There’s just something about watching a film which starts off with the headline: “Based on a true story.” Almost immediately, a viewer’s attention is perked because this wasn’t plucked out of someone’s pure imagination but rather, what you’re watching, well that actually happened to a very real person. And hey, that person could have been you. So take a look at some of Hollywood’s biggest hits that are actually inspired by very true stories.
Erin Brockovich
Just in case you haven’t heard of Erin Brockovich, here’s the lowdown. Brockovich is a legal clerk and environmental activist, who didn’t really have any formal education in the law, but wound up completely key in the case against Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) of California back in 1993. In fact it was her successful lawsuit which inspired the hit 2000 film, Erin Brockovich, starring our girl Julia Roberts. Brockovich has even gone on to say that the film is “probably 98% accurate”.
Erin Brockovich
Cinderella Man
Heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock, A.K.A. Cinderella Man, is the real man behind this incredible tale. Amid the Great Depression, Braddock worked hard-labor jobs after he injured and broke his dominant boxing hand. Howbeit an opportunity arose and he stepped back in the ring. The money he went on to win, well he used that to pay back the government assistance money he was awarded and he also heavily donated to charity.
Cinderella Man
American Hustle
Name me a better con than the FBI ABSCAM (Abdul Scam) operation from the late 70’s to 80’s. Yeah, the real one that the FBI used which American Hustle is based on. So the Feds went ahead and used a real con man to track public officials that accepted bribes. Either to fast-track citizenship for an Arab sheikh (who in reality was a fake the Feds created) or just any other illegal favors in general. Turns out that nine people were willing to do whatever, including multiple congressman, a mayor, and a senator.
American Hustle
Apollo 13
Apollo 13, as you know, was the third intended mission to successfully land on the Moon. April 1070, at the Kennedy Space Center, the crew took off. But disaster quickly followed. An oxygen tank exploded and immediately the crew experienced limited power, heat loss, and water shortage. Despite all of this, the entire crew survived and made it home safely.
Apollo 13
Moneyball
Moneyball follows Brad Pitt, who portrays the general manager Billy Beane, and his baseball team, the Oakland Athletics. In reality, the Oakland Athletics were the very first team to use an evidence-based approach and analytic sabermetric system in order to create a successful team. Definitely not a charity case of a flick.
Moneyball
The Wolf Of Wall Street
The Wolf of Wall Street portrays the tale of Jordan Belfort, who was found guilty of fraud and other stock-market manipulation crimes. Subsequently Belfort was sentenced to prison and served served a 22 month sentence as he provided testimony against partners and subordinates in his fraud scheme. After his time in prison, he penned his story with two books, The Wolf of Wall Street and Catching the Wolf of Wall Street.
The Wolf Of Wall Street
Unbroken
So Angelina Jolie directed the film Unbroken which accounts Louis “Louie” Zamperini’s survival story as a US prisoner of war in World War II. Following mechanical failure during a search and rescue mission, Louie crashed and managed to survive on a raft for 47 days until drifting to the Japanese occupied Marshall Islands, where he was subsequently captured. For a year after, Louie was tortured. When he eventually returned home, he received a hero’s welcome.
Unbroken
The Devil Wears Prada
Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway brought class and wit to the 2006 flick The Devil Wears Prada, which is actually based on Lauren Weisberger’s personal experience working as Anna Wintour’s personal assistant. Currently Wintour is considered as one of the most renowned figures in fashion.
The Devil Wears Prada
Deepwater Horizon
Deepwater Horizon was the name of the offshore drilling rig which caught fire and exploded on April 20, 2010. Just two days after the explosion, the Horizon sank while experiencing 11 deaths and 17 injured. To this day, it is still considered one of the worst oil spills to occur. A lot of charity work was involved in the cleanup.
Deepwater Horizon
Walk The Line
When the Rock N’ Roll era kicked off, Johnny Cash was front and center. “The Man in Black” met fellow singer June Carter while on tour and fell desperately, hopelessly in love, even though he was married. Two years after his divorce, Cash and Carter married. Furthermore, Cash credits Carter with his overcoming substance abuse. For 35 years, the two toured together, made music, and raised their children, however after June passed away in May 2003, just four months later, and Cash also passed away.
Walk The Line
Gangs Of New York
Well, Leonardo DiCaprio, you sure know how to pick ’em. Gangs of New York is based on the nonfiction book of the same name which describes life in the 19th century, especially the New York City gangs. Understandably, these gangs were the city’s major crime contributors, well before the Mafia came into the picture.
Gangs Of New York
Goodfellas
Yup, the book Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family inspired the epic film, although the film is more fictitious. Henry Hill is a New York city mobster and it’s his friendship with the Lucchese crime family that the film focuses on. From 1955 to 1980, Hill worked for the Lucchese family, that is until he became an FBI informant. Moreover Hill’s testimony allowed the FBI to seize around 50 convictions.
Goodfellas
Catch Me If You Can
Leonardo DiCaprio makes another appearance, go figure. Before Frank Abagnale was even 22, he was a criminal mastermind. Come on, his rap sheet consisted of check forgery, expert imposter, and confidence trickster, if that’s a thing. Abagnale has successfully impersonated a pilot, a physician, a lawyer, and even a U.S. Bureau of Prisons agent. How does that happen? Moreover, Abagnale actually escaped police custody…twice. When he was eventually caught, he wound up working for the FBI as a consultant and lecturer after he finished his sentence. As of now, Abagnale runs a financial fraud consultancy firm.
Catch Me If You Can
The Founder
Yes, really, The Founder tells the story of the fast food chain McDonald’s and Ray Kroc, the founder. You see, Kroc opened the FIRST McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois after the McDonald brothers had recruited him to help. Once Kroc had successfully franchised, he purchased the company from the brothers for a grand total of $2.7 million. It didn’t take long for Kroc to turn McDonald’s into an international chain. In fact when he passed away in 1984, 7,500 franchises were open around the world.
The Founder
Big Eyes
Margaret Keane is the artist best recognized for her work portraying subjects with very large eyes. Sounds like a dull movie dull, right? However, her ex-husband Walter Keane took credit for all her work in the 60’s until she announced via a radio show that she was the real artist and her husband was a fraud. As a result she sued her husband and won the case. Furthermore, she has received the rightful recognition for all of her artwork.
Big Eyes
Black Mass
Whitey Bulger is the former organized crime boss of the Boston-based Winter Hill Gang. Bulger was indicted for 19 murders due to grand jury testimonies after he evaded prosecution for 16 whopping years. Basically the FBI turned a blind eye to his criminal dealings in exchange for any information regarding the Italian-American Patriarca crime family. Moreover the FBI claim he was their informant, although Bulger strongly denies this. When Bulger was 81, he was finally captured.
Black Mass
Seabiscuit
So not only is the film heartwarming but the real life story of jockey Red Pollard and his Thoroughbred racehorse Seabiscuit is wondrous. On the track, Seabiscuit was overlooked as he was a rather small horse but through determination, he rose up as a champion. Furthermore Seabiscuit’s story became a symbol of hope, prosperity, and the American way during the time of the Great Depression.
Seabiscuit
Titanic
Raise your hand if you know the story of the RMS Titanic. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that everyone knows the tale. Titanic was headed on its maiden voyage to New York City from Southampton until tragedy literally struck. After coming into contact with an iceberg, the Titanic sank and out of 2,224 crew and passengers, 1,500 died. To this day, it is still considered one of the deadliest peacetime maritime accidents.
Titanic
War Dogs
Loosely based on David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, two arms dealers that won a $300 million Pentagon contract in order to arm America’s allies in Afghanistan. However the duo wind up getting caught selling repackaged and outdated Chinese ammunition. In the end, Diveroli served four years in prison while Packouz spent just seven months under house arrest.
War Dogs
The Revenant
Finally! Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance in The Revenant earns him the Oscar he so richly deserves. DiCaprio portrays Hugh Glass, who was amonst many things was a hunter, frontiersman, trader, and explorer. Sounds pretty tame until you learn that he was mauled by a grizzly bear and his companions just left him behind after the attack. As a result, Glass crawled almost 200 miles to reach help. While there are many who claim the story false, due to lack of evidence, Glass’s miraculous survival has inspired many legendary stories.
The Revenant
Donnie Brasco
Meet Joseph Dominick “Joe” Pistone or as most know him by his alias, Donnie Brasco. Brasco was in reality an undercover FBI agent who lived and worked for six years with the Bonanno crime family. However he spent 27 years undercover infiltrating numerous notorious crime family inner circles. His Sicilian roots and ability to speak fluent Italian made him relatable. Moreover his undercover work proved to be a vital method in many operations in the years to come.
Donnie Brasco
Schindler’s List
‘Schindler’s Ark’ is a book penned by the author Thomas Keneally, the premise follows the real story of Oskar Schindler. Schindler was a German Nazi Party member who, during the Holocaust, saved around 1,200 Jews by employing them in his factories. As a result, he is still the only Nazi Party member to be buried in Mount Zion in Jerusalem, Israel.
Schindler’s List
12 Years A Slave
Solomon Northup, born in New York, was kidnapped and sold into slavery despite being a free man. For 12 harrowing years, he was forced to work at a plantation in Louisiana. While he was held captive, he chose to write about his situation, in a diary per-say. Until one day a Canadian who worked on the same plantation got his story to New York. That’s when New York Governor Washing Hunt helped Northup return home, return home to freedom. Not surprising, unfortunately, is the fact that Northup’s captors never even received punishment.
12 Years A Slave
The Imitation Game
Alan Turing was a British computer scientist, mathematician, and cryptanalyst who, during World War II decrypted German intelligence codes. In fact Truing was absolutely crucial in cracking coded messages which went on to help the Allies defeat the Nazis. Although in 1952 Turing was prosecuted for homosexual acts and died from cyanide poisoning two years later. Then in 2013, Queen Elizabeth granted him with a posthumous pardon.
The Imitation Game
Hachi
As a dog lover, it’s hard not to love all movies involving dogs or any animal for that matter. Born in Japan, Hachiko, an Akita, is memorialized for his unshakable loyalty to his owner, long after his owner passed away. Remembered as “chuken Hachiko,” or “faithful dog Hachi,” he forever remains a symbol of loyalty and companionship.
Hachi
The Pianist
The Pianist tells the story of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Jewish Polish pianist and classical composer, who survived the Holocaust. Amid German occupation of Warshaw, Szpilman hid for two years until a German officer, who opposed Nazi occupation and policies, aided him in earning his freedom.
The Pianist
The Danish Girl
Meet Lili Elbe, a transgender Danish woman who was born as Einar Magnus Andreas Wegene. She is one of the first recognized women to undergo gender reassignment surgery. In public, she would introduce herself as Einar’s sister until the surgery successfully concluded. 1930 is the year she officially transitioned and as a result began to go by the name “Lili.”
The Danish Girl
Monster
Charlize Theron portrayed Aileen Wuornos, a former prostitute turned serial killer. During the 80’s and 90’s, she murdered six men who she claims sexually abused her or tried to while she was an escort. Even though she alleged self defense for her actions, she was still prosecuted and executed.
Monster
American Gangster
Frank Lucas, a drug lord and gangster from North Carolina, smuggled hard drugs into the United States. How? Well he used American service planes that were returning from the Vietnam War. Nope, nothing to do with charity, just selfish greed.
American Gangster
The Pursuit Of Happyness
If you didn’t bawl like a baby watching this film, then your heart must be made of steel. Chris Gardner recounts his multiples struggles as a homeless man raising his son. As Chris worked as an unpaid trainee, he and his son were forced to move around a lot, living in unusual places. Eventually Chris began to earn a small salary, got a house, and then became a very successful trader who went on to own his own company. Currently Chris is a motivational speaker.
The Pursuit Of Happyness
Hacksaw Ridge
During World War II, Desmond Doss served as a combat medic who also earned a Bronze Star Medal. At the Battle of Okinawa, he saved 75 wounded infantrymen atop Hacksaw Ridge, for this act alone he received the Medal of Honor. What’s most noteworthy about all this, he is the first conscientious objector to have even received such a distinguished medal.
Hacksaw Ridge
Jackie
Former first lady Jackie Kennedy sat down for an interview with Life magazine after the assassination of her husband. As a result, the film is based rather heavily on that interview. Two weeks after the assassination, Jackie remained on board and even asked Lyndon B. Johnson to rename the space center in Florida to the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Johnson did so without a moment’s hesitation.
Jackie
Everest
The book, or rather autobiography, Left for Dead: My Journey Home From Everest tells the story of Beck Weathers. Weathers was part of just eight on a guide through Mount Everest. However what followed on that guide is known as the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. A huge blizzard came and many who tried to return to safety did not survive. Weathers managed to just barely survive and make it back home.
Everest
Lion
When Saroo Brierley was five years old, he was separated from his family while they were on a train journey from his home town, Khandwa to Burhanpur. Miles away from home, Brierley managed to survie on his home for weeks until he ventured out into the city. Before long, an Australian couple adopted him. 25 years later, Brierley located his biological mother through the help of Google Maps.
Lion
The People Vs. O.J. Simpson
The 1994 O. J. Simpson murder case was quickly dubbed the “Trial of the Century”. Nicknamed “Juice”, Simpson faced murder charges for his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman. However once he became a person of interest and when he did not turn himself over to the authorities, the chase was on, quite literally. Simpson “fled” and a highly televised car chase was on. After the trail proceedings, Simpson was acquitted of both murders and the country was torn. Some believed he was innocent and the other half, guilty.
The People Vs. O.J. Simpson
Finding Neverland
J. M. Barrie wrote the epic play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Never Grew Up. As such Finding Neverland is the story of his inspiration. Barrie’s platonic friendship with Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and her sons George, Jack, Peter, and Michael were the source of this classic play.
Finding Neverland
Girl, Interrupted
In 1993, Susanna Kaysen wrote her memoir following her 18 month stay in a mental institution, after her diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Now the film is a loose adaption of the real story.
Girl Interrupted
Joy
Joy Mangano is not just an inventor but also an entrepreneur and businesswoman whose real life story was loosely adapted onscreen starring Jennifer Lawrence. Mangano’s greatest invention is that of the Miracle Mop, yah know the self-wringing mop. Best part about this…her inspiration for the mop arose from her frustration with regular mops. After the invention took off, Mangano sold the company to the Home Shopping Network in 1999. Yes, she still releases inventions to this day.
Joy
127 Hours
James Franco portrays Aron Lee Ralston, an outdoorsman pushed to his extraordinary limits but yet survives. In his autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Ralston recounts how he was stuck for five days and seven hours at Blue John Canyon. When he became trapped in a dislodged boulder, his only chance of survival was to amputate his own arm…with a dull pocketknife.
127 Hours
Remember The Titans
Herman Boone is the African-American football coach who integrated T. C. Williams High School’s football team in Alexandria, Virginia. While the classic film took us on an emotional journey as Boone, his assistant coach Bill Yoast, and the many remarkable athletes shattered records, it’s not historically accurate. To start, Boone actually caused a lot of athletes to quit the team, Bertier’s accident didn’t happen until after the Championship game, and there are plenty more like that.
Remember The Titans
Munich
11 members of the Israeli Olympic team, in the 1972 Summer Olympics, were taken hostage by the Palestine Liberation Organization. When an attempted rescue mission went wrong, all 11 Israeli hostages were killed. Munich recalls what followed, Operation Wrath of God. Undercover Israeli agents secretly retaliated against the terrorist origination “Black September” who were behind the killings. Some scenes have been changed in the film but it’s pretty accurate.
Munich
Escape From Alcatraz
When Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, and Frank Morris escaped from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary back in June 1962, everyone was astonished. Why? First of all it was a maximum high-security federal prison that is 1.25 miles off the coast of San Francisco, California. Known as America’s strongest prison and virtually thought to be escape proof, they were proved wrong one cold night in 1962. Brothers Anglin and Morris carefully molded papier-mâché replicas of their faces and then placed those replicas in their beds before they escaped by way of a deserted utility corridor. Escape From Alcatraz shows the escapees survive although that has never been confirmed.
Escape From Alcatraz
Bridge Of Spies
At the time of the Cold War, James B. Donovan was a lawyer assigned to negotiate the release of Francis Gary Powers. Powers was an Air Force pilot whose spy plane was shot down above the Soviet Union in 1960. Donovan received the Distinguished Intelligence Medal from the CIA for his work.
Bridge Of Spies
Into The Wild
Christopher McCandless was an American hiker and traveler who spent a good chunk of his time in the early 90’s traveling in Alaska. McCandless found himself on the Stampede Trail with very little supplies but high hopes of embracing the wild. Apparently he believed he would survive on materials and food that Mother Nature provided. However four months later, his decomposing body, which weighted only 66 pounds, was found by hunters. Supposedly McCandless died from starvation.
Into The Wild
The Impossible
In 2004 Maria Belón and her family head to Thailand for a Christmas vacation. This is also the same time that the Indian Ocean tsunami ravages the island. Maria, her husband, and their three sons wind up separated. Then Belón is critically wounded but somehow by a stroke of luck, she reunites with her son Lucas. While seeking medical attention, Lucas just so happens to locate his father and two brothers in the same hospital! What luck! Currently Belón serves as a public speaker and advocate for tsunami survivors.
The Impossible
Captain Phillips
No doubt you’ve heard the story. Captain Richard Phillips and his crew on-board the Maersk Alabama are taken hostage by pirates in 2009. Abduwali Muse leads the hostage attempts while in the Indian Ocean. There are a few people who claim the film is not telling the true story and that they make out Captain Phillips to be more heroic than what really took place.
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Ron Woodroof is diagnosed with AIDS in the mid 80’s, a time when treatment is incredibly under-researched. Despite this fall back, Woodroof smuggles a bunch of unapproved pharmaceutical drugs into Texas in order to treat the symptoms. Furthermore he “launches” the “Dallas Buyers Club” where he hands out the medication to fellow AIDS patients. As such the FDA strongly oppose those. The characters of Dr. Eve Saks and Rayon are both fictional but their roles are based on real interviews with transgender AIDS patients, activists, and doctors.
Dallas Buyers Club
United 93
After the tragedies of 9/11, the United States of America banded together and vowed never again and never forget. Al-Qaeda terrorists had numerous attacks going on at one time and United Airlines Flight 93 fell victim to one of the hijackings. But United 93 was the only flight where the hijacker’s didn’t reach their goal and for one beautiful reason. The passengers regained control of the plane.
United 93
Hidden Figures
Please meet Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. Three African American female mathematicians that work at NASA. Johnson is known for developing flight trajectories for Project Mercury and other missions. Hidden Figures celebrates one of the most crucial, yet overlooked, moments in American history.
Hidden Figures
50 First Dates
While the film seemed like a sweet romantic comedy, it’s actually based on a true story. Barrymore plays a woman suffering from a rare kind of amnesia caused by a car accident. Whenever she sleep, all of her most recent memories are forever erased. Until she meets a man and falls in love, he reminds her who she is, who he is, and what they life is like every day. Michelle Philpots is the source, she suffers from the same kind of amnesia but she actually met her husband prior to her amnesia.
50 First Dates
The Terminal
Mehran Karimi Nasseri spent 18 years living in the Terminal 1 of the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. Due to getting expelled from his home country, Iran, he legally came to France. However he could not legally enter France, only the airport. So he did the only thing he could, he lived in the terminal from 1988 to 2006. Although the film took place in JFK and Tom Hank’s character is denied entry because of a military coup in his home country.
The Terminal
McFarland, USA
Jim White is the coach who takes an ordinary cross country team, in a predominantly Latino high school, to a state championship win. While the film stays true to fact for the most part, some scenes are tweaked.
McFarland USA
Sully
You’ve heard the tale but here we are. In 2009, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles are flying an aircraft filled with 155 passengers and crew on-board when suddenly both engines are disabled. They have no choice but to land onto the Hudson River. Amazingly, there were no causalities, only minor injuries.
Sully
Pain & Gain
Pain & Gain follows the Sun Gym Gang, who are a group of bodybuilders turned criminals. Their insane lives include the charges of kidnapping, extortion, torture, and murder. While some scenes were altered, it’s pretty accurate.
Pain and Gain
The Blind Side
Currently Michael Oher is the offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers but he didn’t reach this position easily. With his mother hooked on drugs and his father getting killed in prison, Oher moved around foster homes numerous times. Then in 2004, everything changes. The son and daughter of Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy go to the same school as Oher. Eventually the Tuohy family let Oher live with them before they adopt him in the end. And not because of charity but because he’s family.
The Blind Side