Movies for Writers

This stormy weekend had me checking out a flurry (couldn’t resist) of movies about writers. If you want some writing inspiration or just a great way to kill time during a blizzard, check out my Top 5 movies for writers:

1. The Words (2012) – a powerful movie about pushing through writer’s block at the expense of your soul. Bradley Cooper is Rory Jansen who steps afoul of writing ethics, seemingly without consequence, until the past comes back to haunt him. The film is romantic, layered and full of emotion as a writer struggles and succeeds but at what cost?

2. Possession (2002) – Aaron Eckhart stars as Roland Michell, an American scholar trying to get a foothold in British academia. His difficult thesis is proving the secrets behind a bundle of love letters he discovers in the archives which were written by one of his idols, a Victorian poet. Eckhart’s character enlists the help of British scholar Dr. Maud Bailey, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, and together they piece together a romantic mystery while evading the grasp of their literary nemesis.

3. The Love Letter (1998/TV movie) – Can writing inspiration transcend time? Scott Campbell stars as a computer games designer who begins exchanging love letters with a woman who live 300 years before him. How, you ask? He finds a love letter in the hidden draw of an antique desk which he buys on a whim in the 20th century. Sure, it’s impossible to correspond with a dead woman, or is it? The love letters are emotional and hows that maybe, just maybe, true love never dies.

4. Best Seller (1987) – You can’t go wrong with James Woods and Brian Dennehy in this crime drama. Woods, a professional hitman, and Dennehy, a cop turned author, are pitted together in a cat and mouse thriller. The author hasn’t been able to write a book since his wife died and the hitman has found a conscience. Should the author yield his integrity to a killer all for a best seller?

5. Copy Cat (1995) Sigourney Weaver is an acclaimed psychologist and author who can’t leave her house. She suffers from agoraphobia but that doesn’t keep crime from her own doorstep. She must work with a local detective to help bring down a present day serial killer who’s been copying crimes of the past…at least before it’s too late.

This is by no means every movie I’ve ever loved about writing but it’s a good start for a snow day and for some writing inspiration.