Tag Archives: movie about writer

“The Words” – a story of a blocked writer telling a story about a plagiarized story.

The Words is a story in which Dennis Quaid, who lost his wife, gives a reading of his novel about a writer, Bradley Cooper, who finds and copies Jeremy Irons’ lost novel about losing his wife. Bradley then has enormous … Continue reading

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“The Life of Pi” is a tale of writing woes, and a hero with a tiger in his tank

In the movie The Life of Pi, adapted from Yann Martel’s novel of the same name, we have a story within a story about a struggling writer who is looking for a story. Martel inserts himself into the plot as … Continue reading

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The rumors of Morgan Freeman’s demise are exaggerated, but he is paralyzed in, “The Magic of Belle Isle”

Sometimes dying is a great way to overcome writing blocks, and this appears to be true for the much admired actor Morgan Freeman, who was recently survived a widespread social media death hoax. Following his resurrection, he starred in The Magic … Continue reading

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Father and son blocked writers make peace, and a screenplay, and a movie within a movie about a blocked writer and his blocked father in “Florida Road”

Feuding Indian father-son blocked writers finally make peace, a screenplay, and a movie within a movie about a depressed, blocked writer and his angry, blocked, stroke-victim father in the South African movie, Florida Road. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell, … Continue reading

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“You’ve had the power all along to return to Kansas…and write your novel.”

In the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, when Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, informs Dorothy of her power, she isn’t referring to Dorothy’s writing block, but she could have been. Like a struggling writer who’s lost touch with … Continue reading

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A blocked Paul Dano writes his girlfriend into existence in “Ruby Sparks.”

Armed with only a recurring dream about a marvelous girl and Eliot Gould for a shrink, Paul Dano manages to bust through a tenacious ‘second novel syndrome’ writer’s block in the movie Ruby Sparks. Unfortunately, he relapses, but fortunately, he starts … Continue reading

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Writing Blocks and Orchid Screenplays: How Do You Do Something You Don’t Know How to Do?

To grow and develop as a writer you need to face challenges and problems that are new. This means plunging into projects that you do not have a clear road map for, and somehow trusting that you will find your … Continue reading

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Czech supermodel annihilates Magnum PI’s gnarly writer’s block in “Her Alibi”

In certain rare instances, an intractable, pernicious writing block that torments a writer is actually serving a greater good. Like sparing the reading nation from enduring additional books from an author who might better have left them unwritten. Tom Selleck … Continue reading

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A violent, philandering, misogynistic Sean Connery slugs his way out of writer’s block in “A Fine Madness”

One important lesson you learn by watching A Fine Madness , is that you better not mess around with your psychiatrist’s wife. In his portrayal of a wild, rage-aholic, blocked poet named Samson,  Sean Connery does just this (in a hot tub … Continue reading

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Can a shrink, a dog, and a stripper cure a writing block? Yes, if “The Dog Problem” can be believed.

Perhaps inadvisably, I often watch movies about blocked writers as I search for new and effective strategies for helping writers write. The archetype of the blocked writer must be universally compelling because there are literally scads of these movies in circulation. … Continue reading

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