Rewrite: Movies about Writing

The Rewrite is a fairly standard role for Hugh Grant who plays a befuddled and failing screenwriter who takes a teaching job at Binghamton University. Having only taken the position due to financial trouble and no other reason, Grant’s character maintains many of the disgruntled tropes - divorced, estranged from his son, rude to his co-workers, sleeping with a student, and still utterly lost in his own writing.

Keith Michaels (Grant) is at least happy to know that the town is where Rod Serling grew up. His agent has hounded him for year to write a sequel to the film that won him an Oscar. As he used to say it would be creative suicide, he is changing his mind as he no longer “believes” in himself. He meets a long list of characters played by a really good cast of character actors. J.K. Simmons plays the head of the English department, Allison Janney plays a Jane Austen loving professor (who has never seen Clueless which in my mind makes her a fraud), Chris Elliott plays a Shakespeare professor, and Marisa Tomei as Holly, woman back in college after a divorce. Everyone keeps saying, “I love your movie” reminding him that only one thing he wrote was a success.

As Keith doesn’t believe that writing can be taught, which Holly argues with him about, he blows off his class at first. However, through her badgering he finally reads some of the scripts from his students and finds talent. However, he can’t help taking advantage of their young minds to help with his sequel screenplay. Holly proves to have the insight needed to be a writer and her character is excellent at constructive criticism. He realizes that he needs to start with the basics of story structure and character development. His best advise is about creating a goal, an endgame for the story that you need to always keep in mind as the finishing line.

The movie is very much about how artists can be their own worst enemy and how their self-doubt can hinder or help those who look up to them.

Only Murders in the Building (Adaptation): Movies about Writing

If you haven’t seen this show - Wait, why haven’t you watched this show?!

You disappoint me. Well, spoilers ahead.

Only Murders in the Building is a cozy murder mystery about three friends in a historic New York Apartment building attempting to solve crimes around while creating podcast content. The friends are made-up of Oliver (Martin Short), a former director of Broadway cheese, Charles (Steve Martin), an out-of-work actor who used to star in his own cop television series, and Mabel (Selena Gomez), a young woman with many talents who hasn’t really figured out her life yet. In season 4, the trio are simultaneously being observed by actors about to play them in a big-budget film and attempting to solve the murder of Charles’s oldest friend and stunt double Sazz (played by Jane Lynch). All caught up. Great.

In this episode, Hollywood writer Marshall P. Pope (Jin Ha) gets to narrate in an opening where we learn that his persona is a creation he think will bring him success. His monologue asks the question of “What make a writer a real writer?” while he adjusts a fake beard and mustache. Apparently, the first step to being a “real writer” is the look. If that’s the case, I suppose I should only write fiction where people are attacked by curly hair and can’t reach high shelves. Either way, I refuse to wear that tweed jacket he puts on. Marshall boasts that he can “quote David Foster Wallace and Ace Ventura”, which really to me is more of a question of whether he’s actually READ any David Foster Wallace . . . I haven’t, but I also don’t claim that I can quote him. Then he says something truthful. “It comes down to what’s on the page.” He worries that he’s a fraud. Fake facial hair probably doesn’t help.

Marshall keeps saying he wrote his screenplay based on how he envisioned the three main characters based on the podcast, yet his nervous speaking to them. He’s terrified of rewrites and is revealed when he’s named as a suspect. He’d rather be a murder suspect than be forced to rework dialogue. He is simultaneous praised by Charles for a “thumping brain” line and criticized by Oliver for a Tinkerbell metaphor. Still, he insists that imposter syndrome can be beaten through more work at your craft.

And for those of you who have seen this season I want to add more to this blog, shhh! Spoilers!

No Time for Comedy: Movies about Writing

What can I say? I like Rosalind Russell movies. Plus in this one, James Stewart plays a guy named Gaylord Esterbrook. Heh heh heh. No one is laughing? Fine. Here’s the movie. Spoilers ahead.

Gaylord has taken a break from small town reporting to write a comedy about life in New York City (a place he’s never been to until a group of producers bring him and his play there). While working on rewrites, Gaylord is mistaken for an usher by the leading lady Linda (Russell). In fact, no one believes he’s a writer at first based on his usual Jimmy Stewart looks. However, he has a refreshing view of tourism. For example, he wants to travel by subway during rush hour so he can “have the experience”.

Despite the rough writing of his third act, Linda convinces the cast and crew to give the play a chance. When it’s a hit, Linda and Gaylord marry. He continues to write comedies all starring her, which their director friend Morgan says have the same story every time. Linda declares how strange it is to pace the corridor “waiting for your husband to give birth to a play”. However, he falls into the stereotypical pattern of New York writers when he hits a block - drinks and takes trips out of New York.

At a party, the couple meets Amanda and Philo Swift. Philo asks what Gay does for a living and he says playwright, Philo responds, “Yes. Er, yes, I have a hobby, too. What I meant was, what do you do for a living?” The financier finds the job of “writer” rather juvenile, however his wife finds it fascinating. Gay declares that he doesn’t want to write anything else unless it has an important message, an idea given to him by bubble-headed Amamda. Linda states that if Gay and Amanda affair, Amanda should at least leave his writing style alone.

Gay writes a play about immortality, fascism, and general human drama which 1) has no part for Linda, 2) causes their friend/maid to hold it out in front of her between her thumb and forefinger, and 3) is unintentionally funny because it’s so badly written. Not wanting to hear Linda’s criticism or jokes, Gay leaves her for Amanda and Philo agrees to marry Linda since they become friends.

Amanda shows how she truly does not understand how a creative mind works when she can’t understand Gay’s opening night jitters. And the play is awful. No one has a single positive word to say between each act. Morgan says how he’d never feel bad for a playwright, but he can’t help pitying Gay. We as the audience should pity Morgan as Amanda tries to get her hooks into him at the end of the night. After it all, Linda tells him that 4 hits and 1 flop is not a bad record. They talk about how to turn the drama into satire about the rise of dictators. And he realizes that even if she’s not his muse, she’s better for him and his writing because she’s a constructive critic.