Movies About Making Movies

Hollywood delves deep into multifarious subjects and makes movies about them. Hardly any subject is ever left that Hollywood has not ventured upon.

Sometimes, however, they make movies that are about making movies themselves.
Hollywood loves Hollywood and if one love films then it can be fun to see movies that take people behind the scenes even if they are not always realistic.
Some of them are really very appealing and are worth viewing.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (2019)
Quentin Tarantino loves Hollywood and the movies he grew up on, which is obvious when you watch any of his films or interviews and therefore quite naturally “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is the ultimate version of that. It is not about the making of a specific film but it is largely about the career of actor Rick Dalton, as portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio. Also, Brad Pitt beats up Bruce Lee on a movie set.
“Sunset Boulevard” (1950)
The film that screenwriter Joe Banks and faded star Norma Desmond are working on does not get that far. Let us just say things work out poorly for Banks before things get too far. Plus, Norma is pretty much out of her mind. You at the very least probably remember the end of this film, where Norma tells Mr. DeMille she’s ready for her close-up.
“Hail, Caesar!” (2016)
The main character in the 1950s-set Hollywood film by the Coen Brothers is not an actor or a director but a fixer who keeps things moving smoothly for the studio.
Along the way, we get to see several styles of old film,though the titular movie is a religious epic
starring Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), a film that hits a snag when Baird is kidnapped by Communists.

“Get Shorty” (1995)
Chili Palmer is a man with a dream, and that dream is to get out of the crime game and get into making films. Of course, getting out of the mob isn’t easy, even if you have found a screenplay that you think will really work thanks to a producer that owes your boss a lot of money.
“Get Shorty” is based on a Elmore Leonard novel, so you know it crackles and pops, mixing violence with comedy quite nicely.

“The Artist” (2011)
Yes, “The Artist” is a novelty in some ways.
It’s a silent movie made in 2011 about the silent movie era of Hollywood. While the movie has been forgotten by many, Hollywood didn’t forget it when it came to the Oscars.
The Academy Awards gave “The Artist” Best Picture, as apparently the concept of a silent film worked for the voters.

“Barton Fink” (1991)
Yes, we have another Coens Brothers movie on this list. We had little choice, as both “Hail, Caesar!” and “Barton Fink” are top notch films.
“Barton Fink” is particularly scathing, though, and it’s a little less about filmmaking than their latter effort. The titular character is a haughty playwright from New York who is brought to Hollywood for a chance to write a movie.
Unfortunately, the studio assigns him a banal wrestling movie, and Barton gets writer’s block. Barton also has a neighbour –played indelibly by John Goodman – who may be more than meets the eye.

“The Player” (1992)
Speaking of satires, Robert Altman knows his way around that genre. Tim Robbins plays a movie executive who kills a screenwriter and tries to cover it up. Of course, showbiz does not stop, especially when you are making a movie starring the actual Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis.

“Be Kind Rewind” (2008)
Then there is a movie where a lot of movies are made. “Be Kind Rewind” is a silly little comedy but it is a lot of fun at its best moment. Jack Black and Mos Def play two guys who work at a video store where all the VHS tapes are accidentally erased.
The duo then decides, in order to stay in business, to make their own versions of every movie to rent out. Thus, what comes out are snippets of Black and Def,and others working to remake some classic films from the past.