8. 6 Days To Air: The Making Of South Park (2011)
All right, I'm cheating a bit here, 'cause this isn't necessarily a "movie," but it's still a documentary (and a great one at that). Whether you're a fan of
South Park or not, you kind of have to respect how creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone put together an entire episode of their iconic show in less than a week. It wasn't always like that: slowly their schedules got smaller and smaller, until the duo (and Comedy Central) realised that 6 days was enough time to make 22 minutes of
South Park. This little documentary depicts 6 days making one such episode, and it's jammed packed with useful little writing tips (courtesy of Trey Parker) and some great insights into working as a team, pitching ideas, and coming up with ways to make even the smallest stories work better. Granted, the documentary is also concerned with showing clips from the show, charting its creator's successes, and advertising
The Book of Mormon, but
6 Days To Air offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes of television production. Anybody who wants to write, either for film or TV, really shouldn't pass this one over - it's a seriously great (and funny) watch.