"Barton Fink" - The Plight of the Writer

Although this award winning film by the Cohen Brothers is about Hollywood, the sin of pride, the nature of creativity, and probably many other things; it is primarily a story about "writer's block". It would make for some good viewing if any of you are having difficulty moving forward with your scripts.

Billy Wilder - Screenwriter

Although primarily remembered for directing some of the greatest films ever made, Billy Wilder was also a much-awarded screenwriter. He started as a writer and went into directing to stop the damage done to his screenplays by other directors. Gifted with an especially cynical strain of dark humor, he was at his best when combining the horrific and the absurd. Here the LAPD fishes a murdered William Holden out of a swimming pool as his dead Voice Over narrates the opening scenes of "Sunset Blvd" with a weary cheerfulness.



At the premiere, Louis B. Mayer, the very powerful head of MGM, yelled across the packed lobby to Wilder that he thought "Sunset Blvd." was a "disgrace". Billy simply yelled back, "Hey, Mayer, fuck you!!"

There is a link to some of Wilder's screenplays in the sidebar.

Val Lewton Screenplays

Some of the most literate and lyrical horror films were produced by Val Lewton for RKO in the 1940s. He co-wrote every script but did not take a writing credit on any of them. I understand that Martin Scorsese does the same today; not so unusual in someone who is primarily a director, but in Lewton's case, it is rare to find the combination of such creativity and generosity in a producer. All of his scripts can be found here. You can also find this site under "Links of Interest".