Like Inventing Anna These Five Films Were Inspired By Stories Of Women Journalists

Inventing Anna has been catching the town's attention these days. The web series is based on an article written by Jessica Pressler. This article formed the base for the web series. Similarly, the trend is noticed in many other films which were based on magazine stories by popular women journalists. 

Here we talk about 5 Women Journalists and list their stories which were later turned into films

1. Hustlers and Inventing Anna by Jessica Pressler

Jessica Pressler is an American journalist and editor at New York magazine. She interviewed Wall Street CEOs such as Goldman Sachs Lloyd Blankfein and AIG CEO Robert Benmosche about their firms’ involvement in the 2008 financial crisis.

Pressler's coverage was turned into a movie and a series Hustlers and Inventing Anna. Hustlers released in 2019 was based on the article written by Jessica Pressler. Her article titled "The Hustlers at Scores" published in New York Magazine was also nominated for a National Magazine Award. The character of Destiny is played by Constance Wu. In the film, Destiny works as a stripper to sustain her life. She meets Ramona played by Jennifer Lopez and becomes friends with her. Ramona is the club's top money earner.

Ramona shows her how to trick wealthy clients from Wall Street who visit the club. The strippers used to drug them and steal money from their credit cards. But when the 2008 economic collapse reduces their profits, the dancers and strippers come up with a daring scheme to take their lives back. Julia Stiles plays the character of Jessica Pressler named Elizabeth. Her role in the movie is to frame the narrative.

Photo credits: jessicapressler.com

2. Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief

Susan Orlean is a US journalist, television writer and bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and The Library Book. She has been writing for The New Yorker since 1992. She has contributed articles to many magazines including Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Outside. One of her famous works that turned into a film is Adaptation.

Adaptation starring Nicolas Cage was released in 2002. The movie is based on Susan Orlean’s article "The Orchid Thief", in The New Yorker. Cage plays the role of a screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, his fictional twin brother Donald is struggling with writer's block as he tries to adapt The Orchid Thief. Kaufman struggles to adapt Orlean's book about Laroche, who replicates rare orchids and sells them to collectors.

Their lives get intertwined with unexpected results.  Meryl Streep plays the character of Susan Orlean, and Chris Cooper plays John Laroche. John and Susan find themselves attracted to one another and Charlie find himself attracted to Susan, and he falls in love with her.

3. Elizabeth Gilbert's Coyote Ugly

Elizabeth Gilbert is an American journalist and author. She is best known for her work Eat, Pray, Love. The book has sold over 12 million copies and has been translated into over 30 languages. The book was also made into a film of the same name in 2010.

Another movie was Coyote Ugly starring Piper Perabo and  released in 2000. The movie was inspired by the article "The Muse of the Coyote Ugly Saloon" by Gilbert. The movie is set in a table dancing bar in New York. The article is a chronicle of her time working there in her early 20s. In the movie, an aspiring songwriter from New Jersey tries to thrive in the big city. There she gets a job at the Coyote Ugly Saloon. The bar is full of beautiful women. She forms a bond with them. Also she falls in love with a music producer and then pursues her passion for music. After the article was published, US producer Jerry Bruckheimer bought the film rights to the Gilbert's story.

4. Nancy Jo Sale's The Bling Ring

Nancy Jo Sales is a US author and journalist at Vanity Fair. She worked as a reporter for People magazine in 1994. Sales was hired as an editor at New York magazine and in 1999 as an editor at Harper's Bazaar. And later she became a writer for Vanity Fair in 2000.

One of her articles was turned into the  film The Bling Ring released in 2013. It is based on her article, "The Suspects Wore Louboutins". It tells the story of a group of teenagers who tracked celebrities' homes online to break into their homes when no one was home. Their victims included personalities like Paris Hilton and Rachel Bilson . Over a period of 10 months, they stole around $3 million worth of cash and other belongings. The movie is inspired by dramatic real-life events. The movie starred Emma Watson in the character of Nicki. The movie is a real life story of seven teenagers and young adults based in and around California.

5. Marie Brenner's The Insider

Marie Harriet Brenner is an American investigative journalist and author. She writes for Vanity Fair. Brenner has also written for New York, The New Yorker and the Boston Herald. She has also taught at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. Her famous article "The Man Who Knew Too Much.” was turned into  the film The Insider.

Directed by Michael Man the 1999 film is based on Marie Brenner's 1996 Vanity Fair article, "The Man Who Knew Too Much.” The article shows Jeffrey Wigand, played by Russell Crowe in the film, as a whistleblower in the tobacco industry. His journey is shown from Capitol Hill to his TV appearance on CBS’ 60 Minutes. Wigand, the former head of Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company, goes live on television to expose the bitter state and reality of how tobacco companies actually function. The movie covers Wingard's and CBS producer Lowell Bergman's struggles as they defend his testimony against efforts to discredit and suppress it by CBS and Wigand's former employer.

Suggested Reading: A small introduction to India’s first 4 women Journalists