Oftentimes, the story surrounding an iconic writer is just as interesting as the stories they write. Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s documentary on Ernest Hemingway — titled simply Hemingway premieres on PBS on April 5. Hemingway intends to shed the mythos around one of America’s most famous and complicated writers. Hollywood has a history of bringing world-renowned authors, poets, and screenwriters to the silver screen, peeking behind the curtain of famous works from Virginia Woolfe’s Mrs Dalloway to Herman J. Mankiewicz’s Citizen Kane.

Here are the 12 movies that best portray some of the world’s most prominent writers.

Gallery — The Best Movies About Moviemaking:

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