Netflix it: The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

In crisp black and white MGM takes some not so subtle stabs at Hollywood. According to TCM:

Many contemporary and modern sources have speculated that "Jonathan Shields" was loosely based on producer David O. Selznick and the argument between Shields and director "Von Ellstein" was inspired by Selznick's disputes with director George Cukor when Cukor abruptly departed from Selznick's production of Gone With the Wind (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1931-40). Some modern sources have speculated that producer Val Lewton also was a partial inspiration for Shields. In The Bad and the Beautiful the film that is the first successful picture for "Fred Amiel" and "Jonathan Shields" was inspired by Lewton's 1942 RKO production Cat People (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1941-50.)
Von Ellstein's character is frequently mentioned as having been inspired by director Erich von Stroheim, and "James Lee Bartlow" is thought by some critics to have been inspired by William Faulkner. "Georgia Lorrison" was also partially inspired by Diana Barrymore, just as "George Lorrison" was based on her father, John Barrymore.