I just watched the movie, "Miss Potter," starring Renee Zellweger as famous children's author, Beatrix Potter. It's fun to watch movies about famous authors, and see how they overcame the naysayers, their own self-doubts, and any other creative obstacles they faced, which made their heroes' journey worth making a movie about.
Here are just a few of the movies that have been made about real life writers:
- Beloved Infidel (1959) about F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, and Tender is the Night. Starring Gregory Peck.
- All The President's Men (1976) about Bob Woodward (author or co-author of 10 #1 national bestselling non-fiction books, more than any other contemporary author) and Carl Bernstein. Starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman.
- Cross Creek (1983) about Marjorie Kinnan Rowlings, author of The Yearling. Starring Mary Steenburgen.
- Gothic (1987) about poet Lord Byron and novelist Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. Starring Gabriel Byrne and Natasha Richardson. (Directed by Ken Russell)
- Hemingway (1988) about Ernest Hemingway, author of For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea. Starring Stacy Keach.
- Henry and June (1990) about Anais Nin (Delta of Venus) and Henry Miller (Tropic of Cancer). Starring Maria de Medeiros and Fred Ward.
- Impromptu (1991) about George Sand (Aurore Dupin), author of 80 novels and 20 plays. Starring Judy Davis as Sand.
- Kafka (1991) about Franz Kafka, author of The Metamorphosis. Starring Jeremy Irons.
- Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) about poet and essayist Dorothy Parker and Manhattan's legendary literary cadre known as the Algonquin Round Table. Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh.
- Quills (2000) about the Marquis de Sade, author of Justine or the Misfortunes of Virtue, and Letters From Prison. Starring Geoffrey Rush.
- Iris (2001) about Iris Murdoch, author of Under the Net, and The Sacred and Profane Love Machine. Starring Judi Dench.
- The Hours (2002) about Virgina Woolf, author of Mrs. Dolloway, To the Lighthouse, Orlando, and A Room of One's Own. Starring Nicole Kidman as Woolf, along with Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep.
- Sylvia (2003) about the poet Sylvia Plath, author of the semi-biographical novel The Bell Jar. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow.
- Finding Neverland (2004) about J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan. Starring Johnny Depp.
- Capote (2005) about Truman Capote, author of In Cold Blood, and Breakfast at Tiffany's. Starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
- Miss Potter (2006) about Beatrix Potter, author of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, and many other children's books. Starring Renee Zellweger.
- Becoming Jane (2007) about Jane Austen, the author of Pride and Prejudice, and Emma. Starring Anne Hathaway.
- Miss Austen Regrets (2008) also about Jane Austen, the author of Sense and Sensibility, and Mansfield Park. Starring Olivia Williams.
And there are also many movies about fictional writers, and their creative trials and triumphs. Such as:
- Misery (1990) Kathy Bates as an author's worst nightmare. In this case, the author is played by James Caan.
- Deconstructing Harry (1997) Woody Allen as an author who decides to write a novel about his best friends.
- Finding Forrester (2000) Sean Connery portrays a famous novelist turned recluse, who helps a high school basketball star (Rob Brown) who wants to be a writer.
- Adaptation (2002) Nicolas Cage as a screenwriter, battling his own creative demons, as he works to adapt a novel (written by Meryl Streeps's character) for the screen.
- Stranger Than Fiction (2006) Emma Thompson plays a novelist struggling to kill off her main character (played by Will Ferrell), but things get out of hand.
What are your favorite movies about authors or about the creative process? Leave a comment and let me know.