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BETTE : BETTE DAVIS A BIOPIC

Biography - Development 2025

In an era when men wrote the scripts and women played by their rules, Bette Davis dared to demand more—risking everything to become a star on her own terms.

- Year of production
- 2025
- Genres
- Biography, Historical, Drama
- Countries
- USA
- Synopsis
- In the glittering illusion of 1930s Hollywood, one woman dared to challenge the men behind the curtain.
  
  BETTE is a bold and unflinching portrait of a young Bette Davis as she fights to carve out her identity and career in a studio system built to control her. Long before she was a legend, Davis was just a fiercely intelligent, sharp-tongued actress from Massachusetts—too headstrong for comfort, too honest for stardom, and too talented to ignore.
  
  The film begins with Davis on the brink of stardom—fresh off a Broadway stage, lured westward by a Warner Bros. contract. But what awaits her in Hollywood is not the creative haven she hoped for. Instead, she finds a factory of sameness: actresses forced into bland, decorative roles, directors who bark orders, and a studio chief, Jack Warner, who sees her more as a product than an artist.
  
  Bette, however, refuses to be molded. With each film, she pushes back—against bad scripts, shallow parts, and the industry's obsession with beauty over substance. Her boldness earns her enemies and allies, including a tempestuous relationship with director William Wyler that fuels both her work and her heartbreak.
  
  As she climbs the ranks, Davis wages a public and personal war for artistic freedom. At the height of her frustration, she does the unthinkable: she walks out on her Warner Bros. contract, sailing to England in an attempt to gain better roles. Sued by the studio and vilified by the press, she risks everything—her reputation, her livelihood, and her future.
  
  But it’s this act of rebellion that ultimately changes the course of her career and the industry itself. BETTE traces the pivotal years in which Davis transforms from a struggling actress into an icon who refuses to play nice, paving the way for generations of women to follow.
  
  This is not just the story of a movie star—it is the story of a woman who believed that talent should triumph over conformity, and that art was worth fighting for.
  
  And for me, it’s personal.
  
  I’ve been performing my solo play Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies for over a decade, bringing Bette’s voice to stages around the world—over 450 performances on three continents. Through her words, her battles, and her wit, I’ve lived with Bette’s spirit night after night. She’s been my creative compass and my mentor, even across time. This film is a culmination of that journey—a tribute to the fire that shaped me as an artist, and to the woman who taught me that to survive in this business, you don’t wait for permission. You fight. You create. You dare.
  
  BETTE is a story of resilience, rebellion, and the timeless power of a woman who refused to sit down and be quiet.
  
  Screenplay by Caitlin Scherer, Austin Film Festival Finalist. Story by Jessica Sherr and Caitlin Scherer.