Next time you set out to write the next Hollywood blockbuster and you don’t know where to begin – don’t forget that dozens of critically acclaimed films have been written about writers! While it may be too obvious a choice for some, don’t forget the incredible diversity and creativity in this collection of films – from The Shining to Adaptation, there is some seriously juicy material to be discovered when you dive inward to your writing experiences for writing inspiration! Fun side note: Meryl Streep does a lot of films about authors.

 

Julie & Julia

Frustrated with a soul-killing job, New Yorker Julie Powell (Amy Adams) embarks on a daring project: she vows to prepare all 524 recipes in Julia Childs’ landmark cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Intertwined with Julie’s story is the true tale of how Julia Child (Meryl Streep) herself conquered French cuisine with passion, fearlessness, and plenty of butter.

 

Saving Mr. Banks

Named after the father in author P.L. Travers’ story “Mary Poppins”, Saving Mr. Banks depicts the author’s fortnight-long meetings during 1961 in Los Angeles, as she is persuaded by Disney in his attempts to obtain the screen rights to her novels.

 

Misery

A few days after being rescued and sheltered from a car crash caused by a blizzard, by a nurse who claims to be his number one fan, a well-known author begins suspecting the mental health of his savior.

The Hours

The story of how the novel “Mrs. Dalloway” affects three generations of women, all of whom, in one way or another, have had to deal with suicide in their lives.

Capote

In 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row.

Finding Neverland

The story of J.M. Barrie’s friendship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan.

Atonement

Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister’s lover of a crime he did not commit. Based on the British romance novel by Ian McEwan.

Shadowlands

C.S. Lewis, a world-renowned Christian theologian, writer and professor, leads a passionless life until he meets a spirited poet from the U.S.

Sophie’s Choice

Sophie is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live in Nathan, a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust. They befriend Stingo, the movie’s narrator, a young American writer new to New York City. But the happiness of Sophie and Nathan is endangered by her ghosts and his obsessions.

Adaptation

A lovelorn screenwriter becomes desperate as he tries and fails to adapt The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean for the screen.

Shakespeare In Love

A young Shakespeare, out of ideas and short of cash, meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.

The Libertine

The story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life’s work.

Becoming Jane

A biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman.

Miss Potter

The story of Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved and best-selling children’s book, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”, and her struggle for love, happiness and success.

Author! Author!

While facing the stress of his play being produced on Broadway, a playwright deals with having to raise his son, his stepdaughters, and his stepsons.

Julia

At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.

Finding Forrester

A young writing prodigy finds a mentor in a reclusive author.

The Shining

Jack Torrance, a writer and recovering alcoholic, takes a job as an off-season caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel. His young son possesses psychic abilities and is able to see things from the past and future, such as the ghosts who inhabit the hotel. Some time after settling in, the family is trapped in the hotel by a snowstorm, and Jack gradually becomes influenced by a supernatural presence and descends into madness.

Quills

Inspired by the life and work of the Marquis de Sade, Quills re-imagines the last years of the Marquis’ incarceration in the insane asylum at Charenton.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

An oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.

8 ½

Guido Anselmi, a famous Italian film director, is suffering from “director’s block”. Stalled on his new science fiction film that includes veiled autobiographical references, he has lost interest amid artistic and marital difficulties. As Guido struggles half-heartedly to work on the film, a series of flashbacks and dreams delve into his memories and fantasies; they are frequently interwoven with reality.

Sideways

Two men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment, embark on a week long road trip through California’s wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.