Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Writer - Stars in Movie

I watched Young Adult, this past weekend, starring Charlize Theron for one reason, because the main character is a writer.


In case you haven’t seen it, Young Adult is a black comedy with Charlize Theron staring as a YA author (actually she is slightly more than a ghost writer for a popular YA series that is about to end).  Unable to come up with the last book in the series, she returns to her hometown to try and win back her high school boyfriend. Problem is, he's married, has a kid and is quite content with his life. As she throws back whiskey and flails at love, she becomes closer with a former high school geek played by Patton Oswalt. 
The movie was entertaining, with an offbeat ending, but it got me thinking about how many of my favorite films have writers as a main character - a lot.
Here are a few of my favorites.
*Midnight in Paris, starring Owen Wilson as screen writer, turned novelist (I absolutely love his line about the negative ions in the shower fueling his creativity.

*Alex and Emma, starring Owen’s brother Luke as the writer (movie loosely based on the true love story of Fyodor Dostoevsky writing his novel The Gambler.)
*Stranger Than Fiction, starring Will Ferrel as the character in Emma Thompson’s book she’s writing

*The Muse, starring Albert Brooks searching for inspiration
*The Hours, starring Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf

*Hannah and her Sisters, starring Dianne Wiest as failed-actress-turned-writer
*Adaptation, starring Nicolas Cage, as twin brother writers
*Leaving Las Vegas, Nicholas Cage again as a tormented writer
*Wonder Boys, starring Michael Douglas as a writer struggling with epic writer’s block
*The Player, starring Tim Robbins playing a screen writer in Hollywood

Feel free to comment on any of these, and/or add some of your own favorite writer/movies to the list.

12 comments:

  1. She-Devil. Meryl Steep plays famous romance writer Mary Fisher. It's one of my fave comedies. Funny, I just blogged about this today.

    As for your movies, I should get busy watching new ones, since I haven't seen any of those before. but they sound interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes! I remember that one. Love Meryl Streep. I will have to watch that again. I will check out your blogpost now.

      Delete
  2. Funny!

    I don't like a single one of those movie. But I love Romancing the Stone!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh yes, who can forget the romance writer Joan Wilder played by Kathleen Turner. Love that movie.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I admit I saw "Young Adult" because, hey, I am a YA writer, and because I really didn't want to watch the latest Alvin and the Chipmunks movie that my kids were seeing at the same theater and Young Adult was showing and getting out around the same time. I adore Charlize Theron and I get that this was a "dark comedy", but honestly, I hated the movie. Hated it to the point that I think I'd rather have watch "Chipwrecked" or whatever they called the chipmunk movie. I found her character so pathetic that I couldn't feel any sympathy for her. Having said all that, I'm really glad I saw it they way that I did because I would have felt horrible if I'd begged the hubby to see it with me. Instead, no one else except the 5 or so other people in the theater suffered through it with me.

    Now, Romancing the Stone! I haven't seen that in forever, but I could totally go for that one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with you Micki. I almost saw this at the theatre and was so glad I didn't spend $10 on it, only a Netflix rental. I like movies that tend to be a bit out-there, or different. Young Adult was that!

      Delete
  5. Jack Nicholson played a romance writer in a movie ... As Good as It Gets, I think.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes, another great movie. I loved the dog in that one too.

      Delete
  6. I love Something's Gotta Give with Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Keanu Reeves. Diane Keaton is a screenwriter and Jack Nicholson is dating her daughter... Talk about character arcs!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely, one of my favorite movies. I love Diane Keaton. Thanks for stopping by Sandy.

      Delete
  7. I didn't realize there were so many of them! I've actually seen (and enjoyed) most of these.

    P.S. Saw your blog link in Carol's class thread. Good to see you here too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jean, thanks for visiting. I plan on popping some popcorn and revisiting some of these flicks.

      Delete