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Time To Update 277 Movies About Writers & The Writing Life

277 Movies About Writers and the Writing Life List Curated by Christina KatzBut it looks like I did not post last year’s version in the blog, so here it is.

Now I’m looking for the 2013-2014 writer and writing life movies.

Feel free to chime in here if you have any ideas!

Thanks for supporting all of our hard work!

Selection parameters:

  • A main character in the film must be a writer. No ensembles in this list unless writing is central to the storyline.
  • Only cinema movies are included. No TV movies.
  • Only print journalism. No broadcast journalism in this list. Screenwriting and TV writing are both represented. Bloggers are included.
  • Biographies or biopics about writers are listed. No documentaries are included.
  • No academics as central characters, unless the character is a novelist or some other type of writer.
  • Diaries are included, if the diary is part of the central part of the story.
  • If a film is about a writer but is obscure or very unknown it may have been intentionally excluded.
  • Films are listed in chronological order by release year.
  • If a movie was re-released, then it is listed by its most recent release date.
  • Suggestions for films to add are always welcome in the comments section.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this list. We had fun pulling it together.

Enjoy!

1. Barrets of Wimpole St. (1934) LINK
2. It Happened One Night (1934) LINK
3. His Girl Friday (1940) LINK
4. The Philadelphia Story (1940) LINK
5. Foreign Correspondent (1940) LINK
6. Woman of the Year (1942) LINK
7. Old Acquaintance (1943) LINK
8. The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944) LINK
9. It Happened Tomorrow (1944) LINK
10. The Lost Weekend (1945) LINK
11. Christmas in Connecticut (1945) LINK
12. The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) LINK
13. I Remember Mama (1948) LINK
14. Call Northside 777 (1948) LINK
15. The Third Man (1949) LINK
16. In a Lonely Place (1950) LINK
17. Sunset Boulevard (1950) LINK
18. Orpheus (1950) LINK
19. Ace in the Hole (1951) LINK
20. Hans Christian Andersen (1952) LINK
21. A Face In The Crowd (1957) LINK
22. Some Came Running (1958) LINK
23. Teacher’s Pet (1958) LINK
24. The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) LINK
25. La Dolce Vita (1960) LINK
26. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) LINK
27. Through A Glass Darkly (1961) LINK
28. The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962) LINK
29. Jules and Jim (1962) LINK
30. 8 ½ (1963) LINK
31. Youngblood Hawke (1964) LINK
32. Color of Pomegranates (1968) LINK
33. The Odd Couple (1968) LINK
34. Man of La Mancha (1972) LINK
35. Sleuth (1972) LINK
36. The Way We Were (1973) LINK
37. Front Page (1974, originally 1931) LINK
38. All the Presidents Men (1976) LINK
39. The Front (1976) LINK
40. Julia (1977) LINK
41. Superman (1978) LINK
42. Stevie (1978) LINK
43. My Brilliant Career (1979) LINK
44. Heart Beat (1980) LINK
45. Seems Like Old Times (1980) LINK
46. The Shining (1980) LINK
47. Somewhere in Time (1980) LINK
48. Reds (1981) LINK
49. Rich & Famous (1981) LINK
50. Priest of Love (1981) LINK
51. The World According to Garp (1982) LINK
52. Deathtrap (1982) LINK
53. Author! Author! (1982) LINK
54. My Favorite Year (1982) LINK
55. Missing (1982) LINK
56. Sophie’s Choice (1982) LINK
57. The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) LINK
58. Cross Creek (1983) LINK
59. American Dreamer (1984) LINK
60. Romancing The Stone (1984) LINK
61. Irreconcilable Differences (1984) LINK
62. Just One of the Guys (1985) LINK
63. Out of Africa (1985) LINK
64. Mishima: A Life in 4 Chapters (1985) LINK
65. Heartburn (1986) LINK
66. Stand By Me (1986) LINK
67. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) LINK
68. 84 Charing Cross Road (1986) LINK
69. The Singing Detective (1986) LINK
70. Throw Mama From the Train (1987) LINK
71. Barfly (1987) LINK
72. Waiting for the Moon (1987) LINK
73. Prick Up Your Ears (1987) LINK
74. Best Seller (1987) LINK
75. Rowing With the Wind (1988) LINK
76. Funny Farm (1988) LINK
77. The Accidental Tourist (1988) LINK
78. Da (1988) LINK
79. Her Alibi (1989) LINK
80. My Left Foot (1989) LINK
81. Beautiful Dreamers (1990) LINK
82. An Angel at My Table (1990) LINK
83. Henry and June (1990) LINK
84. Misery (1990) LINK
85. Closetland (1991) LINK
86. Impromptu (1991) LINK
87. Barton Fink (1991) LINK
88. Naked Lunch (1991) LINK
89. Hedd Wynn (1992) LINK
90. The Player (1992) LINK
91. Basic Instinct (1992) LINK
92. Sleepless in Seattle (1993) LINK
93. The Pelican Brief (1993) LINK
94. So I Married An Ax Murderer (1993) LINK
95. The Dark Half (1993) LINK
96. Shadowlands (1993) LINK
97. Poetic Justice (1993) LINK
98. The Paper (1994) LINK
99. Bullets Over Broadway (1994) LINK
100. Paperback Romance (1994) LINK
101. Tom & Viv (1994) LINK
102. Little Women (1994) LINK
103. Il Postino: The Postman (1994) LINK
104. Mrs. Parker & The Vicious Circle (1994) LINK
105. Delta of Venus (1995) LINK
106. Total Eclipse (1995) LINK
107. The Flower of My Secret (1995) LINK
108. Leaving Las Vegas (1995) LINK
109. Carrington (1995) LINK
110. Delores Claiborne (1995) LINK
111. The Pillow Book (1996) LINK
112. The Whole Wide World (1996) LINK
113. Mother (1996) LINK
114. Hamsun (1996) LINK
115. The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca (1996) LINK
116. Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) LINK
117. Deconstructing Harry (1997) LINK
118. Henry Fool (1997) LINK
119. Wilde (1997) LINK
120. Chasing Amy (1997) LINK
121. One True Thing (1998) LINK
122. Shakespeare In Love (1998) LINK
123. A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries (1998) LINK
124. Eternity and a Day (1998) LINK
125. Permanent Midnight (1998) LINK
126. A Murder of Crows (1998) LINK
127. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) LINK
128. Croupier (1998) LINK
129. Slam (1998) LINK
130. Les Enfants Du Siècle / The Children of the Century (1999) LINK
131. Topsy Turvey (1999) LIST
132. The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999) LINK
133. Snow Falling on Cedars (1999) LINK
134. Never Been Kissed (1999) LINK
135. The Best Man (1999) LINK
136. The End of the Affair (1999, originally 1955) LINK
137. The Muse (1999) LINK
138. True Crime (1999) LINK
139. Bamboozled (2000) LINK
140. Almost Famous (2000) LINK
141. Before Night Falls (2000) LINK
142. Joe Gould’s Secret (2000) LINK
143. Nora (2000) LINK
144. Pandaemonium (2000) LINK
145. Wonder Boys (2000) LINK
146. Finding Forrester (2000) LINK
147. Quills (2000) LINK
148. Isn’t She Great (2000) LINK
149. Pinero (2001) LINK
150. Iris (2001) LINK
151. Moulin Rouge (2001) LINK
152. The Shipping News (2001) LINK
153. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) LINK
154. Bridget Jones Diary (2001) LINK
155. Storytelling (2001) LINK
156. Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) LINK
157. How to Kill your Neighbor’s Dog (2001) LINK
158. Orange County (2002) LINK
159. Possession (2002) LINK
160. The Hours (2002) LINK
161. Adaptation. (2002) LINK
162. Blue Car (2002) LINK
163. I Capture the Castle (2003) LINK
164. Alex & Emma (2003) LINK
165. Shattered Glass (2003) LINK
166. American Splendor (2003) LINK
167. As Good As It Gets (2003) LINK
168. Sylvia (2003) LINK
169. Cheaper By The Dozen (2003) LINK
170. Something’s Gotta Give (2003) LINK
171. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003) LINK
172. The Swimming Pool (2003) LINK
173. Veronica Guerin (2003) LINK
174. The United States of Leland (2003) LINK
175. Notre Musique (2004) LINK
176. Before Sunset (2004) LINK
177. Sideways (2004) LINK
178. The Libertine (2004) LINK
179. Finding Neverland (2004) LINK
180. Motorcycle Diaries (2004) LINK
181. Secret Window (2004) LINK
182. The Door in the Floor (2004) LINK
183. La Tigre E La Neve / Tiger and the Snow (2005) LINK
184. The Dying Gaul (2005) LINK
185. The Squid and the Whale (2005) LINK
186. Capote (2005) LINK
187. The Prize-winner of Defiance Ohio (2005) LINK
188. Factotum (2005) LINK
189. Winter Passing (2005) LINK
190. The Night Listener (2006) LINK
191. Stranger Than Fiction (2006) LINK
192. Scoop (2006) LINK
193. The TV Set (2006) LINK
194. The Hoax (2006) LINK
195. Infamous (2006) LINK
196. Half Light (2006) LINK
197. Miss Potter (2006) LINK
198. Ask the Dust (2006) LINK
199. Running with Scissors (2006) LINK
200. Love and other Disasters (2006) LINK
201. A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints LINK
202. Starting Out in the Evening (2007) LINK
203. Martian Child (2007) LINK
204. Slipstream (2007) LINK
205. Freedom Writers (2007) LINK
206. Becoming Jane (2007) LINK
207. A Mighty Heart (2007) LINK
208. Dan in Real Life (2007) LINK
209. Purple Violets (2007) LINK
210. Moliere (2007) LINK
211. In the Land of Women (2007) LINK
212. Zodiac (2007) LINK
213. Music and Lyrics (2007) LINK
214. 1408 (2007) LINK
215. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) LINK
216. Atonement (2007) LINK
217. 27 Dresses (2007) LINK
218. Roman De Gare (2007) LINK
219. Angel (2007) LINK
220. Resurrecting The Champ (2007) LINK
221. Sleuth (2007) LINK
222. The Kite Runner (2007) LINK
223. Nim’s Island (2008) LINK
224. Marley & Me (2008) LINK
225. The Edge of Love (2008) LINK
226. The Stoning of Soroya M. (2008) LINK
227. Me and Orson Welles (2008) LINK
228. Burn After Reading (2008) LINK
229. Sex & The City: The Movie (2008) LINK
230. Good (2008) LINK
231. Funny People (2009) LINK
232. 500 Days of Summer (2009) LINK
233. Julie & Julia (2009) LINK
234. Gentleman Broncos (2009) LINK
235. Bright Star (2009) LINK
236. The Answer Man (2009) LINK
237. 2012 (2009) LINK
238. Motherhood (2009) LINK
239. Broken Embraces (2009) LINK
240. The Soloist (2009) LINK
241. World’s Greatest Dad (2009) LINK
242. The Last Station (2009) LINK
243. Cole (2009) LINK
244. The Boys are Back (2009) LINK
245. Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) LINK
246. Spoken Word (2009) LINK
247. Tetro (2009) LINK
248. State of Play (2009) LINK
249. Nine (2009) LINK
250. The City of Your Final Destination (2009) LINK
251. The Rum Diary (2010) LINK
252. The Ghost Writer (2010) LINK
253. Howl (2010) LINK
254. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) LINK
255. Sex & The City 2 (2010) LINK
256. Eat, Pray, Love (2010) LINK
257. A Closed Book (2010) LINK
258. Peep World (2010) LINK
259. Midnight in Paris (2011) LINK
260. One Day (2011) LINK
261. Limitless (2011) LINK
262. Young Adult (2011) LINK
263. The Help (2011) LINK
264. Twixt (2011) LINK
265. Anonymous (2011) LINK
266. Ruby Sparks (2012) LINK
267. The Words (2012) LINK
268. Writers (2012) LINK
269. Being Flynn (2012) LINK
270. Stuck In Love (2012) LINK
271. Sinister (2012) LINK
272. On The Road (2012) LINK
273. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012) LINK
274. The Raven (2012) LINK
275. The Master (2012) LINK
276. The Best Bar In America (2013) LINK
277. Before Midnight (2013) LINK

As time rolls on, we will need to update this list. Feel free to add suggestions below in the comments. The list will be updated annually each summer.

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