Most recursive fiction?

What’s either the most recursive fiction, i.e. story within story within story…or most meta fiction (protagonist is an author writing about an author writing about an author, or an actor playing an actor playing an actor…)?

I can’t think of definitive examples, but I’ll get the juices flowing…

Tidewater Tales (b)
Being John Malcovitch (f)
Inception (f)
Synecdoche NY (f)
Something something Borges library (b)
1001 Nights (b)

“The Longest Science Fiction Story Ever Told” - Arthur C. Clarke. It fits on one magazine page.

Dustin Hoffman as Michael Dorsey as Dorothy Michaels as Emily Kimberly? No, I am not Emily Kimberly, the daughter of Dwayne and Alma Kimberly. No, I’m not. I’m Edward Kimberly, the recluse brother … Edward Kimberly, who has finally vindicated his sister’s good name. I am Edward Kimberly. Edward Kimberly. And I’m not mentally ill, but proud, and lucky, and strong enough to be the woman that was the best part of my manhood. The best part of myself.

Adaptation, written by Charles Kaufman and “Donald Kaufman”; directed by Spike Jonze.

Stephen King has at least a couple of stories of authors and their alter egos, The Dark Half and “Secret Window, Secret Garden” among them.

Not sure it’s exactly what you’re looking for, but I also thought of Heinlen’s “All You Zombies”.

In the “Dark Tower” series, Stephen King has Stephen King the writer as one of the characters. Not a very likeable one either.

The first thing I thought of is Italo Calvino’s If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller, where each chapter is a story within the previous (unfinished) story, and all the chapter titles together add up to a sentence that I don’t remember.

Arabian nights is wonderful–at one point I realized the story I was reading was six stories deep. If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller drove me crazy, though. After about six chapters, I decided that if Calvino wouldn’t finish a story, neither would I, and put it down.

That was the first movie I thought of too.
What about Stranger Than Fiction. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it (and even longer since I’ve seen Adaptation) but wasn’t it at least somewhat similar.

As recursive stories go it’s hard to beat Howard Schoenfeld’s short story “Build Up Logically” in which a character in the story is writing it from the inside (Confused? You have to read it to follow it). Conversely, there are stories that the writers write themselves into as the creators of the universes they’re in (e.g. Stephen King’s Dark Tower books or Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions).

As far as stories within stories goes, the “World’s End” book of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series at one point is telling a story within a story within a story within a story within the main story (I think I’ve got that right). And you don’t really notice how deep you’ve gone, so deftly is it done.

In Breakfast of Champions Kurt Vonnegut is a character who admits he created all the other characters. I think there’s a Kilgore Trout story referenced about a writer. That being the case, it would have a writer writing about a fictional version of himself interacting with a fictional writer writing about a fictional writer.

Philip K. Dick’s Man in the High Castle is set in an alternate reality where the Axis won WW2 and a man stumbles across a manuscript set in an alternate reality where the Allies won WW2 and it creates a sort of cool mind loop when you try to get into the story.

I vaguely remember an episode of The Simpsons from a few seasons ago that was a tale within an tale within a tale. I think it had something to do with Moe and/or the Sea.

How about How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu? It’s very recursive in some ways. Big plot spoilers below. It’s a good book and relatively quick read. Funny, thoughtful, and entertaining.

Charles Yu (main character’s name) is a time machine repair man and ends up shooting his future self. His future self gives his present self a book (the one we, the audience, are reading) and he begins writing the book by copying the book his future self gave him. He eventually steps out of his time machine and gets shot by his past self.

The Neverending Story.

The tale of how the young Veltis’s hand was withered is told by Mistress Veltis in her old age, within a story being told by Master Hermas, within the story told by Petrefax, within the story told by Brant Parker, within the overall Sandman story. So by my count that’s a story within a story within a story within a story within a story within a story.

Somewhat less convoluted; Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is a character in a story who slowly becomes aware he is a character in a story. Pretty good movie, with Ferrell playing against type quite convincingly.

There’s also PKD’s Ubik which is about a bunch of dead people sharing a dream about a bunch of dead people sharing a dream and/or a woman with psychic reality-altering powers and/or possibly something entirely different.

Yeah, I lost track. Can you blame me?

The Library of Babel?

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: Bob Saget as 2030 Ted is telling his kids the story of how he prepared to ask out his doctor as a younger man, at which point his pal Barney reminded him of how he laughed at Robin back when she announced she was falling for a co-worker – which, back then, prompted Lily to advise against it by telling a story about her new neighbors – which, back then, prompted Barney to interrupt with a quick “Need I remind you what happened with me and Wendy the waitress?”

And cue the flashback within a flashback within a flashback within a flashback, recapped as follows:

And in no time flat we get another flashback: “I think it’s going really well.” “That’s what we thought…” Cue flashback to “…c’mon, people, be excited for us; we’ve got a great thing going here.” “That’s what I thought…” And cue young Barney saying it’s fine – only to snap back to older Barney saying it wasn’t, only to be disregarded by Marshall insisting it’s fine – only to snap back to Lily saying it wasn’t, only to be disregarded by Robin insisting it’s fine – only to snap back to Robin saying it wasn’t (and being disregarded by Ted as played by Josh Radnor, in the story narrated by Ted as played by Bob Saget: “So Stella and I went on our date, but here’s the funny thing…”).

Sorry, Wrong Number comes to mind. It’s a 1948 suspense movie about a woman who, through crossed telephone wires, overhears a murder plot and, over the course of the rest of the evening, gets and makes multiple phone calls that gradually uncover some criminal activity her husband is embroiled in. Along the way are flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks, as in when someone calls her to tell her about something that happened several days earlier when they ran into someone who told them about even earlier events at which even earlier events were discussed…

I forget offhand how many “levels” down this goes, not as far as Inception certainly, but I find it notable that it was a film noir, not any kind of science-fiction or fantasy picture.