The Stop the Presses series at the Alamo Drafthouse, which celebrates the media in movies with screenings of such classics as Sweet Smell of Success and concludes with the premiere of Anchorman 2, has inspired a lot of conversation about the relationship between journalists and the movies that portray them. While inspirational tales of dedicated investigators may go on to win awards and persuade young idealists to pursue a career in the news, movies about journalists who suck at their jobs are often much more entertaining. The worst newsmen in cinema are united by their blinkered narcissism, which bleeds into their work life in fascinating ways. Read on for a list of movies that herald wildly unprofessional behavior, and stay classy, Denver.

The Stop the Presses event at the Alamo Drafthouse, a programming series that celebrates the news in cinema through screenings of classic tales of journalism like Sweet Smell of Success and All the President’s Men has inspired a lot of conversation about the relationship between journalists and the movies that portray them. With barely enough titles to qualify as a sub-genre, movies about the news often become indelible documents of the time and place that created them, going on to win Academy Awards and inspire future generation of filmmakers and reporters alike. However, many films about the news tend to gloss over the un-cinematic tedium of the work itself, which is understandable given how much of a journalist’s life is spent sitting at a keyboard. The qualities that make a movie character dramatically compelling are often totally at odds with the qualities that make a good journalist, so when a truly entertaining movie about an admirable journalist gets made, it deserves some attention. The following list celebrates movies about journalists –both real and fictional– who live up to the highest ideals of their profession.

The Alamo Drafthouse has only been open for a short while, but has already become and indispensable resource for Denver-area cinephiles. Engaging with the local film and comedy scenes through events like Mile High Sci-Fi the Drafthouse supports the local creative community and provides a calendar filled with events suited to every type of film buff, from the snobbiest cineaste to the inexplicably carefree sort of person who loves singing along to musicals. Throughout December, the Alamo Drafthouse has a schedules slate of niche programming that will hold particular appeal for Westword writers by celebrating the news in cinema.

The entertainment industry, with its long-established allergy to new ideas, often mines the bestseller list for source material. Studios are more likely greenlight a scary story after it has been officially vetted by the reading public, and less likely to interfere with a proven earner. In horror cinema, however, the filmmaker’s vision of a story so often becomes definitive in the minds of viewers that it overshadows the books that inspired that vision in the first place. With that in mind, the Westword Book Club has compiled a list of 6 cult classic horror that were inspired by novels and short stories, deliberately avoiding canonical works like Dracula and Frankenstein as well as blockbusters like The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby in favor of slightly obscure titles that deserve more eyeballs. Then we Lars von Trier’ed ourselves into a corner by only selecting movies that are available to stream instantly, so you’ll have time to check these out before the Halloween spirit is buried beneath the snows of November. Enjoy your nightmares.