There are few topics that get Hollywood quite as excited as Hollywood. The chance to promote the riveting, hustle-bustle of a town with millions of dollars riding on every passing second is a tempting one for producers. Some are quite acerbic in their depictions, while others go for farce.
10) The Artist
The Artist, on the surface, appears to be about the golden days of the silent-era, flush with a dashing leading man, homages to classic films, all captured in black and white. But as much as director Michael Hazanavicius would have you believe it, in reality quite the opposite is true. The triumph of The Artist belongs not to George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), but head honcho Al Zimmer (John Goodman). The sly dig is there all along as George’s return to fame comes only as he crawls back into the open arms of Zimmer after George’s venture outside the studio system leaves him penniless and humiliated. That warm and fuzzy ending suddenly doesn’t feel so good anymore.
9) Argo
Argo swept most of the big prizes during last year’s award season, taking Best Picture at the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and a sizable portion of critics groups. It’s not difficult to figure out why. Argo is how Hollywood would always like to see itself portrayed, saving the day and preventing international incidents in the eyes of the world. Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) teams up with a veteran producer (Alan Arkin) and Oscar-winning makeup artist, John Chambers (John Goodman) to fake the production of a sci-fi picture to bring back seven hostages from Iran. The production goes off without a hitch, but getting the seven to convincingly play filmmaking insiders is a more arduous task. In fact, the big, sprawling mess to deal with in Argo isn’t Hollywood, but Washington, D.C. A refreshing thought for a town plagued with troubled productions.
8) I’m Still Here
Casey Affleck’s documentary of Joaquin Phoenix’s then retirement was heavily publicized through the trash rags and paparazzi shoots. What we didn’t know then was that the whole thing was a manufactured performance piece. Acknowledging that, the meltdown is no less hard to watch; a voyeuristic look at celebrity imploding on a very publicized stag,e with no shortage of vultures ready to claim their flesh on the way down J.P.’s fall from grace.
7) Singin’ in the Rain
Don Lockwood’s (Gene Kelly) motto is “Dignity, always dignity.” Just don’t ask the matinee idol about how he started in Hollywood and that motto will stand true. Don and Lina Lamont are a very famous on and off-screen couple, but the truth is Don thinks she is an idiot and Lina may cost them the chance to transition into talkies with her awful voice. An aspiring actress is brought in to dub Lina’s work and Don falls head over heels for her. This could be her big break, or Lina Lamont could wreck it all. One of the first meta-films to really send up Hollywood is also one the greatest musicals of all-time.
6) Seven Psychopaths
A screenwriter’s (Colin Farrell) hangers-on land him in the middle of the best story he could have possibly written when they kidnap a gangster’s beloved Yorkshire terrier. Martin McDonagh’s follow-up to In Bruges isn’t the most realistic in terms of capturing the banal activities of your average writer in Los Angeles, but damn if it couldn’t happen in a city rife with oddities like the immortal Christopher Walken and a show-stealing Sam Rockwell.
5) Tropic Thunder
Ben Stiller’s zany riff on filmmaking may have appeared completely misguided judging from the trailers, but once Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) warns Tugg Speedman (Stiller) of method acting’s biggest obstacle for Oscars is “going full retard,” in full black-face no less, the audience is way past caring because they’re too busy laughing. Taking the piss out of a hundred-billion dollar industry has never been so much fun.
4) Sunset Boulevard
A screenwriter for-hire (William Holden) works on a comeback screenplay for a former silent-film star (Gloria Swanson) looking to make her big return to film. Billy Wilder takes no prisoners in his 1950 drama and the madness that follows is a bizarre look into the mind of a forgotten diva.
3) Boogie Nights
Eddie Adams is just another high-school drop-out chasing the dream of fame in the 1970s when, by chance, he meets adult film director Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds). Soon, Eddie is a new star, Dirk Diggler, an actor with a very special gift. Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 ensemble drama isn’t ostensibly about making films like the other movies on this list are, but it absolutely delivers in terms of capturing the triumphs and tragedies that come with rising and falling in show business.
2) Barton Fink
Barton Fink (John Turturro) is the toast of Broadway, fresh off the resounding success of his latest play. Barton prides himself on capturing the spirit of the common man, but when Hollywood comes calling with a massive paycheck and a spec script in mind, he freezes up. Writer’s block also comes with colorful distraction in the form of Charlie Meadows (John Goodman, making his third appearance on this list) who can’t quite finish a story in Barton’s presence. The Coens made Barton Fink in the midst of their own bout with writer’s block, but the satirical themes are quite easy to see as Barton discovers how the film industry really works.
1) The Player
The line that most prominently appears in Robert Altman’s cutting satire of La-La-land is also the most telling “Movies. Now more than ever.” Altman was never subject to the meat-grinder that is Hollywood, fighting the system and creating intriguing, indie-minded works like MASH, McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Nashville during his fifty-plus years working as a director. Tim Robbins stars as a studio executive who draws the ire of a slighted writer who takes a rejection a little too harshly. The fickle fate of business catches up with Griffin Mill (Robbins) when he ends up on the receiving end of a letter that finishes with the promise of his demise. The comedy may be a bit dark for some, but the inside jokes are more than worth a watch.
