Why is it that so many of the best films about Hollywood show Hollywood in such bad lighting. (Yes, that was a pun) It’s probably just like celebrity obsession, the ugly is more interesting, the beautiful just breeds envy, which turns into jealousy which makes you want to see the ugly. A vicious circle with nothing in between. Oh, but there is…in the real world. But, we all know the real world and Hollywood are poles apart, that’s why we love Tinseltown, no? But seriously, what’s there to love about constant fame? I’ll take the fortune without the fame please! Until I hit it big, take a gander at my list below while I daydream about my future riches.

• The Aviator

I have to say, after Titanic I wrote of Leonardo DiCaprio, but after watching The Aviator (and before The Departed) I was reminded how truly talented he is. DiCaprio’s portrayal of the very eccentric and disturbed Howard Hughes is remarkable. Yet, Cate Blanchett’s portrayal of Katherine Hepburn is just bloody uncanny. Two brilliant performances in a film that needed it considering portraying iconic characters from the golden age of Hollywood.

• This Film is Not Yet Rated

This Film is Not Yet Rated is a great documentary on how films are rated, and why films you want to see sometimes never get to see the light of day or are only seen in limited release. It’s eye opening and memorable.

• LA Confidential

I love this film. LA Confidential is a well done throw back to the golden (and tinted) days of classic Hollywood glam, police corruption and starmaking. I am currently reading The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson: The Pretty Boys and Dirty Deals of Henry Willson, and many of the characters mentioned in the film are real life actors, producers, and more interestingly, many of the scandals actually happened! LA Confidential is one of those well done films of a fascinating frozen era in Hollywood that captures the imagination and feeds our fascination with Hollywood.

• Day of the Locust

There’s something to be said about a very serious and thought provoking film whose main character is named Homer Simpson. Granted, Day of the Locust was filmed in 1975 and The Simpsons first episode aired a couple of decades later. Anyway, Locust captures Hollywood as I imagine starry eyed newbies view Hollywood: childlike, impish and simply headed for trouble as fast as it can think of how to get into it. Donald Sutherland is brilliant as the very, very, very dim-witted Homer Simpson whose innocence explodes on screen in one of the most unexpected, morbid and curious moments I have ever seen on film.

• Sullivan’s Travels

Though Joel McCrea is the “Sullivan” in the title, the reason I love this movie is because of Veronica Lake. Lake was one of those classic actresses who had a certain something that translated so well on screen, when the movie ends your wanting to see more of her. Sullivan’s Travel is also a great social commentary on filmmaking and social responsibility.

• Mommy Dearest

Mommy Dearest is one of those classic, cult films that make you question how much is fact and fiction. And although you question it, you really don’t want to know. It’s more delicious and interesting that way, isn’t it? Faye Dunaway’s portrayal of Joan Crawford in the film adaptation of Christina Crawford’s scathing autobiography is spectacular, over the top and memorable!

• Sunset Boulevard

“I’m ready for my close up Mr. Deville” is one of the most memorable lines of any classic film. That last scene in Sunset Boulevard is also quite memorable and eerily telling of what stardom looks like when it’s taken away or held on to to tightly. Gloria Swanson’s Norma Desmond is a tragic character that I’m sure many actresses would love to play. Sunset is a great story about ambition, delusion and desperation…with a bit of Hollywood glam.

• The Bad and The Beautiful

The Bad and The Beautiful is one of the most dramatic and perhaps sincere look at Hollywood. It’s a film about making dirty deals with dirty people who’ve screwed you over, but an actor’s got to eat. Kirk Douglas and Lan Turner star in this fabulous Douglas Sirk film.

• Boogie Nights

As telling as The Bad and The Beautiful is about 1950s Hollywood manipulation, greed and cynicism, Boogie Nights is just as telling of not just the porn industry in 1970s and early 80s, but how quickly you must adapt or be forgotten in an industry of fab and fad. Paul Thomas Anderson’s film is a classic in my book and will be remembered and watched years and years from now, pornography or not.