# Fictional works of fiction. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337 "2005-10-28T17:29:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/21 "2005-10-28T18:58:31Z")
In Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea’s Illuminatus, there’s a take off of Atlas Shrugged called Telemechus Sneezed. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/22 "2005-10-28T19:00:13Z")
Practically every novel or story about a writer contains a reference to a fictional novel or story; there are probably more fictional works than actual works. That said, the first thing that came to mind was _O Brother, Where Art Thou._ What? Really? When? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/23 "2005-10-28T19:00:30Z")
Re: **Blood on the Badge** in Barney Miller: Harris did finish it, had it published, and then was sued and lost the money. There’s **The Seven Minutes** in Irving Wallace’s book **[The Seven Minutes](http://tinyurl.com/965wt)**. The fictional version is supposed to be a pornographic work about what’s going through a woman’s head during sex, and the actual book is about the issues involved with publishing the book. In the first season of **Twin Peaks** (the TV series), the soap opera “Invitation to Love” was often shown; it seemed to run 24/7, since it seemed to be on whenever a TV was shown. The list of novels and movies about people writing novels is pretty big; for instance, in **Wonder Boys** , the Michael Douglas character has already had a book published, is writing another. The Tobey McGuire character also writes a novel during the film. Jack McDevitt beat Neal Gaiman to the punch with the idea of a library containing unwritten works: his story, “The Fort Moxie Branch” (for some reason, incorrectly titled “The Fourth Moxie Branch”) came out in 1988, well before Sandman hit the stands. L. Ron Hubbard’s “Typewriter in the Sky” involves a person who discovers he’s inside a another writer’s novel, cast as the villain. It’s supposedly one of Hubbard’s best works. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/24 "2005-10-28T19:06:03Z")
The un-abridged Princess Bride. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/25 "2005-10-28T19:10:33Z")
“The Princess Bride” by S. Morgenstern ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/26 "2005-10-28T19:11:39Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > The un-abridged Princess Bride. [Simul]Damn, you beat me to it :-)[/Simul] ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/27 "2005-10-28T19:11:56Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > Anything by Kilgore Trout (with the possible exception of _Venus on the Half-Shell_ > [@betenoir](#): > > True. I’ve read Venus on the Halfshell. > > It wasn’t very good. Humorous background on this. Vonnegut invented the hack writer Kilgore Trout and his books, as a fictional element in his satire. Philip Jose Farmer then, **writing as “Kilgore Trout,”** produced a real _Venus on the Half Shell_. The point is that it’s **supposed** to be hackwork. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/28 "2005-10-28T19:18:33Z")
_Watchmen_ has a number of these, including the first Nite Owl’s autobiography, interviews with Ozymandius and the original Silk Spectre and the pirate comic book (_Tales of the Black Watch_, I think?) One of the short stories from the movie version of Garp (don’t remember if it’s in the book) is about a man with magic gloves who can do anything with them except feel. There are also Lily’s novels (Trying to Grow and the other one) in _The Hotel New Hampshire_. From the first movie version of _The Shining_, there’s the book that Jack is working on (don’t know if it’s in the book; haven’t read it). From The Simpsons, there’s Monty Burns’ autobiography, “Will There Ever Be a Rainbow?” and Marge’s romance novel. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/29 "2005-10-28T19:20:16Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > …Vogon Poetry, although I don’t have any titles… “Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in My Armpit One Midsummer Morning” - Grunthos the Flatulent ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/30 "2005-10-28T19:25:10Z")
Can’t forget the fictional movie titles from _Seinfeld_. [ul] [li]Agent Zero[/li][li]Blame it on the Rain[/li][li]Blimp: The Hindenberg Story[/li][li]Brown-Eyed Girl[/li][li]Checkmate[/li][li]Chow Fun[/li][li]Chunnel[/li][li]Cold Fusion[/li][li]Cry, Cry Again[/li][li]Cupid’s Rifle[/li][li]Death Blow[/li][li]Extreme Measures[/li][li]Firestorm[/li][li]Means to an End[/li][li]Mountain High[/li][li]The Muted Heart[/li][li]Ponce de Leon[/li][li]Prognosis Negative[/li][li]Rochelle, Rochelle[/li][li]Sack Lunch[/li][li]The Other Side of Darkness[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/31 "2005-10-28T19:25:38Z")
I figured _Tobin’s Spirit Guide_ and _Necronomicon_ were more like fictional reference books, not fictional works of fiction. The play _Noises Off_ is about a production of the fictional British smash sex farce “Nothing On.” We see only the first act of “Nothing On”, which ends with the entrance of a rich Arab sheik, intent on buying the house of Philip Brent, and who happens to look exactly like him. Philip is ostensibly abroad as a tax exile, but is hiding at home. As “Nothing On” is a farce, we might expect Philip and the sheik to have some mistaken identity problems, the sheik may end up paying Philip’s taxes, and so on. It’s hard to say what might happen since most of the silliness in the first act is impervious to logic. Stephen King’s _'Salem’s Lot_ features a writer named Ben Mears (?). I can’t recall if any specific book titles are mentioned. King’s story _The Body_ also features a writer, the young Gordon Lachance, who wrote a short story (excerpted in the text) called something like “The Great Pie-Eat” where Lardass Hogan causes everybody at the pie-eating contest to barf spectactularly. The movie _As Good As It Gets_ also features a writer, this one played by Jack Nicholson. Anybody remember if any specific books are mentioned? Marty McFly’s father receives a box of first-edition copies of his science fiction novel at the end of _Back to the Future_ but I can’t remember the title. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/32 "2005-10-28T19:26:42Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Humorous background on this. Vonnegut invented the hack writer Kilgore Trout and his books, as a fictional element in his satire. Welllllllll . . . Vonnegut pretty clearly did not think of Trout as a hack; he seemed to think of him as the only sane man in an insane world. He didn’t really kick up too much of a fuss about where his stories were published (often in XXX skin mags), but Vonnegut put some of his most serious ideas into Trout’s head. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/33 "2005-10-28T19:35:40Z")
About ten years ago, I worked in a bookstore at the same time that a pretentious, overly-precious little indie movie called [the Myth of Fingerprints](http://imdb.com/title/tt0119746/) came out. Part of the film deals with Julianne Moore’s character reading a book called “the Scream of the Rabbits.” For a few weeks, people were coming into the bookstore every day asking for the book, including one crazy lady who adamantly refused to accept that it was not a real book and nearly attacked me! There’s also [the Purple Rose of Cairo](http://imdb.com/title/tt0089853/), a Woody Allen movie about a lonely waitress (Mia Farrow) who goes to a movie called - what else? - the Purple Rose of Cairo, and…well, just rent it. (But skip “the Dreck of Fingerprints”). ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/34 "2005-10-28T19:39:05Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > King’s story _The Body_ also features a writer, the young Gordon Lachance, who wrote a short story (excerpted in the text) called something like “The Great Pie-Eat” where Lardass Hogan causes everybody at the pie-eating contest to barf spectactularly. It was _The Revenge of Lard Ass Hogan_. The same story features another short story by Gordie called _Stud City_. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/35 "2005-10-28T19:42:10Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > The point is that it’s **supposed** to be hackwork. And he did a good job 😃 . ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/36 "2005-10-28T19:52:05Z")
Hmmm. Then I guess the _Junior Woodchuck’s Guide_ is out, too, then. It’s supposed to be factual. And James Bond’s book _Stay Alive!_ ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/37 "2005-10-28T19:55:40Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#): > > . . . Julianne Moore’s character reading a book called “the Scream of the Rabbits.” . . . –which I always took to be a jab at _Silence of the Lambs._ ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/38 "2005-10-28T20:09:32Z")
Thought of another: Amazon is constantly recommending a book called _The Counterfeit Heinlein_ by Lawrence M. Janifer. It’s set in the distant future, and the MacGuffin is a fragment of a lost short story by Heinlein called “The Stone Pillow.” My desire to actually find a copy and read it is mild, but lingering. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/39 "2005-10-28T20:11:06Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > From the first movie version of _The Shining_, there’s the book that Jack is working on (don’t know if it’s in the book; haven’t read it). It’s called “No TV and No Beer makes Homer Something-Something” ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337/40 "2005-10-28T20:28:17Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > Marty McFly’s father receives a box of first-edition copies of his science fiction novel at the end of _Back to the Future_ but I can’t remember the title. Something pretty generic as I recall, “Visitor from Space” or someting equally vapid. I loved the cheesy Science Fiction Book Club-style cover art. You reminded me of another example, _Deathtrap_: Sidney Bruel is a playwright, most famous for _The Murder Game_ which we don’t see anything of. We do see a bit of his latest play, the name of which escapes me. And of course the murder mystery revolves around the fictional and initially non-existent play called _Deathtrap_. Also mentioned is a fictional and non-existent play about a welfare office. In _Death on the Nile_ (the film version) Angela Lansbury’s motive is tied to her authorship of an allegedly libelous book, but I can’t remember if the book is named. Haven’t read the Christie novel so I don’t know if the character and motive exist there. _All About Eve_ includes the fictional plays _Aged in Wood_ and _Footsteps on the Ceiling_. _Sunset Boulevard_ includes the fictional script for Norma Desmond’s version of _Salome_, the screenplay the Joe and whats-er-face that he falls for are writing together, mention of a “baseball movie” script that Joe wrote, scenes from a Cecil B. DeMille epic (which IIRC he was actually filming but in the context of SB was fictitious) and footage from Gloria Swanson’s film _Queen Kelly_ re-purposed as a Norma Desmond film. Also from The Simpsons we have the Mel Gibson re-make of _Mr Smith Goes to Washington_, _Left Below_, all the various and sundry Troy McClure projects (including the Planet of the Apes stage musical, the Muppet version of Camelot, the afternoon movie set in San Francisco in the 60s and all of the movies that we may remember him from but get nothing but the titles of), Ranier Wolfcastle’s movies (including the McBain series, the apparently unreleased Radioactive Man movie and Undercover Nerd), the Space Mutants film series, the Krusty episode of Batman and probably a ton more that I’m forgetting. From _Family Guy_ there’s Gumbel to Gumbel, Peter’s mutated version of The King and I (A Peter Griffin joint), Passion of the Christ II, KISS Saves Christmas or whatever it’s called and the porn films Brian directed (Shaving Private Ryan is the only one I remember). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-works-of-fiction/328337.md?page=3)