"When legend becomes fact, print the legend."

Director John Ford's quote prefaces Based on a True Story: Fact and Fantasy in 100 Favorite Movies, a book that digs into the facts behind 100 movies that were--supposedly--based on true events including popular fare as Hoosiers, Ed Wood, Seabiscuit, and Erin Brokovich. Previous books of this lineage were usually written by historians who looked at every foible of a film. Here, authors Jonathan Vankin and John Whalen come from a more movie-centric position. They know filmmakers must telescope events, create composite characters, and give the Hollywood treatment to other elements to simply be produced and enjoyed. They are movie fans who can praise The French Connection as a grand film with terrific action sequences, but note the true events were far less visceral (leading to the book title's asterisk "but with more car crashes"). More modern films are examined in these 3-5 page segments with excellent further reading notes including Web sites. The authors also question how truthful a film should be, even great films, praising the accuracy of Ghandi and GoodFellas and delivering harsh blows to Monster, Braveheart, and A Beautiful Mind. Besides the usual chapters of factual films (war, sports, biopics), they also search out films "based" on paranormal incidents that can't keep the "facts" straight. Mentioned often, and placed at the end of the book, is Oliver Stone's JFK, the movie that "gave birth to this book." In one sense, the film "must be the most fact-heavy film in Hollywood history" but the sources materials are so questionable. Perhaps Stone realizes the power of Ford's quote better than any other Hollywood filmmaker. --Doug Thomas


From Publishers Weekly
Films that purportedly document real-life events have a special allure for moviegoers, posit journalists Vankin and Whalen, which is why the phrase "based on a true story" is so prevalent in movie promos. But the term is loose and poorly defined, and in this highly entertaining dissection, the authors examine 100 films, detailing what about them is really true and what's simply a story. Wittily working their way through most of the well-known "true" films of the last four decades—Adaptation, Catch Me If You Can, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, The Amityville Horror, etc.—Vankin and Whalen categorize movies by type (e.g., crime thrillers, war movies, sports films). Sometimes, what's on the screen diverges wildly from known history, as in the case of Braveheart, and Vankin and Whalen may be overwhelmed by the differences between truth and fiction. Less often, a film really does provide a mirror, like Coal Miner's Daughter, which left only more subtle details of Loretta Lynn's life for the authors to explore. Most of the movies, though, fall between the extremes, including enough fact to warrant the "based on a true story" tag, but not accurate enough to be completely true. Not surprisingly, readers who've actually seen these films stand to get the most out of Vankin and Whalen's often picky but always jaunty analyses. 110 b&w photos. (Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Vankin and Whalen present 100 reviews of movies that have been designated by Hollywood production studios as "based on fact." Grouped into genres such as "True Crime" or "Out of the Past," the reviews provide background into the fictionalization and the facts behind each of the selected films. Few of the movies, the authors point out, bear resemblance to actual events, people, or actions upon which they were supposedly based. Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le Pacte de Loups), for example, seems to contain more legend and theorizing behind its "facts" for the simple reason that little is known of the true events that took place between 1764 and 1767 in a rural province of France. The movie, the authors suggest, becomes somewhat of a mix of genres–science fiction, horror, mystery. The bottom line, it is pointed out, is that movies are made for entertainment. As such, they are, more often than not, creatively altered. The entries are chock-full of interesting details, historical backgrounds, production stories, and other bits and pieces. While certain to appeal to movie fans and those interested in theater, the information-packed reviews offer enticing reading for just about everyone.–Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA


Premiere
"A lively and worthwhile read."


Shepherd Express
"Enjoyable and often insightful, a decent handbook for checking the accuracy of many historical or biographical films."


Library Journal
"This fun, fact-filled pop culture book is sure to raise (and answer) a lot of questions."


Book Description
Exposing the real stories behind 100 hit reality-based movies, this captivating resource offers interesting facts about some of the most well-respected and much-loved films. For both film buffs and casual moviegoers, this invaluable guide explores Hollywood's ardent and often uncomfortable relationship with the factual accounts it converts into fantasy. Illuminating films such as A Beautiful Mind, Adaptation, Apollo 13, Black Hawk Down, Catch Me If You Can, Erin Brockovich, The French Connection, The Perfect Storm, and Titanic, this work reveals how Hollywood alters history for movie fans, leaving filmgoers often unable to tell the difference between fact and fiction. A riveting examination, this volume focuses on alterations to the "true story" such as concocted love affairs, annoyingly obvious character motivations, trumped-up endings, bigger explosions, more car crashes, and spontaneous songs, all created for the sake of entertainment.



About the Author
Jonathan Vankin and John Whalen are the authors of The 80 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time. Both are award-winning journalists whose writing has appeared in L.A. Weekly, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and Salon. They have appeared together on the BBC, Canadian Broadcasting, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. Jonathan Vankin lives in New York City. John Whalen lives in Los Angeles.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"It's no accident that 18 Best Picture winners have been based on true stories. Feel-good movies feel better if they're for real. Inspirational films are more inspiring, horror movies more horrifying. Yet again and again, from Gandhi to JFK, Hollywood comes under attack for twisting the truth, fudging the facts, and outright lying in the name of entertainment." "The authors of this book have dug up the truth behind the "true stories" - not only how Hollywood has altered reality to fit its formula, but why. Here are concocted love affairs, obvious character motivations, trumped-up endings, bigger explosions, more car crashes, and large groups of people spontaneously bursting into song. But here are also pictures like Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas - films that provide great entertainment while sticking quite closely to the facts." Based on a True Story illuminates, explores, and, whenever necessary, rips the living crap out of Hollywood's uncomfortable relationship with the factual accounts it converts into fantasy. It will settle a hundred arguments and start a hundred more, while answering every moviegoer's question - "Did that really happen?"

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Films that purportedly document real-life events have a special allure for moviegoers, posit journalists Vankin and Whalen, which is why the phrase "based on a true story" is so prevalent in movie promos. But the term is loose and poorly defined, and in this highly entertaining dissection, the authors examine 100 films, detailing what about them is really true and what's simply a story. Wittily working their way through most of the well-known "true" films of the last four decades-Adaptation, Catch Me If You Can, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, The Amityville Horror, etc.-Vankin and Whalen categorize movies by type (e.g., crime thrillers, war movies, sports films). Sometimes, what's on the screen diverges wildly from known history, as in the case of Braveheart, and Vankin and Whalen may be overwhelmed by the differences between truth and fiction. Less often, a film really does provide a mirror, like Coal Miner's Daughter, which left only more subtle details of Loretta Lynn's life for the authors to explore. Most of the movies, though, fall between the extremes, including enough fact to warrant the "based on a true story" tag, but not accurate enough to be completely true. Not surprisingly, readers who've actually seen these films stand to get the most out of Vankin and Whalen's often picky but always jaunty analyses. 110 b&w photos. (Feb.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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