history have revolved around the general prospect of screenwriting, whether the respective protagonists are well-established in that regard, or just getting started in the film business. And for what it’s worth, these films were directed by some of the biggest names Hollywood could offer at the time, such as Billy Wilder and Jean-Luc Godard.
You’ll undoubtedly recognize some titles along the way, while other films on the list flew a bit too far below the public radar. And, for what it’s worth, this list will also be accounting for films in foreign languages. All that said, these are the twelve best movies ever made about screenwriters, ranked.
11 Trumbo
With Bryan Cranston in the titular role, Trumbo (2015) depicts the story of real-life Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Known as part of the Hollywood Ten — the first systematic blacklist of Hollywood — Trumbo is most well-remembered for adapting the screenplays to both Exodus (1960) and Spartacus (1960). And the aforementioned actor in Cranston portrayed Trumbo to an absolute tee, even garnering a nomination for Best Actor at the Academy Awards.
He came up short, but his performance drives the quality of Trumbo through and through. And although the film as a whole just barely made back its $10 million budget at the worldwide box office, critics had positive outlooks for the most part. And justifiably so, with Trumbo ultimately kicking off the list.
10 The Big Picture
As the directorial debut of Christopher Guest — who co-wrote the script alongside both Michael Varhol and Michael McKean — The Big Picture (1989) revolves around a recent film school graduate named Nick Chapman who is still riding the high tides of his award-winning student film.
Starring Kevin Bacon, this entry may not hold the name value of several other titles that will appear on the list — it absolutely bombed at the box office, in fact. But it nonetheless holds up as a quality film about a screenwriter, with the plot kicking off when Nick signs with a major movie studio to create his magnum opus. There’s a solid chance you’ve never heard of The Big Picture, but you should check it out, nonetheless.
9 Mank
This black-and-white stint from director David Fincher marks the most recent film on the list, with Mank (2020) featuring Gary Oldman in the titular role. He was nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards thanks to his efforts, in fact, with the film as a whole accruing two wins — Best Production Design and Best Cinematography — out of nine other nominations to boot.
For those unfamiliar: Herman J. Markievicz is among the most well-respected and well-known screenwriters Hollywood has ever seen. And Mank chronicles his journey to finish the now-famous script for Citizen Kane (1941), directed by Orson Welles. That’s among the most important films of all time, and this biopic perfectly depicts its conception.
8 Seven Psychopaths
Written and directed by Martin McDonough, this entry follows Colin Farrel’s protagonist as an alcoholic screenwriter. And as he struggles to complete his script of the same name here in Seven Psychopaths (2012), the writer (named Marty Faranan) finds inspiration through the off-the-wall antics of his friends, Hans and Billy — played by Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell, respectively.
They make their way through life by stealing rich people’s dogs and returning them for a hefty reward. And while this isn’t the best feature McDonough has under his directorial belt, he doesn’t have a single bad stint to his name. Seven Psychopaths progresses at an entertaining, whiplash-inducing pace from the film’s from frame, and it without a doubt deserves this spot at number eight.
7 Midnight in Paris
Starring Owen Wilson as the screenwriter and Rachel McAdams as his materialistic girlfriend, Midnight in Paris (2011) saw direction under Woody Allen. And of course, as a writer-director, Allen also penned the script, which lent a particularly tangible sense of passion to the project as a whole.
With the couple vacationing in the titular French capital, the plot follows Wilson’s protagonist as he travels back in time every night at 12:00 on the dot. For another twist: he encounters the most iconic figures of America’s Jazz Age throughout the roaring twenties, like Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. Plenty of these films feature ambitious premises, but still manage to see their plots come into perfect fruition. That’s very much the case with Midnight in Paris.
6 Barton Fink
Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, this entry features John Turturro in the titular role as a playwright who is hired to make the transition to Hollywood to pen movie scripts. Alas, he soon begins experiencing a severe case of writer’s block. And as he attempts to overcome these stifling urges, a mysterious series of circumstances further distracts him from his newfound work on B-movie scripts.
And Barton Fink (1991) as a whole is among the most underrated movies from this writer-director sibling duo, and the eponymous character goes down as the definitive role of Turturro’s career. He truly runs the gamut of emotion here as Fink, almost single-handedly landing the project at number six.
5 The Forest of Love
Distributed by Netflix, this entry kicks off with a screenwriter named Joe Murata sitting in a restaurant and listening to television reports on a serial killer. A Japanese-language crime thriller, The Forest of Love (2019) saw direction under Sion Sono, with Kippei Shiina portraying the aforementioned screenwriting protagonist.
And it saw tremendous review scores across the board of criticism, with a rare 100% approval rating on critical consensus website Rotten Tomatoes. For that, it goes down not just among the greatest movies ever made about screenwriters, but also re: serial killers. It’s long, arguably repetitive, but it’s entertaining through and through.
4 Adaptation
Directed by Spike Jonze from a script penned by Charlie Kaufman, this is among the more unique films on the entire list. It stars Nicolas Cage in a dual role as a pair of screenwriting twins — Charlie and Donald Kaufman — as they struggle to adapt a book called The Orchid Thief to the silver screen. And the premise was inspired by real-life screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s experiences in that same regard.
As a whole, Adaptation (2002) is among the most revered films on the list. It garnered great reviews from critics upon release while raking in decent money at the worldwide box office. But most notably, it received four nominations at the Academy Awards, and among those was Best Original Screenplay for Kaufman. Well-earned through and through.
3 In a Lonely Place
A film noir from American director Nicholas Ray, this entry features superstars Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Graham in the lead roles as a screenwriter and his neighbor, respectively. But the plot of In a Lonely Place (1950) takes a thrilling twist upon Dixon Steele’s (Bogart’s protagonist) being suspected of murder. And despite his violent tendencies, Dixon casts a spell on Graham’s character Laurel Gray, and the two develop a tangible rapport in every scene.
In a Lonely Place has really cemented its legacy in recent years, as it’s been listed by Slant, BBC, and Time Magazine as one of the 100 greatest films ever made. Plus, it’s been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry, and is commonly cited among the greatest film noirs to ever grace the silver screen. And with good reason. On any given day, In a Lonely Place could wind up even higher on the list.
2 Contempt
Written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard — perhaps the single finest filmmaker his region has ever seen — Contempt (1963) has been cited throughout the years as one of the most seminal releases of the French New Wave. It follows protagonist Paul Javal (played by Michel Piccoli) as he accepts an offer from a brash film producer named Jeremy Prokosch (portrayed by Jack Palance) to rework the script on an upcoming adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey.
But aside from its lead characters, what’s perhaps most prominently worth noting regarding the cast and crew of Contempt would be the director of its fictional feature: Fritz Lang, real-life German filmmaker who appears herein as himself. But aside from the massive name value of its cast, Contempt also boasts one of the greatest screenplays you’re ever likely to read. And of course, several other elements of behind-the-scenes filmmaking come into perfect fruition. Rest assured: it deserves this penultimate spot.
1 Sunset Boulevard
Without Sunset Boulevard (1950) by American writer-director Billy Wilder, this list never would have been possible. And that’s not just because this is the oldest film herein, but also because it’s the most influential. Wilder is among the greatest screenwriters to ever live, which shows here with the film’s keen sense of story structure that results in pitch-perfect pacing.
And there are brilliant performances and hilarious dialogue around every corner of its thought-out plot. It follows a struggling screenwriter named Joe Gillis (played by William Holden) who is drawn into the strange fantasy world of a former silent film star named Norma Desmond (portrayed by Gloria Swanson). And frankly, this race for the top spot of films that revolve around screenwriters was hardly ever close. Sunset Boulevard is widely regarded among the greatest films ever made, with endless accolades and legendary statistics to its name. Its placement at the top is undeniable.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
