The Whole Wide World is a 1996 American independent biographical film produced and directed by Dan Ireland in his directorial debut.

It depicts the relationship between pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard (Vincent D'Onofrio) and schoolteacher Novalyne Price Ellis (Renée Zellweger).

A relationship soon develops between the two but, it is doomed by personality conflicts and life events, such as the terminal illness of Howard's mother.

[5] When auditioning for the film Jerry Maguire, Zellweger met director Cameron Crowe several times but had trouble convincing him that she could play "a 20-something woman" rather than a girl.

This was solved by Zellweger's agent sending Crowe a tape of The Whole Wide World.