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Movies like Billy & Bobby: The Hollywood Years (1998)

The best movies like Billy & Bobby: The Hollywood Years (1998) are Mank (2020), How to Irritate People (1969) and The Other Side of the Wind (2018). If Billy & Bobby: The Hollywood Years hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Mank (2020)

    1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  2. How to Irritate People (1969)

    A pre-Monty Python mockumentary, written by and presented by John Cleese, that provides tips on learning how to irritate people.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. The Other Side of the Wind (2018)

    At a media-swamped party to celebrate his seventieth birthday and screen his avant-garde film-in-progress, a legendary but jaded Hollywood director is faced both with voracious fans and unsettling questions about what became of his lead actor.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. Tales from the Script (2009)

    Shane Black ("Lethal Weapon"), John Carpenter ("Halloween"), Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption"), William Goldman ("The Princess Bride"), Paul Schrader ("Taxi Driver"), and dozens of other Hollywood screenwriters share hilarious anecdotes and penetrating insights in "Tales from the Script," the most comprehensive documentary ever made about screenwriting. By analyzing their triumphs and recalling their failures, the participants explain how successful writers develop the skills necessary for toughing out careers in one of the world's most competitive industries. They also reveal the untold stories behind some of the greatest screenplays ever written, describing their adventures with luminaries including Harrison Ford, Stanley Kubrick, Joel Silver, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg. The film was produced in tandem with the upcoming HarperCollins book of the same name.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  5. Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm (1999)

    Mock documentary about Seinfeld writer Larry David featuring contributions from his friends and colleagues. Larry makes a return to stand-up comedy and prepares to film a television special for HBO. This is the original special that gave birth to the long-running award-winning HBO series.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  6. The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

    Told in flashback form, the film traces the rise and fall of a tough, ambitious Hollywood producer, Jonathan Shields, as seen through the eyes of various acquaintances, including a writer, James Lee Bartlow; a star, Georgia Lorrison; and a director, Fred Amiel. He is a hard-driving, ambitious man who ruthlessly uses everyone on the way to becoming one of Hollywood's top movie makers.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  7. Nickelodeon (1976)

    In the silent film era, attorney Leo Harrigan and gunslinger Buck Greenway are hired to stop an illegal film production. However, they soon team up with the filmmakers and become important players in the show business industry. Leo learns he has a talent for directing, and Buck's cowboy persona quickly earns him leading-man status — but both men fall for beautiful starlet Kathleen Cooke, leading to a heated personal rivalry.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. Annie Hall (1977)

    New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditsy Annie Hall.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. Barton Fink (1991)

    A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. The Front (1976)

    A cashier poses as a writer for blacklisted talents to submit their work through, but the injustice around him pushes him to take a stand.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  11. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)

    The chronicle of the mind-blowing journey that was Hollywood during the seventies; the true and gripping story of the last golden age of American cinema, an exalted celebration of creativity and experimentation; but also of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll: a turbulent and dark tale of ambition, envy, betrayal, hatred and self-destruction.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. Tropic Thunder: Rain of Madness (2008)

    A behind-the-scenes mockumentary of Tropic Thunder.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  13. The Day of the Locust (1975)

    Hollywood, 1930s. Tod Hackett, a young painter who tries to make his way as an art director in the lurid world of film industry, gets infatuated with his neighbor Faye Greener, an aspiring actress who prefers the life that Homer Simpson, a lone accountant, can offer her.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Heckler (2007)

    HECKLER is a comedic feature documentary exploring the increasingly critical world we live in. After starring in a film that was critically bashed, Jamie Kennedy takes on hecklers and critics and ask some interesting questions of people such as George Lucas, Bill Maher, Mike Ditka, Rob Zombie, Howie Mandel and many more. This fast moving, hilarious documentary pulls no punches as you see an uncensored look at just how nasty and mean the fight is between those in the spotlight and those in the dark.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

  15. Dolemite Is My Name (2019)

    The story of Rudy Ray Moore, who created the iconic big screen pimp character Dolemite in the 1970s.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  16. Bowfinger (1999)

    On the verge of bankruptcy and desperate for his big break, aspiring filmmaker Bobby Bowfinger concocts a crazy plan to make his ultimate dream movie. Rallying a ragtag team that includes a starry-eyed ingenue, a has-been diva and a film studio gofer, he sets out to shoot a blockbuster featuring the biggest star in Hollywood, Kit Ramsey -- only without letting Ramsey know he's in the picture.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Cunk on Shakespeare (2016)

    Fresh from her triumphs on Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe investigating time, Winston Churchill, and Donald Trump, Philomena Cunk has finally been given her own show - about William Shakespeare. Cunk will leave no stone unturned as she gets to the bottom of the Bard, visiting his birthplace, exploring the Globe, studying priceless artefacts and interviewing literally six different experts.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. Show People (1928)

    Hollywood hopeful Peggy Pepper arrives at a major studio, from Georgia, to become a great dramatic star. Things don't go entirely according to plan.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. Lucy and Desi (2022)

    Explore the unlikely partnership and enduring legacy of one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment history. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz risked everything to be together.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  20. The Gunfighter (2014)

    In the tradition of classic westerns, a narrator sets up the story of a lone gunslinger who walks into a saloon. However, the people in this saloon can hear the narrator and the narrator may just be a little bit bloodthirsty.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

Like Billy & Bobby: The Hollywood Years and something else?

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Billy & Bobby: The Hollywood Years?

The closest matches to Billy & Bobby: The Hollywood Years are Mank (2020), How to Irritate People (1969) and The Other Side of the Wind (2018). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Billy & Bobby: The Hollywood Years?

Start with Mank (2020), the closest match to Billy & Bobby: The Hollywood Years.

What is the highest-rated movie like Billy & Bobby: The Hollywood Years?

Annie Hall (1977), rated 7.7/10 by 4,400 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Billy & Bobby: The Hollywood Years?

Lucy and Desi (2022) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like Billy & Bobby: The Hollywood Years?

Yes: Mank (2020), How to Irritate People (1969) and The Other Side of the Wind (2018).

How are movies similar to Billy & Bobby: The Hollywood Years chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Billy & Bobby: The Hollywood Years, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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