To Write or Not to Write
Most interesting films about the hardships and rewards of creative writing
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15 titles
- DirectorManuel Martín CuencaStarsJavier GutiérrezMaría LeónAdelfa CalvoA man obsessed with the idea of writing "high literature" starts to cause conflicts around him to write about it.
- DirectorFrançois OzonStarsFabrice LuchiniVincent SchmittErnst UmhauerA high school French teacher is drawn into a precocious student's increasingly transgressive story about his relationship with a friend's family.
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsNicolas CageMeryl StreepChris CooperA lovelorn screenwriter becomes desperate as he tries and fails to adapt 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean for the screen.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJohn TurturroJohn GoodmanJudy DavisA renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsPeter WellerJudy DavisIan HolmAfter developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally kills his wife and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in a port town in North Africa.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsKen OgataMasayuki ShionoyaHiroshi MikamiA fictionalized account in four chapters of the life of celebrated Japanese writer Yukio Mishima.
- DirectorJames PonsoldtStarsJason SegelJesse EisenbergAnna ChlumskyThe story of the five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace, which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's groundbreaking epic novel, 'Infinite Jest.'
- DirectorMariano CohnGastón DupratStarsOscar MartínezDady BrievaAndrea FrigerioA winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, who has been living in Europe for decades, accepts an invitation to receive another award. In Argentina he finds both similarities and irreconcilable differences with the people of his hometown.
- DirectorRob EpsteinJeffrey FriedmanStarsJames FrancoTodd RotondiJon PrescottAs Allen Ginsberg talks about his life and art, his most famous poem is illustrated in animation while the obscenity trial of the work is dramatized.
- DirectorBent HamerStarsMatt DillonLili TaylorMarisa TomeiThis drama centers on Hank Chinaski, the fictional alter-ego of "Factotum" author Charles Bukowski, who wanders around Los Angeles, CA trying to live off jobs which don't interfere with his primary interest, which is writing. Along the way, he fends off the distractions offered by women, drinking and gambling.
- DirectorCharlie KaufmanStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanSamantha MortonMichelle WilliamsA theatre director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he creates a life-size replica of New York City inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
- DirectorAlbert DupontelStarsClaude PerronAlbert DupontelPhilippe UchanA successful author, Darius sees posters announcing his new play. Suddenly panicked, he remembers that he forgot to write it. Darius then begins to panic and finds no inspiration.
- DirectorLaurent CantetStarsMarina FoïsMatthieu LucciFlorian BeaujeanThe scene is set one Summer in La Ciotat, a town near Marseille which used to be prosperous thanks to its huge dockyard but has been in decline since its closing 25 years before. It is in this context of quiet desperation that a writing workshop has been set up to help a group of seven young people integrate into the world of work. Under the guidance of well-known novelist Olivia Dejazet, the participants are asked to write a noir fiction connected with the industrial past of their hometown. Session after session, one of them, a boy named Antoine, stands out. Provocative and aggressive, he gets noticed by his systematic opposition to all, including Olivia. Even more alarming, the story he has devised and that he reads aloud, the cold description of a mass murder seen through the eyes of its perpetrator, proves very disturbing. Antoine understands the killer too well. At this point, Olivia starts experiencing a feeling of attraction repulsion to Antoine.
- DirectorAndrew WagnerStarsFrank LangellaLauren AmbrosePatti PerkinsAn ambitious graduate student convinces a writer that her thesis can resurrect his career.
- DirectorAlex Ross PerryStarsJason SchwartzmanElisabeth MossJonathan PryceWhen a self-obsessed novelist (Jason Schwartzman) has problems with his novel and his girlfriend (Elisabeth Moss), he seeks refuge in his mentor's cottage where the peace and quiet allow him to focus on his favorite subject - himself.