50 Coolest Movie Writers

Calvin Weir-Fields - Ruby Sparks (2012)

The Movie Writer: This quirky indie asks the audience to consider what they'd do if a figment of their imagination came to life, as struggling young writer Weir-Fields (Paul Dano)'s latest leading literary lady suddenly appears in his bedroom one day.

Coolest Moment: Calvin tests out his power as author by writing Ruby a talent for French, just as she starts to call him from downstairs en Francais.

Nick Carraway The Great Gatsby (2013)

The Movie Writer: Gatsby’s right-hand man (and our narrator), Carraway lands himself in the middle of a whole lot of infidelity when he moves to West Egg.

He may have packed in the writing for a cushy job in bond sales, but we’re fairly sure his time in Long Island might have inspired a story or two.

Coolest Moment: When the usually composed Gatsby loses his mind over the idea of seeing his Daisy again, there's only one man who can calm him down, putting his neglected word skills to good use.

Miles Raymond - Sideways (2004)

The Movie Writer: The man writing The Day After Yesterday who gave us that infamous line "If anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving".

Coolest Moment: Embracing his misery and cracking open that prized bottle of Château Cheval Blanc in a dingy diner is pure melancholic writer gold.

John Keats - Bright Star (2009)

The Movie Writer: Ben Whishaw took on the role of Romantic poet Keats in Jane Campion's movie following the last few years of his life.

Coolest Moment: Using his best lines to woo Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) via letter, proving once and for all that snail mail really is more romantic than Whatsapp.

Dylan Thomas - The Edge Of Love (2008)

The Movie Writer: Charismatic, brilliantly clever and devastatingly narcissistic, Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys) embarks on an affair with his first love (Kiera Knightley), whilst living next door with his own missus (Sienna Miller).

Coolest Moment: "All my words. They're all for you".

He might be a cad, but he's a bloody charming one.

The Marquid de Sade - Quills (2001)

The Movie Writer: The ultimate literary bad boy, The Marquis (Geoffrey Rush) smuggles his scripts to his publisher as if they're prohibited weapons instead of words.

Coolest Moment: Proving his rock star status, The Marquis swears his innocence and obedience to Joaquin Phoenix's Abbé du Coulmier, all the while giving corsetted totty Madeleine (Kate Winslet) a confident wink.

Harry Caine / Mateo Blanco - Broken Embraces (2009)

The Movie Writer: Movie director turned writer, Harry Caine (Lluís Homar) shares the tragic tale of his great affair with beautiful secretary / wannabe actress Lena (Penelope Cruz).

Coolest Moment: Caine and son Diego (Tamar Novas) sift through the long-lost footage of Harry and Lena's movie, re-editing it for general release.

Sylvia Plath - Sylvia (2003)

The Movie Writer: It's a far from perfect biography, but Sylvia Plath has to have a spot in our list for being a poetic legend.

Coolest Moment: Plath meets future husband Ted Hughes (Daniel Craig) at a raucous party, and as she introduces herself the music cuts and time seems to stand still.

Meet-cute perfection.

Mikael Blomkvist - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

The Movie Writer: Swedish journalist Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is feeling listless after losing a huge libel case when he is asked to come and write business magnate Henrik Vanger (Chistopher Plummer)'s autobiography.

Or so he thinks.

Coolest Moment: Breaking into the house of the decidedly unhinged Martin Vanger(Stellan Skarsgård) armed with nothing but his own quick-thinking.

Sal Paradise - On The Road (2012)

The Movie Writer: A lost young writer, Sal (Sam Riley) embarks upon a hazy roadtrip in the hope of getting his literary mojo back in this adaptation of Jack Kerouac's classic.

Coolest Moment: The beautiful, smoky shot of Sal sitting at his typewriter, cigarette dangling from his mouth while streams of paper falls to the floor.