History ShowWithinAShow / LiveActionFilms

* Goosebumps (2015) is based on the real life book series of the same name. However, in the movie, the books are fictional, despite the fact that they predated the movie, making for a rather odd variant of this trope.

[[folder:Type 1: Characters involved in production]]

* ''Film/SoulsForSale'' is a rather unique instance of this trope. It is a straight type 1, as the heroine is an actress who gets a big part in a movie about a circus. However, additionally to this, the heroine visits the sets of several ''real films'' that were in production at the same time ''Souls for Sale'' was. Among the sets she visits are ''Film/AWomanOfParis'' (where she's an extra directed by Creator/CharlieChaplin himself) and ''Film/{{Greed}}'' (where she fails to get a part in Creator/ErichVonStroheim's production).

* The fictional ''Galaxy Quest'' TV show in the real movie ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' falls under each type of this trope, including Type 1; the film centers on the washed up cast members of the show.

* In ''Film/FindingNeverland'', the main character and several secondary characters are working on ''Finding Neverland''. Also a Type 3 (see below).

* ''Salome's Last Dance'' presents the bulk of Creator/OscarWilde's play ''Theatre/{{Salome}}'' as a production mounted for Wilde himself by the staff of a London brothel, with the wild and woolly goings-on onstage entwining themselves with the offstage relationships between Wilde and two of the actors (one of whom is Lord Alfred Douglas -- if one knows about Wilde's life they know that's not a great omen -- who's playing ''John the Baptist'' in the show). Also a Type 3.

* ''Film/SnuffMovie'' has ''Premature Burial'', Boris Arkadin's classic horror film that was supposedly the inspiration for the murder of Mary Arkadin. A Type 1, but with elements of Type 3 & 4.

[[folder:Type 2: Characters are fans]]

* ''Film/{{Detention}}'' has the franchise Cinderhella, a ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' {{Expy}} focused on a woman torturing teenagers on prom night, as a type 2 and 4. Ione, Clapton, Riley and Taylor are shown to like the movie, but when a killer appears murdering students using a Cinderhella mask, it becomes a type 4.

* In ''Film/{{Hairspray}}'', Tracy and Penny are huge fans of the Corny Collins Show, a regional American Bandstand-type show. This overlaps with Type 1 when Tracy gets a part on the show and supports Corny's dreams of integrating the show(instead of only permitting black performers to appear on "Negro Day").

[[folder:Type 3: SWAS is a plot point]]

** Interestingly enough, ''Nation's Pride'' is also included as BonusMaterial on the DVD, directed by Creator/EliRoth, one of the actors in the movie. (Does it count as Type 1 if the ''actors'' are connected, but not the characters?)
* In ''Film/FindingNeverland'', the production of ''Theatre/{{Peter Pan|1904}}'' ends up marking a turning point for the characters, both on opening night (for James and Peter) and as part of a later, special production (for Emma, Sylvia, and Sylvia's other sons). Also a Type 1 (see above).

[[folder:Type 4: Plot Parallel]]

* ''Starcrossed'' is a spoof, NoFourthWall-type SpeculativeFiction series loosely based on ''Franchise/{{Stargate|Verse}}'', in the independent movie ''A Dog's Breakfast'', written and directed by actor David Hewlett, who is better known for his role as Rodney [=McKay=] in ''Series/StargateAtlantis''. Hewlett intends to turn ''Starcrossed'' into a real web series.

* The 1988 horror film ''Remote Control'' is about the fictional 1950s sci-fi B-movie of the same name that brainwashes everyone who watches it into becoming murderers. Interestingly, the B-movie itself features a futuristic pseudo-tape called "Remote Control" that has the same effect on people, though we don't get to see that one. And in the actual film we discover that the "Remote Control" tape itself was actually made by aliens, so the whole film is a sort of homage to the sci-fi films of old. It's all very meta.

** The first ''Stab'', featured in ''Film/Scream2'', is [[PlotParallel based on the events of the first film]] (specifically, [[RippedFromTheHeadlines the true crime novel that Gale Weathers wrote about what happened]]), albeit with some artistic embellishment, [[HotterAndSexier extra titillation]], and no mystery as to the killer's identity given the notoriety of the real-life murder case. It's directed by Creator/RobertRodriguez rather than Creator/WesCraven, and stars Creator/ToriSpelling as Sidney (which [[BrickJoke Sidney herself predicted]]), Creator/LukeWilson as Billy, Creator/DavidSchwimmer as Dewey, Creator/HeatherGraham as Casey, and "the guy who drove Jane Seymour's stagecoach for one episode of ''[[Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman Dr. Quinn]]''" as Randy, and the fourth film reveals that it was directed by Creator/RobertRodriguez rather than Creator/WesCraven[[note]]In real life, Rodriguez directed ''Film/TheFaculty'', another film written by Kevin Williamson.[[/note]]. A major plot point in ''Scream 2'' is whether the killer may have been [[MurderSimulators inspired]] by watching ''Stab'' and becoming obsessed with the massacre from the first film, [[spoiler:and one of the killers does indeed seek to blame violent movies like ''Stab'' in order to [[AttentionWhore create a media circus for his inevitable trial]]]].

* The ''Film/{{Scream}}'' series has the ''Stab'' series, which act as ''Scream''[='=]s analogue to itself in terms of their influence, and which crops up several times throughout the sequels.
** The first ''Stab'', featured in ''Film/{{Scream 2}}'', is [[PlotParallel based on the events of the first film]] (specifically, [[RippedFromTheHeadlines the true crime novel that Gale Weathers wrote about what happened]]), albeit with some artistic embellishment and [[HotterAndSexier extra titillation]]. It's directed by Creator/RobertRodriguez[[note]]Which is only revealed in the fourth film. In real life, he directed ''Film/TheFaculty'', another film written by Kevin Williamson.[[/note]] rather than Creator/WesCraven, and stars [[Series/BeverlyHills90210 Tori Spelling]] as Sidney, Luke Wilson as Billy, Creator/DavidSchwimmer as Dewey, Creator/HeatherGraham as Casey, and "the guy who drove Jane Seymour's stagecoach for one episode of ''[[Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman Dr. Quinn]]''" as Randy. A major plot point in ''Scream 2'' is whether the killer may have been [[MurderSimulators inspired]] by watching ''Stab'' and becoming obsessed with the massacre from the first film, [[spoiler:and one of the killers does indeed seek to blame violent movies like ''Stab'' in order to [[AttentionWhore create a media circus for his inevitable trial]]]].
** ''Film/{{Scream 3}}'', meanwhile, revolves around the production of ''Stab 3'', which the masked killer manages to sabotage by killing most of the main cast. ''Stab 3'' does still get made afterwards, but with a whole new cast and, presumably, a plot about them trying to make the failed ''Stab 3''. It would have been [[UpToEleven a show within a show within a show]], and couldn't have made much sense.
** By the events of ''Film/{{Scream 4}}'', the ''Stab'' series has become a FranchiseZombie with seven films, having abandoned all pretense of being BasedOnATrueStory after the third (Sidney sued to prevent any further use of the original characters) and gone into straight-out fantasy by the fifth (which included a TimeTravel plot). ''Scream 4'' begins with two characters watching ''Stab 7'', which begins with the characters in that film watching ''Stab 6'', just to add to the MindScrew. Even so, the series has attained a stature on par with ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', with Robbie and Charlie hosting a "''Stab''-a-Thon" party in which they screen the entire series back-to-back.

* Cee from ''Film/Prospect'' is fan of "The Streamer Girl" novel. She lost her copy of the book but had read it so many times that she was able to write the storyline into her own journal.

* In the 1998 film ''Lucia'', the protagonists simultaneously prepare to perform the opera, ''Lucia di Lammermoor'', while reliving the roles of their characters.

* In the Adam Sandler movie ''Film/FunnyPeople'', Jason Schwartzman's character acts in a TV comedy series called ''Yo Teach''.

* ''Friends with Benefits'' features a romantic comedy starring Creator/JasonSegel and Creator/RashidaJones.

* ''Film/CarnivalNight revolves around the planning of a New Year's Eve party and variety show in 1950s Moscow.

* ''Film/{{Bruno}}'' has the titular character has the host of "Funkyzeit mit Bruno" before being fired.

* ''Film/ThorRagnarok'': When Thor arrives in Asgard, he stumbles on the performance of a play about the events of ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', called ''The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard'', which Loki ([[VoluntaryShapeshifting disguised]] as Odin) wrote to [[HerCodeNameWasMarySue make himself look like a hero]].

* ''Film/ThorRagnarok'': When Thor arrives in Asgard, he stumbles on the performance of a play about the events of ''ThorTheDarkWorld'', called ''The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard'', which Loki ([[VoluntaryShapeshifting disguised]] as Odin) wrote to [[HerCodeNameWasMarySue make himself look like a hero]].

* ''Film/ThorRagnarok'': When Thor arrives in Asgard, he stumbles on the performance of a play about the events of ''Thor:TheDarkWorld'', called ''The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard'', which Loki ([[VoluntaryShapeshifting disguised]] as Odin) wrote to [[HerCodeNameWasMarySue make himself look like a hero]].

* ''Film/ThorRagnarok'': When Thor arrives in Asgard, he watches the performance of a play about the events of ''Thor:TheDarkWorld'', called ''The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard'', which Loki ([[VoluntaryShapeshifting disguised]] as Odin) wrote to [[HerCodeNameWasMarySue make himself look like a hero]].

* ''Film/SnuffMovie'' has ''Premature Burial'', Boris Arkadin's classic horror filmthat was supposedly the inspiration for the murder of Mary Arkadin. A Type 1, but with elements of Type 3 & 4.

* ''Starcrossed'' is a spoof, NoFourthWall-type SpeculativeFiction series loosely based on ''[[Franchise/StargateVerse Stargate]]'', in the independent movie ''A Dog's Breakfast'', written and directed by actor David Hewlett, who is better known for his role as Rodney [=McKay=] in ''Series/StargateAtlantis''. Hewlett intends to turn ''Starcrossed'' into a real web series.