4. The Devil Wears Prada(2006)

In spite of my adoration of Meryl Streep, I wasn’t enthusiastic about seeing this film. I thought, Will this movie really portray the fashion industry accurately?In order to make myself go, I made a date with Grace Mirabella, the former editor in chief of Vogue,and Jade Hobson, another fabulous fashion editor. Then I started fretting about whether or not the film would make Grace uncomfortable. Meryl Streep’s character is loosely based on Anna Wintour, who replaced Grace at Vogueunder dreadful circumstances. Grace was as still as a statue during the movie, which made me nervous. When the lights came up at the end, I slowly turned to Grace, whose eyes met mine. I gulped. She broke into a wide grin and shouted, “I loved it!”

5. The September Issue(2009)

I was dubious about what this documentary could really offer up about the inner workings of Vogue,especially when it comes to that sphinx-without-a-riddle, Anna Wintour. Wow, was I impressed. R. J. Cutler’s documentary is brilliant: it’s insightful, funny, ironic, drama-filled, and a freak show like none other.

1. Judy Garland in A Star Is Born(1954)

In this bigger-than-life movie about the rise of a nobody Hollywood extra into the motion-picture industry’s biggest star, Garland becomes seduced by a star (James Mason) who’s a self-centered cad. Still, she marries him and stays by his side until … the end. Speaking of, there are few movies for which I’ve experienced the kind of welling of emotion that’s triggered by seven words spoken by Garland: “Hello, everybody. This is … Mrs. … Norman … Maine.”

2. Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl(1968)

In this amazing musical, Barbra Streisand handles drama, comedy, musical numbers, and tear-jerking sentiment with equal aplomb, and she does it all better than any actress before or since.

3.Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire(1951)

In Tennessee Williams’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play, Blanche DuBois says: “Nobody sees anybody truly but all through the flaws of their own egos. That is the way we all see each other in life.” Ever the method actor, Marlon Brando reportedly stayed in his brutish character even during filming breaks, much to the disgust of Vivien Leigh. When she called Stanley an “animal,” it must have come from the bottom of her heart.

4. Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame(1958)

Rosalind Russell was born to play the madcap Mame in this story of an eccentric, fast-living society woman of the 1920s determined to “open doors” for her adoring nephew. Mame exposes him to everything from bootleg gin to oddball characters—all the while doing battle with her nephew’s ultra-conservative trustee, who is equally determined that the boy’s life remain free of “certain influences.”

5. Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest(1981)

This movie is my number one guilty pleasure when it comes to movies. Yes, it is camp, but like they say, they don’t make ’em like this anymore. A virtual facial contortionist, Dunaway plays up every scene and mood change. She’s also able to act the part of the Hollywood diva very well. And this movie is full of diva behavior. Take, for example, the scene in which she chops up the rose garden, dressed in haute couture, the side of her face bruised and cut. She mutters “box office poison,” and makes her unfortunate small children haul away the wreckage. Plus, she wields an axe like nobody’s business.

1. Valley of the Dolls(1967)

“So you come crawling back to Broadway …” That’s just one of a myriad of oh-so-quotable lines from the cult classic. The acting is pure cheese, and the songs are god-awful, but I could easily watch it every day.

2. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?(1966)

I think about Edward Albee’s vituperative play about marital warfare every time I go to a really tense dinner party.

3. Elizabeth(1998)

This brimming goblet of religious tension, political conspiracy, sex, violence, and war is heaven, thanks to Cate Blanchett’s performance as the naïve and vibrant princess who becomes the stubborn and knowing queen. The cold, dark sets paired with the lush costuming show the golden age of England’s monarchy emerging from the Middle Ages.

4. The Queen(2006)

Yes, I have a crush on Helen Mirren. She does an amazing job in this film, making Queen Elizabeth II (as I mentioned, a dead ringer for my mother!) seem downright human.

5. Keeper of the Flame(1942)

Katharine Hepburn plays a national hero’s widow. She has a great big secret that’s brought out by interviews with a biographer (Spencer Tracy). This is one of my favorite wartime movies.

While we’re at it, here are a few more movies that I find inspiring: The Draughtsman’s Contract, The Go-Between, Prospero’s Books, Ryan’s Daughter, Two for the Road, Women in Love, Waterloo Bridge (1940), Portrait of Jennie, Elephant Walk, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Philadelphia Story, Darling(1965), Meet Me in St. Louis, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Bedazzled(1967), all the James Bond movies, The Thomas Crown Affair(1968 and 1999), The Wizard of Oz, My Fair Lady, Hannah and Her Sisters, Annie Hall, Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, Nicholas and Alexandria, War and Peace(1956), Giant, Gone with the Wind, L’avventura, Mon Oncle Antoine, Zabriskie Point, Black Orpheus(1959), Orpheus(1949), and Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast.

Any one of these films could inspire a dozen collections.

I also love the worlds created by the writers Thomas Mann, James Agee, Herman Melville, T. S. Eliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, E. F. Benson, Carson McCullers, and Gertrude Stein, to name a tiny fraction of the authors on my bookshelf.

You can see why I was mad at my students who told me they couldn’t find inspiration! I don’t care if your list leans away from campy cult classics and period dramas and toward, say, zombie movies or bromances or video games. Any genre, any film, any book can be the jumping-off point for amazing creative work. As long as we have Netflix, Turner Classic Movies, Amazon, YouTube, and bookstores, there is no excuse ever to lack inspiration.

Never Underestimate Karma

BEING NICE TO WAITERS may well be the most important etiquette rule there is. I know a high-ranking executive who is sure to take every potential hire out for a meal, simply because you learn so much about people by how they behave in a restaurant. It’s a really good idea whether you’re interviewing job candidates or getting to know someone on a first date. So much is revealed.