Fictional Writers: Writer Characters in Movies, TV Series and Books Archives - Page 5 of 6

My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend’s Writer Ethan: Finding Love, Inspiration & Getting Published

Posted on January 28, 2012 Written by Pinar Tarhan

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend starring Alyssa Milano, Michael Landes & Christopher Gorham — My Girlfriend's Boyfriend starring Alyssa Milano, Michael Landes, Christopher Gorham. Writer Ethan is on the left. Image via amazon.

My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend Writing Character: Ethan played byChristopher Gorham

Ethan is a writer who can’t get published. His last novel is turned down because it is not realistic enough where it matter (and it is also not appealing enough to women’s fantasies of Mr. Right. ) Baffled and ready to give up, he goes to a café. There he meets the beautiful Jesse (Alyssa Milano). They like each other, and she says that she is all the inspiration he needs. They start dating, Ethan keeps writing.

Unbeknownst to Ethan, however, Jesse is also dating Troy (Michael Landes) – a guy who seems to be Mr. Right personified: He is a successful advertising executive with his own company whereas Ethan is living rent free in his flat as long as he performs his super duties.

Jesse feels bad, as she starts falling for both and both men start falling for her. She will have to choose pretty soon….

The Novel, and The Movie Twist

(This part of the post features spoilers for the movie. You can read the unspoiled review for the movie on my entertainment blog.)

The movie has us believe that Jesse is a two-timing girl who doesn’t quite deserve wither of these too-good-to-be men. But as it turns out, Jesse is not two-timing. Troy doesn’t exist.

Troy is the male protagonist Ethan creates to please his publisher, who just happens to be the improved version of Ethan. And while we often see Jesse conflicted, it is never openly said that she needs to choose between two guys. As it turns out, while she has been keeping a secret from Ethan only to ensure his happiness, it is not about another man.

So Ethan doesn’t give up fighting for Jesse in the end. He also doesn’t give up writing his novel- which finally gets him a publishing deal. We learn about “Troy” the moment Ethan provides us with the manuscript called Troy Meets Girl.

A Romantic Movie with a Creative Ending, and a Fictional Writer We Can Be Inspired By

While I was rooting for Ethan the entire time (both for his book and girl), I could also totally see what the publisher was talking about. We don’t want to finish a romantic novel or a movie and say “That would never happen”. We want to say “That might happen, and I hope it happens to me”. And that is what the movie does.

Can we believe a decent guy being a writer, barely making ends meet but yet reluctant to make ends meet? Absolutely. Can we buy Christopher Gorham as a cute, albeit not gorgeous, movie lead? Definitely. And we can definitely see that his character is realistic. As sweet as he is, he is still a guy who loves Star Wars, hates musicals and can’t really see why the girls can’t get sick of Mr. Darcy.

So while it is not the best movie out there, it is inspiring, uplifting and motivating- whether you want to find The One, or make your writing dreams come true. Give it a shot- both to the movie and your writing. OK, especially to your writing.

If you liked this post, you might want to read posts from my Fictional Writers: Writer Characters in Movies, TV Series and Books category.

Fictional Writers: Writer Characters in Movies, TV Series and Books

Straw Dogs: Creating the Perfect Writing Environment and The Writing Retreat from Hell

Posted on January 2, 2012 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Straw Dogs-movie poster-2011 — Straw Dogs starring James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, AlexanderSkarsgard & James Woods. Remake of the 1971 Dustin Hoffman movie Straw Dogs.

Straw Dogs : Creating the Perfect Writing Environment, and The Writing Retreat from Hell

This post’s writing character comes from the 2011 remake of Straw Dogs. This new version stars James Marsden and Kate Bosworth.

The Writer Character and The Perfect Writing Room

James Marsden in Straw Dogs — James Marsden as David Summer in Straw Dogs. Image via aceshowbiz.com.

American screenwriter David Summer is working on a movie script that takes place during WW2. His actress wife Amy’s old family house in the south sounds like a perfect writer’s retreat. And it is indeed beautiful: It is big, has a gorgeous view of the lake and a wonderful study room.

Soon David transforms the room into a writer’s haven: the pool table is covered with models of WW2 houses and streets, the walls now carry a large green board for all his notes and he has even surrounded himself with books about the era. He listens to classical music as he writes- not necessarily because it is his favorite, but because it goes with his story.

The Writing Retreat from Hell

The problem is, the house is in a remote area of a small town. The house doesn’t get cell reception. I missed why they don’t have a phone in the house. Yikes.

The town folk are not very tolerant or open-minded, and soon they gain enemies without trying. It doesn’t help that David’s world views, and his wife’s behavior is enough to trigger the animals in their employees- the Amy’s ex Charlie (played by True Blood’s Eric-Alexander Skarsgard) and his crew, who were hired to repair the roof.

As great as the house and his room is, their life turns into a nightmare. They’re terrorized, and David decides to fight off their attackers one by one, even if that’s the last thing he’ll live to do. For the details on the terror, you can read my Straw Dogs movie review.

The Writer’s Story and His Life Overlap

In David’s story, a country’s soldiers beat the other country’s soldiers even though they are outnumbered.

In the end (yes-here come the spoilers), David manages to get rid of (=kill) a group of armed and irrational men with the help of his brains, and his frantic wife.

james-marsden-straw-dogs-poster — Starw Dogs, James Marsden poster via horror-asylum.com

Finding The Perfect Writing Retreat in Real Life

Of course in the end, the perfect writing retreat wasn’t worth it. He and his wife were probably scarred for life.

But then again, as much as I like my lake views, I could never write alone in such a place, with just one person to keep me company, unless of course that person is Nikita or Sydney Bristow or John Reese…

But why leave the city? You can always opt for a nice holiday resort where you can be as alone as you want, and you can deprive yourself from technology only as much as you choose to for those flowing writing periods.

Yes, I often mute my cell-phone when I work. I try not to pay attention to the internet. And no, I am not always successful in turning off my distractions. But I like the fact that there can be distractions, and several ways of communicating with people outside my house.

Maybe it has a lot to do with growing up in a city, where we lock our doors and bolt them, even in the safest neighborhoods. Where there are houses and shop nearby. Where people don’t really care what you do, or what you believe in.

Or maybe it is and reading about and watching way too many “cabin-in-the-woods”, psychos-attack-ordinary-couple type of stories. But remote town houses freak me out. No technology? In the middle of nowhere? No thanks!

How do you feel about writer retreats? How isolated do you like to be while you are writing?

Would you like a cabin in the woods, or a town house like the one in Straw Dogs?

And If you have you seen the movie, what do you think Amy and David should have done?

For more writer characters, you can read:

The Kovak Box’s Writer Character: Timothy Hutton

Writing What You Know/Live: The Movie Daydream Nation, and its Writer Character

Castle TV Series: Recommended for All Writers

18 Movies with Writer Characters featuring Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Aniston, Anne Hathaway and More

The Kovak Box’s Writer Character: Timothy Hutton

Posted on November 24, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

The Writer, His First Novel and The Worst Fan Ever

The Kovak Box starring Timothy Hutton, Lucía Jiménez & David Kelly. Image via movieposterdb.com

David Norton (played by Timothy Hutton) is an accomplished sci-fi writer with many bestselling books under his name. He travels with his girlfriend Jane to a writing conference in Majorca where is the headlining guest. Things are pretty good, so he even takes the chance to ask Jane to marry him. Jane says yes, and the only thing that seems weird is a fan who is obsessed with David’s first book, Gloomy Sunday.

Gloomy Sunday tells the story of people who have been implemented with a trigger in their necks: as soon as they hear the melody of the song Gloomy Sunday, they kill themselves. It triggers have been placed by the government, and it is the perfect elimination method as all deaths appear to be suicides. On the night of the conference, David’s non-depressed girlfriend jumps out of the balcony after she receives a phone call. The same thing happens to a woman named Silvia, who falls out of her balcony as soon as she hears the music of Gloomy Sunday.

Apparently, that obsessed fan is a former scientist named Frank Kovak (David Kelly) who actually did something quite similar back in his day: he experimented implementing triggers in humans. But of course his studies weren’t welcome by everyone, and he was no longer funded. Then David’s Gloomy Sunday came out, and he kept experimenting with humans- making the trigger Gloomy Sunday. Now, he wants David to write the story Frank has helped create- with only one difference. Of course this time, the deaths are genuine, and what the protagonist goes through is pure reality…

While The Kovak Box is an intriguing yet not impressive movie, the story is really interesting. I’ve always been drawn to movies centering around writer characters, hence the total category on this blog dedicated to them.

Obviously, writer and deranged fan has been written before by Stephen King. Misery, anyone? But as opposed to taking an injured writer hostage, the fan in The Kovak Box makes the writer write the story he wants, and his first victim is the writer’s girlfriend

While the director and writers didn’t make the most of the potential, The Kovak Box is still recommended to Timothy Hutton fans and writers. It might while brainstorming fiction ideas. I’d not say no to a remake, with making the story tighter, darker and a bit scarier. What do you think?

Writing What You Know/Live: The Movie Daydream Nation, and its Writer Character

Posted on September 10, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

The Movie

daydream-nation-movie-poster — Daydream Nation starring Kat Dennings, Reece Thompson, Josh Lucas & Andie MacDowell

Daydream Nation is a drama from 2010. It is a little fun, a little depressing and a tad annoying. It is also heart-warming in a weird sorof way. While it is not a must-see movie in any way, it is also not a waste of time for those who like its actors (Kat Dennings, Josh Lucas, Reece Thompson, Andie MacDowell) or writers who, like me, enjoy seeing movies with writer characters. You can read more about the movie on my movie blog. But here, let’s get to our writer character:

The Writer Character

josh-lucas-daydream-nation — Josh Lucas as Barry. Photo from the movie Daydream Nation. Image via daemonstv.com

Barry Anderson (Josh Lucas) is the English teacher of a depressing industrial town’s high school. There isn’t much excitement going on in his life, and it is hardly a surprise when he jumps at the opportunity to fool around with his new student Caroline (Kat Dennings). While any teacher sleeping with his under-aged student is sure to ring loser bells, you can hardly blame Barry. He lives in a town where everyone seems to be going through a drug addiction, some level of depression or both.

Barry is happy in this relationship, and informs Caroline that she has inspired his writing and he is working on his novel. He even has an agent.

The Writer’s Story

Then one day Caroline gets to read his book, and it is just too much like a memoir. Unfortunately, Barry’s past has been even more pathetic than his present, and Caroline doesn’t like how she is represented in his novel. She decides to break things off, but when you are your boyfriend’s only muse & hobby, it can get tricky to get rid of him.

The issue here is that Barry didn’t even attempt to add a slice of fiction to his characters. Along with Caroline, we learn that his return to town as a teacher was an obligatory move when he failed in the city, both professionally and romantically. We learn that this 30-something guy is not really all that wiser or more mature than his druggie students. We finally see how much of a loser he really is, and that he makes no effort to change things.

Writers always debate whether you should write what you know or not. It actually depends on one thing: You! I always believe in writing what you love, because writing something you don’t care about is bound to be a disaster. So it doesn’t matter if you know the subject, because you can always educate yourself along the way. You just need to be passionate about what you are writing.

But usually, what you know (or you come to know through research) works best when combined with the depths of your imagination.

Barry doesn’t have much of one, and “what he knows” isn’t what he loves. It is what he despises. You could argue that a memoir, how depressing it might be, can serve as a therapy for the writer, at the very least. Unfortunately, Barry ends with 0 self-development, minus a girlfriend.

The Writer behind “The Writer”

All in all, as depressing and weird Daydream Nation is as a story, it is more entertaining and interesting than Barry’s “fiction”. I just hope that it wasn’t a memoir of the writer/director Michael Goldbach , as the movie also features a serial killer on the loose…

Me, The Writer

I once read that readers want sexy, engaging characters through journeys that entice them. And I agree. There was nothing enticing or engaging about Barry’s loser story. If he detested living it himself, what are the odds of anyone enjoying it?

I am in the midst of writing a novel that is a mixture of what I know. And I’ll confess that there is a part of me in some characters. But what happens to my characters in the novel didn’t happen to me. And for me, that is the exciting part!

You, The Writer

How about you? What do you think about writing what you know/live? How do you feel about writing stories based (solely) on your experiences? Please let me know in the comments!