Adding the "true story" tagline is a common way to entice moviegoers to the box office.
But as we all know, Hollywood has a habit of sensationalizing things and twisting the
truth in order to keep audiences captivated.
It's time to look past the silver screen and see why being "based on a true story" isn't
all it's cracked up to be.
Fargo
The movie starts with text that says "THIS IS A TRUE STORY," the movie Fargo adds that
the events of the film happened in Minnesota in 1987.
So then why do the movie's closing credits feature the "all persons fictitious" disclaimer?
The Coen brothers loosely based the script on actual events and formulated the events
before and after it.
In 2016, 20 years after the movie's 1996 debut, the brothers finally revealed their inspirations
in an interview with The Huffington Post.
Said Joel:
"There are actually two little elements in the story that were based on actual incidents.
One of them is the fact that there was a guy, I believe in the ‘60s or ‘70s, who was
gumming up serial numbers for cars and defrauding the General Motors Finance Corporation.
There was no kidnapping.
There was no murder.
It was a guy defrauding the GM Finance Corporation at some point.
"The other thing [that's] based on something real: There was a murder in Connecticut, where
a man killed his wife and disposed of the body — put her into a wood chipper.
But beyond that, the story is made up."
Rudy
A sports classic, Rudy is inspiring, uplifting...and fast and loose with the truth.
Remember that scene where the players place their jerseys on Coach Devine's desk to convince
him to let Rudy play?
And the crowd chanting his name?
"Rudy!
Rudy!
Rudy!"
That never happened, and Joe Montana—who was on the team with Rudy—confirmed to Sports
Illustrated that:
"It's a movie, remember.
Not all that's true.
The crowd wasn't chanting, nobody threw in their jerseys.
He did get in the game.
He got carried off the game."
Argo
Ben Affleck won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, for Argo.
But it's pretty inaccurate, especially the way it minimizes Canada's role in the whole
hostage-extraction plan.
None other than President Jimmy Carter himself called out Argo for making stuff up.
"My judgment is that 90% of the credit for that heroic and brilliant move should have
been with the Canadians, and the movie ignores practically any contribution by the Canadians."
Foxcatcher
Depicting John du Pont's murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz, plenty of what appears
on screen in Foxcatcher is accurate.
But the filmmakers took lots of liberties with the timeline and characters' relationships.
For instance, Foxcatcher shows du Pont's quick apprehension by the police.
In reality, the millionaire hid in his mansion's secure room in a multi-day standoff.
The movie also doesn't really show how much time passes between Dave Schultz joining Team
Foxcatcher, which happened in 1989, and his death.
Around 1996, du Pont started losing interest in the sport as he announced he was ending
his $400,000 annual contributions to the team—which wasn't featured in the film—months before
the murder.
American Sniper
Critics have pointed out differences between the life of Chris Kyle—the Navy Seal with
the most confirmed kills in United States military history—and the character that's
based on him, portrayed by Bradley Cooper in American Sniper.
One of many distortions comes in the form of Mustafa, the enemy sniper Kyle battles.
Mustafa only shows up in Kyle's memoirs for one paragraph, whereas the movie portrays
him as a longtime antagonist.
In the book, Kyle's super-long-range shot of over 2,000 yards wasn't fired on Mustafa,
but on someone carrying a rocket launcher.
The Blind Side
In 2009, audiences saw how Michael Oher was adopted by a wealthy family and overcame the
odds to become an NFL star in The Blind Side.
It also inspired Oher to write a book to set the record straight.
For starters, Oher said Leigh Anne Tuhoy, played by Sandra Bullock in the movie, didn't
teach him how to play football.
Oher wrote:
"I felt like it portrayed me as dumb.
Quinton Aaron did a great job acting the part, but I could not figure out why the director
chose to show me as someone who had to be taught the game of football."
Rush
The Formula One flick Rush generated some great reviews—but it's full of historical
exaggerations.
One of the biggest distortions is the fact that James Hunt and Niki Lauda, played by
Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl, are portrayed as bitter rivals.
They were actually good friends, having once been roommates and drinking buddies.
Also, a few of the film's racing events were changed as to how they turned out and who
participated.
And James Hunt has also never punched a journalist.
(James Hunt punching a journalist)
Captain Phillips
Based on the true story of the 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking by Somali pirates, Captain
Phillips shows audiences how the guy with his name in the title saved the lives of his
crew.
But an anonymous crewmember from the actual ship leveled accusations that the real Phillips
isn't much of a hero at all.
According to his claims, Phillips practically invited the hijacking by ignoring safety protocols
and sailing too close to the coast.
Phillips supposedly had multiple email warnings about increasing piracy around Somalia.
The crew also claims they endured two pirate attacks on that trip, and not just the one.
A Beautiful Mind
This Russell Crowe classic was an inspiring look into the life story of economics Nobel
Laureate John Nash.
Sort of.
Nash never actually joined Wheeler Laboratory at MIT...because it doesn't exist.
And while the real Nash did become an instructor at MIT, he never worked for the Department
of Defense.
The movie also shows him as a dad, and he did become a father in real life…of a child
out of wedlock, and he abandoned the mother.
Nash also never actually gave an acceptance speech of his Nobel prize.
Still—it's not a bad way to end a movie.
"The most important discovery of my life.
It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logical reasons can be found."
That's the stuff that Oscar dreams are made of...
"God bless and thank you for this support!"
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