Film2Fact

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

2012-01-24T23:26:00.000-08:00

Did a young British third assistant director have a brief affair with Marilyn Monroe during the making of The Prince and the Showgirl? If you believe what the Oscar-nominated My Week With Marilyn suggests and the autobiographies of Colin Clark then, well, yes. But those who question the story include Sarah Churchwell, professor of American Literature at the University of East Anglia in England and the author of The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe. She asserts that most of the film's historical data rings true, but points out that only Clark knows the truth about their relationship, and since he wrote two books after everyone else had passed away, there's not many who can dispute Clark's claims. "He waited some 40 years after the fact to publish them," said Churchwell, "which does make one think, you know, having read all of these biographies, that he capitalized on her fame and her familiarity and wrote a couple of books claiming a little bit more than happened." And since Clark died in 2002, no one can give him the third degree. Clark also reveals intimate details about Monroe's personal life in the book (i.e. having a miscarriage), but these can be found in other writings about Monroe, according to Churchwell. Regardless of the facts, the acting rings true. Both Michelle Williams as Marilyn and Kenneth Branagh as Sir Lawrence Olivier earned Academy Award nominations for their accurate portrayals of these legendary stars. An interesting story about Monroe's provocative 'bra-strap snapping' photo op to announce the making of Prince can be found here.

TOP "TRUE" FILMS of 2011

2012-01-08T18:02:00.000-08:00

Once again, 2011 offered a significant number of films 'based on a true story', suggested by 'real events', or 'inspired' on factual material. Below is a list of noteworthy motion pictures.

Moneyball
My Week with Marilyn
A Dangerous Method
The Iron Lady
J.Edgar*
Dolphin Tale
Machine Gun Preacher
We Bought a Zoo
Soul Surfer
The Rite*
Anonymous*
Win Win
50/50
W.E.

Most likely, some of these films will score Oscar nominations.
Feel free to add more titles and comment on your favorite.

*Featured on F2F

WAR HORSE

2011-12-30T10:07:00.000-08:00

Two million lost in battle in World War 1. Not soldiers, but horses. That's a tragic figure by anyone's account. And even some of those steeds lucky enough to survive were subsequently slaughtered for horsemeat. The harrowing equine saga on the WWI frontlines took a back seat to the human conflict until recently, when War Horse evolved from a book to an award-winning play to a blockbuster film directed by Steven Spielberg. In bringing the story to life, author Michael Morpurgo found inspiration from a variety of real sources, including accounts from veterans. But perhaps most poignantly, the story's deep connection between a boy and horse came from an encounter witnessed by Morpurgo on a Devon farm (the story's setting). The author sponsored a special event enabling urban kids to spend time with animals on the farm. He met one troubled boy who a bad stammer and chose not to talk-- until Morpurgo spied the boy alone in a barn, having a private 'talk' with a horse. The boy seemed confident and at ease; the horse appeared to understand what he was saying. This gave Morpurgo the genesis for his book.

The play's co-director also found inspiration in a letter sent by his great grandfather to his son, serving in the war. In the note, a Devon farmer provides plenty of invaluable advice on the proper care and feeding of horses. "When campaigning, there are lots of things you can do with horses which may say you a lot of trouble and a lot of danger," he said. Unfortunately, most soldiers in the conflict were ill informed on how to tend to their mounts.

World War I marked a major transition in the use of horses in battle. The film offers an authentic, yet sad depiction of these creatures caught in the crossfire and lugging huge artillery to the point of death. Trench warfare, machine guns, poison gas, tanks and barbed wire took a major toll on the animals (some horses even wore gas masks). As a result, horses were primarily used for transporting machinery and supplies rather than charging into the fray.

A unique exhibit entitled "War Horse Fact & Fiction" opened in 2011 at London's National Army Museum to coincide with the play and film. The exhibit chronicles the use of horses in wartime throughout history and gives insight into the story's background.

HUGO

2011-11-27T13:53:00.000-08:00

A bullet-shaped rocket ship blasts off from Earth headed for a spectacular lunar landing. On-lookers gasp as they literally watch the capsule face plant itself into "The Man In the Moon." This iconic scene comes from one of the most significant silent motion pictures ever produced-- A Trip to the Moon, by French filmmaker George Melies.
He created ground-breaking cinematic techniques (including inventive vanishing effects ) that changed the movie-making process forever. Upon its release in 1902, the film captivated audiences around the world, including Thomas Edison who distributed the silent in the U.S. A Trip to the Moon's cultural impact continues to endure, helping to inspire author Brian Selznick to pen The Invention of Hugo Cabret, adapted into Hugo, directed by Martin Scorsese.

Melies

One of the story's key plot points concerns a young boy living in a busy Paris train station who encounters an eccentric toy shop owner called Papa George. Selznick paid homage to the real Melies in his story, blending heavy doses of fact with fiction. In truth, George Melies also sold toys for a living after his filmmaking career suffered a major setback.

Author Selznick also learned that Melies once was a magician and had a collection of automatons, or mechanical robots. This, too, helped significantly shape the story. In Selznick's research, he learned of magicians who created mechanical figures that could write poems and draw pictures. The French magician Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin constructed a mesmerizing automaton that swung on a trapeze. In fact, at one point in his career, Melies bought Houdin's theater and eventually showed his films there (Houdin would also inspire perhaps the world's most famous magician--Houdini. To learn more about automatons, go here. On the "Hugo" book's website, Selznick offers plenty of rich information on Melies and other real sources of inspiration.

Also, for another intriguing look at Melies, check out a segment of the award-winning TV mini-series, "From the Earth to the Moon" entitled Le Voyage dans la Lune. This final installment of the series chronicles the final Apollo flight into space constrasted with the making of the filmmaker's silent masterpiece.

J. Edgar

2011-11-11T20:17:00.000-08:00

It's a safe bet that throughout the release of Clint Eastwood's drama, J. Edgar, scores of historical commentary and criticism will pour out about the most powerful and notorious figure in law enforcement. For instance, a television reality series entitled American Gangster profiles Hoover as a ruthless bigot bent on destroying Martin Luther King. Allegedly the F.B.I.'s chief sought to expose the black leader as a Communist and a sexual deviant. The motion picture shows Hoover's attack on King's character by using wiretaps and exposing racy audio tapes of extra-marital affairs. But there's definitely a grey area between fact and fiction. Government records show Hoover didn't instigate wiretaps and surveillance of King-- that was the work of the Kennedy administration. The President and his brother Robert tried to quell King's involvement with known Communist figures, and fearing potential political fallout, felt the need for controversial surveillance tactics.

Unfortunately, most of the media attention surrounding the film concerns Hoover's alleged homosexuality and relationship with Clyde Tolson--not to mention his rep as a cross dresser (a scandalous 1993 biography details this as does a scene in the film). Eastwood and the cast have played down those aspects of his life in interviews, but it's worth noting that screenwriter/gay activist Dustin Lance Black also penned Milk, starring Sean Penn as San Francisco's tragic homosexual politician who was assassinated by Dan White.

Although Hoover attempted to keep his private life private, he wasn't shy about using his muscle towards a pro-F.B.I. image on celluloid. Upset over the glorification of gangsters in the 1930's-era movies, Hoover insisted that actors like James Cagney should die when playing a hoodlum. Hoover also had a heavy influence in the making of G-Men, which featured Cagney as a tough guy F.B.I. agent. As a consultant on 1959's The F.B.I. Story, Hoover personally approved the casting of James Stewart.

Hoover's impact on Hollywood goes deeper, as he kept secret files on scores of celebrities, including Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, Abbott & Costello, Jimi Hendrix, and Elvis. Prominent figures and politicians, including Truman and Kennedy, feared retaliation against Hoover, unsure if the director had dirt on them.

Read more about Hoover here.

Fox Movie Channel

2011-11-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

Tom Rothman

A shout out to Tom Rothman, former Chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox and co-chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment. As host of Friday's Film Legacy on the Fox Movie Channel, he talks in depth about great films, such as The Grapes of Wrath (which aired on 11/04/11). Not merely providing facts on the how the film was made, he adds relevant parallels to present times that helps draw in viewers who might have difficulty relating to say, a film from the 40's like Grapes of Wrath. In a lengthy segment which aired before the film, Rothman compared the dust bowl to the current mortgage crises, contrasting homeless farm owners forced to relocate to homeowners in 2011 facing foreclosure. In addition, Rothman details truths surrounding the Great Depression and the plight of families torn from their land, which became the basis for John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. He also provides behind the scenes struggles in getting the film made. To make sure the film's story was based on truth, producer Daryl Zanuck hired investigators to verify among other things, the plight of Oklahoma sharecroppers. When satisfied that the events in Steinbeck's book were authentic, he greenlighted the production, despite fears that the film would be criticized as pro-Communist. The film won a Best Director Oscar for John Ford and Best Supporting Actress nod to Jane Darwell as Ma Joad.

ANONYMOUS

2011-10-26T16:26:00.000-07:00

Words, words, words.

--Hamlet , Act II, Scene 2 by William Shakespeare

According to the makers of the film, Anonymous, who wrote A Midsummer’s Night Dream?

1.) William Shakespeare

2.) Christopher Marlowe

3.) Edward de Vere

4.) Sir Francis Bacon

Director Roland Emmerich and screenwriter John Orloff credit Edward de Vere for writing A Midsummer’s Night Dream when he was 8 years old! In turn, this child prodigy would play Puck in a production staged for Queen Elizabeth, and later would secretly sire a child with her majesty. The film also claims Shakespeare was a buffoonish bit player and illiterate drunkard who murdered Christopher Marlowe.

How much of the film is based on truth? There’s been centuries of debate over who wrote Shakespeare’s plays. Great minds such as Sigmund Freud, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Henry James , and members of The U.S. Supreme Court have examined the situation. Scholars have dedicated their lives to debunking or defending the Bard.

Edward de Vere

Emmerich points to several ‘facts’ to support his theory: no handwritten notes of Shakespeare’s writings exist; he never traveled to many of the countries detailed in his plays; Will’s background (his parents were illiterate) suggests he’s not smart enough to possess such a rich vocabulary and literary capabilities. Another theory suggests that de Vere’s illegitimate child with the Queen Mum –the Earl of Southhampton--was mentioned in a sonnet and Hamlet was based on de Vere’s life, including the murder of a servant that parallels the death of Polonius. In essence political motivations forced the ‘true’ author’s identity to be kept secret and use Will as the front man.

It’s important to point out that Emmerich is no stranger to outlandish claims of authenticity. The Day After Tomorrow played fast and loose with global warming issues. He also created quite a stir with the film, 2012, postulating that the world was doomed to destruction based on an ancient Mayan calendar and unique alignment of the planets (read the F2F entry here). Emmerich admits that Anonymous is is ‘Hollywoodized’, but videotaped a segment pointing out 10 reasons why he thinks Shakespeare is a fraud. Critics and scholars have pointed out several historical inaccuracies in the film, which should remind moviegoers that filmmakers often plays with the facts to create a rollicking good tale. As Hamlet once said ‘doubt truth to be a liar.’

Read an article about the controversy here

Bad Cops on Film

2011-10-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

Dateline: October 2011. Los Angeles sheriff deputies face accusations of abusing inmates. Supervisors fail to document report of unwarranted beatings. Civilian eyewitnesses, including a chaplain, see violence and/or cover ups firsthand. Tales of corrupt L.A. law enforcement officers aren’t infrequent, sadly, and date back several decades. Sometimes they wind up on celluloid, thinly disguised as fiction or as real events within a storyline. Notable films include L.A. Confidential, Training Day, Internal Affairs, Colors, The New Centurions, and Crash.

L.A. Confidential (1997) chalked up several Oscar nominations for its gritty, realistic portrayal of LAPD’s dark side during the early 1950’s. Based on James Ellroy’s acclaimed novel, director Curtis Hanson and screenwriter Brian Helgeland skillfully infused true crime stories into the film noirish narrative. We see the notorious Bloody Christmas incident, sparked by a scuffle between a pair of cops and a group of Latinos in a parking lot. In truth, when officers learned that their comrades had been hurt, they hauled the Hispanic suspects into prison. While in jail, some 50 cops took part in beatings of the prisoners lasting over an hour. Sound familiar? In 2011, reports of jail beatings at Los Angeles County jails prompted the F.B.I. to investigate and demand the resignation of Sheriff Lee Baca. A probe led to punishment of 30 jail employees.

The film also includes the arrest of real-life gangster Mickey Cohen, who once worked with Bugsy Siegel, and shows the affair between Lana Turner and hoodlum Johnny Stompanato (who later was stabbed to death by Turner’s daughter, Cheryl Crain).

In Training Day, Denzel Washington sought to pattern his bad boy character, Detective Alonzo Harris, in part after LAPD officer Rafael Perez, who was implicated in the notorious Rampart Scandal of the late 1990’s. In the film, Harris is a narc who uses questionable tactics, rips off drug dealers, and is tied to gang members. Perez was involved in robbery cover-ups, resold $800,000 worth of stolen cocaine, and was accused of being a member of the Bloods, a notorious L.A. gang. It’s interesting to note that during filming, technical adviser Cle Shaheed Sloan found a way to include real life Rollin’ 60 Crips gang members on screen. Also, the founder of the Black T. Stones Bloods, T. Rodgers, allowed filming in his neighborhood in exchange for casting gang members.

Of course, Los Angeles isn’t the only city plagued by bad cop stories that are translated to the big screen. New York, for instance plays host to several truth-based crime sagas, including Serpico, Cop Land, and Prince of the City.

BIGELOW UNDER FIRE?

2011-10-14T08:05:00.000-07:00

Talk about avoiding a landmine. The Hurt Locker recently faced a lawsuit from Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver, who claimed the filmmakers used several details of his life in the film. In truth, Mark Boal interviewed Sarver and his unit in Iraq while compiling his story, which first appeared in Playboy. On October 13, 2010, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Nguyen dismissed Sarver's claim against Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow.

Bigelow also is working on a Osama Bin Laden project with writer Boal. On the fast track following Bin Laden's death, the movie project in embroiled in a different kind of controversy. Republican Congressman Peter King accused Obama of jeopardizing U.S. national security following suggestions in a New York Times article that Bigelow's production team had been given "top-level access to the most classified mission in history" during their research for Kill Bin Laden, which is due to arrive in cinemas less than a month before the November 2012 poll.
Watch where you step, Kathryn!

Read the F2F piece on The Hurt Locker.

CONTAGION

2011-10-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

Here's something to sneeze at. Director Steven Soderbergh contacted a renowned virus expert to make sure the science and situations in his film, Contagion, were credible. Dr. Ira Lipkin is famous for his work on the West Nile virus and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome).

"I wanted to make sure first of all that the science was accurate," Lipkin said. "The truth can be more interesting than anything you fabricate."

As a result he spent six week on the film, carefully examining the script for inaccuracies. Case in point, there's a scene where Dr. Hextall (Jennifer Ehle) injects herself with a hypo right through her pants. Lipkin's alarms went off and called for a reshoot. "They tried to persuade me that it was OK - that she's in a real hurry," said Lipkin, the director of Columbia University's Center for Infection and Immunity. "And I said, 'No, no, she's not in that much of a hurry.'

In addition, the film was made in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And Contagion's screenwriter, Scott Z. Burns, admits to waiting for the outcome of 2009 swine flu epidemic before finishing his script, in an attempt to include the latest scientific data. Not only is this film 'ripped from the headlines', but experts claim this type of pandemic could actually occur.

Viewers interested in learning more about disease and how to prepare for emergency situations can look to one of the film's backers, Participant Media. They're creating a social action campaign with videos and posting articles intended to inform people about the film's real content, including viral pandemics.

Often these kind of doom and gloom films reflect the times. An interesting Los Angeles Times article explores parallels between Contagion and Panic in the Streets, another 'outbreak' film made in the 1950's by Elia Kazan. Both Kazan and Soderbergh have directed socially conscious films (i.e. On the Waterfront and Erin Brockovich). During the 1950's, the Cold War, nuclear fallout, and McCarthyism generated a lot of anxiety. In 2011, those concerns have been replaced by fears of economic collapse, big government and greedy corporations. In the 50's, sci-fi films with big monsters created from radiation accidents often reflected public worries. In the last few years, sci-fi films like District 9 have also commented on social issues.

Star Wars Update

2011-09-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

Keplar Space Station

"This discovery is stunning," said Alan Boss at the Carnegie Institute in Washington. "Once again, what used to be science fiction has turned into reality."
He's referring to the NASA Kepler space telescope image capture of a giant planet in orbit around two suns-- just like Tatooine, the famous orb seen in the "Star Wars" saga. Where are these extraordinary celestial bodies? About 200 light-years away, in the Keplar-15 star system. Dubbed Kepler 16b, the Saturn-sized gas-coverered world is cold, and unfortunately, uninhabitable. But since some scientists scoffed at the Star Wars dual sun notion, George Lucas and the ILM visual effects wizards who created Tatooine might be snickering a bit.

You can read more about this amazing discovery at space.com.

Also, you can view ten other real alien worlds that resemble those seen in the "Star Wars" universe, including the Death Star and snowy planet from The Empire Strikes Back.

THE HELP

2011-09-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

One of the 2011's surprise summer hits is The Help, based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett . Viola Davis, the actress playing Aibeleen, admits to finding lots of inspiration for her role through her mother, who worked for several years as a maid on the Singleton Plantation in South Carolina.

“I modeled the character after her,” Davis said in an interview for The Hollywood Reporter. “There’s so many black women who led such hard lives, but still had so much joy and compassion and love in their hearts.”

In addition, author Stockett found inspiration from growing up with a maid in Mississippi (paralleling the story), picking up on the language of the culture, experiencing difficult race relations first hand, and leaving the South for New York to seek a writing career.

The makers of the film have also established The Help Social Action Campaign on their website, to allow people to share their stories.

On another note, CBS News produced an interesting piece focusing on a real-life relationship between the daughter of a maid and the daughter of a white family who employed the maid. They discuss comparisons to the book in their own lives (i.e. blacks having to use separate bathrooms).

Indiana in Montreal

2011-08-26T09:47:00.000-07:00

It's time to don your fedora, grab your bullwhip, and follow that squiggly red line due north on the old treasure map. That's right, folks, Indiana Jones is back, but not on the big screen.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, a unique museum exhibit at the Montreal Science Centre called “Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology,” features combines a treasure trove of factual artifacts and fictional relics from the film series. As a marketing tool honoring the 30th anniversary of the franchise, visitors to the exhibit will see the Ark of the Covenant from “Raiders” and the Holy Grail from “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” as well as objects from ancient Peru, Egypt and Iraq. Lucasfilm is teaming up with National Geographic and Montreal's X3 Productions to create the exhibit, which will embark on a six-month tour. "He’s not a real person, but he’s had an incredible, incredible impact on the field of professional archaeology," said Fredrick Hiebert, an archaeologist, explorer and National Geographic’s archaeology fellow. There' s plenty of factual links between Indy and real archaeologists, which you can read here.

Film2Fact: The Class

2011-08-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

Time for a major announcement! A new class based on this website is being offered through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at CSU Channel Islands. "Film to Fact: Exploring Reality in Motion Pictures", is an eight-week course beginning Aug 23rd in Thousand Oaks, CA.

The OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at California State University Channel Islands brings the excitement and stimulation of college learning to those who wish to extend their learning experiences in a university atmosphere. No more testing, just learning for pure stimulation and enjoyment!

Stephen R. Wolcott was interviewed about the course, which you can read here. Hopefully, students will enjoy learning about the truth in film, plus explore movie reality through some stimulating conversation. Maybe even contribute to upcoming film entries.

30 Minutes or Less

2011-08-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

What a wildly original movie concept: strap a bomb to a helpless pizza delivery guy and make him rob a bank. That's the premise of 30 Minutes or Less starring Jesse Eisenberg (of The Social Network). But is it original? Did the writers base that idea on a real event? The similarities between the movie and the case of Brian Douglas Wells (left) are too close for comfort. In August, 2003, Wells, 46, was called to deliver two pizzas to a remote location (what turned out to be a dirt road). Allegedly he confronted gunmen, who instructed him to wear an explosive device around his neck to hold up a bank. He was also told the bomb was fake. After successfully stealing some cash at an Erie, Pennsylvania bank, Wells confronted police outside the bank. They ordered him to sit handcuffed while bomb experts arrived. Unfortunately, the bomb exploded before help arrived, killing Wells. Later, the F.B.I. discovered that Wells was an accomplice in the robbery. His conspirators, Kenneth Barnes and Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, were convicted of several crimes, including bank robbery, and are serving lengthy sentences. A grisly video of the explosive tragedy exists but F2F suggests those who want to see it search the net themselves. A story in Wired magazine lists some similarities between film and fact. Even though the filmmakers claim they were vaguely aware of the incident, the movie has been criticized for exploiting a tragic story.

Other noteworthy true Bank Robber films:

Dog Day Afternoon
The Town (*featured in F2F)
The Bank Job
Public Enemies
Bonnie & Clyde

REAL COOL GADGETS

2011-08-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

While researching topics for movies, F2F stumbled across a fun website called Coolest-Gadgets.com. This site covers a variety of topics, from new spaceships to self-thinking robots to shirts that monitor your sleep. Anything out of the ordinary is fodder for them, including a video arcade game that actually navigates real-live courses via a golf cart (left). But F2F did a double take when it saw the Ghostbusters ghost trap. Seriously? Did some scientist actually figure out how to capture spirits in a high tech containment unit? Sorry, folks, but despite plenty of authentic gadgetry on this site, this device is just a toy, from Mattel. At around $135 a pop, it comes with plenty of whiz bang lights and sound effects, though (see demo). Who knows? Maybe some ectoplasmic expert out there is trying to develop the paranormal prototype right now. Maybe the science will be there by the time Ghostbusters III is released.

COWBOYS AND ALIENS

2011-08-02T17:32:00.000-07:00

Is an alien abduction in the Old West that far-fetched an idea? Is a close encounter akin to Cowboys and Aliens pure hokum?

Believe it or not, the California Daily Mail apparently published such an account in 1897. According to the claims of Colonel H.G. Shaw, three strange, tall, thin humanoid figures with hair covering their entire bodies caused quite a skirmish with Shaw and a friend. After a brief struggle , the men were able to fend off the alien varmints.

Earlier, in 1887, there were reports of mysterious airships on the East coast. An ‘official’ record of a similar mysterious airship wave occurs in 1896 in California. And if anyone believes in ancient astronaut theories Earth has been visited by extraterrestrials for several centuries.

On another note, an interview with director Jon Favreau for Entertainment Weekly reveals a film theme steeped in real history. In a sense, the aliens are a powerful, advanced culture mirroring pioneers and settlers of the Old West determined to seize power from the indigenous culture. Just like cowboys and Indians. "It’s always the low-tech culture that feels powerless when faced with an enemy that has technology on their side," Favreau said. "And of course the culture with technology on their side feels like it’s manifest destiny: They’ve been granted this gift by the divine and intend to use it."

Captain America

2011-07-20T00:03:00.000-07:00

POP CULTURE QUIZ: What real-life villain did Captain America battle in his first major adventure?

Read more about the cultural impact of this comic book hero...

Answer: Adolf Hitler

Captain America's origins date back to 1940, when comic book publishers were picking up on the public's fear that Hitler's European campaign would spread to the U.S. Rah-rah red, white and blue battles against Nazis, spies, and conspirators were highly popular themes, featuring characters like Americommando; Red, White, and Blue (a trio of crimefighters); American Crusader, and-- most notably-- The Shield, whose identity was only known to J. Edgar Hoover. But Captain America instantly won the hearts of minds of readers when it launched, resulting in millions of copies in its first few months.

But love for Uncle Sam has changed significantly since the 1940's. When developing the film version of Captain America, there was concern that a macho patriotic hero wouldn't sit well with modern audiences. "We're putting a slightly different spin on Steve Rogers," director Joe Johnston told the Los Angeles Times. "He's a guy that wants to serve his country, but he's not a flag-waver."

Although the motion picture is set in a real historical period, the filmmakers created a revisionist milieu with imagined technological capabilities (Quentin Tarantino messed with World War II facts, too, for Inglorious Bastards). But credit the screenwriters for basing some of their ideas on actual plans developed but never realized by The Third Reich. These include rocket-assisted artillery shells and something called a Sun Gun-- a large orbiting space mirror that bounced powerful solar heat rays to obliterate large swaths of their enemy.

Captain America's legacy has had ups and downs. As popular as the comic was in the 40's, readers lost interest by 1950 and the comic was suspended until Stan Lee resurrected the character in the 1960's. The character also went through many reinterpretations, alternate universes, collaborations, and life and death and life again. Most interesting is Captain America: Truth which chronicled the plight of African Americans used against their will as 'super soldier' guinea pigs during World War II. A New York Times article paralleled this comic book saga with actual accounts of black soldier mistreatment during WWII.

And here's an interesting sidebar on Captain America's enduring impact on society. 33-year Allen Mullens decided to dress up as the famed superhero and walk across the country to raise awareness for the 33% of homeless men who are veterans. See video here.

TREK'S TECH TURNS TRUE

2011-07-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Captain Picard with PADDs in Star Trek Generations

Any fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation remembers the PADD-- the interactive communication tablet that officers carried around on the television show and in the film series, beginning with Star Trek Generations. Many of those same fans will tell you Apple's IPAD is basically the real version of the imaginary PADD. So it's only logical that an app would further bridge the gap between fact and fiction. It was recently reported that CBS Interactive has created a LCARS graphic interface that provides an 'authentic and immersive experience', with lots of Star Trek-related data, including sound effects, voices, database, Facebook page, Twitter feed, and more. Now if they could only speed up that warp drive and transporter technology...

True Crime Update: "The Departed"

2011-07-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

Jack Nicholson's real-life inspiration for Frank Costello (the mobster he played in The Departed ) was arrested in Santa Monica, California in June, 2011. James "Whitey" Bulger, a notorious crime boss and former FBI informant for three decades, went into hiding for several years after his deal with the Feds unraveled. The film's plot centers on a Boston police officer (Leonardo DiCaprio) going undercover to arrest Costello. At the same time, Costello's planted an insider (Matt Damon) within the police force for personal gain. Both men are trying to rat out the other. In real life, Damon's character was based on FBI Agent John Connolly, who tipped off Bulger for years to avoid arrest. Billy Costigan, played by DiCaprio is based on a New England State Trooper who joined Bulger's gang. The film's technical advisor, Thomas Duffy, was a former detective assigned to investigate the Bulger's crime syndicate. So if the film feels authentic, it is!

"Whitey" Bulger was ranked in the top ten on the F.B.I's Most Wanted List, and linked to several murders. At the time of his arrest he was found with over $800,000 in cash and 30 guns. The charges against him include racketeering, possession of firearms, conspiracy, and money laundering. Former partners of Bulger have testified that he made payoffs to two dozen Boston police officers and half a dozen F.B.I. agents. John Connolly was convicted for his ties to the crime syndicate, but several other shady characters never faced trial. Despite the fact vs. fiction similarities, The Departed ends much differently than the real-life saga (*Spoiler alert*). Frank Costello meets an untimely end as opposed to Bulger who eluded authorities for almost 16 years. During that time, Bulger reportedly saw a screening of the film.

Since his capture, there's been increased interest in movie location tours in Boston, where some of the filming occurred and Bulger hung out with his mob cronies.

The Departed won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Martin Scorsese, a filmmaker known for his realistic depictions of crime and urban life (see the F2F segment on Taxi Driver).

Read more about Bulger's arrest here
Other Boston-area crime sagas:

Mystic River
The Town
The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Super 8

2011-06-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

One of the hottest topics of debate in conspiracy theory circles is Area 51. Did aliens crash to the Earth? Is the government covering up evidence? Why are new reports coming out in 2011?
Proof may be sketchy, but proof of Area 51's appeal on the big screen is solid, thanks to films like Super 8, which combines the talents of Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams, who strive for realistic characters and believable milieus amidst fantastical scenarios.

Area 51 photo from National Geographic

Recently, National Geographic published exclusive photos of Area 51 circa 1963 and unearthed new information on the mysteries and conspiracies surrounding the site (they've also produced a special on UFOs).
In May, 2011, a book on the subject was published entitled Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base. Author Annie Jacobson interviewed 19 men who worked at the base, who provide accounts of the covert operations with spy planes, nuclear weapons, and secret weapons-- however, not much talk of little green men. Although receiving a positive review from the New York Times, several critics fault the author's sketchy research.
The film, Super 8 suggests a military conspiracy surrounding a crashed UFO and a powerful alien on the loose, circa 1979. But did history record anything unusual during that time? Well, according to the Daily Mail, there were hundreds, if not thousands of accounts of close encounters across the globe. In fact, 1979 was dubbed "The Year of the UFO" and Britain's House of Lords actually debated the subject. This could be due to the fact that films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Alien had just been released and were causing international buzz and speculation. Also, in 1979, Rod Serling of Twilight Zone fame hosted a documentary on UFO's featuring experts on the subject.

Want to share your Area 51 story? We'll interview you and report the 'facts' if the truth is out there. And for the record, F2F believes humans are vain to believe earthlings are the only intelligent life in the universe.

Short Takes

2011-05-28T16:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a few short takes with factual undertones....

How unbelievable are the outrageous escapades in The Hangover Part 2? According to director Todd Phillips, not as outrageous as you'd think. "We try to infuse in these movies — even as absurd as our situations are with the characters — a sense of it being grounded in reality," he said. According to a Los Angeles Times article, Phillips' background in non-fiction film making, the director constantly focuses on making sure the improbable situations feel genuine. "We probably talk about reality every half-hour," said screenwriter Scot Armstrong.

The next time you see Zombieland or Night of the Living Dead or any number of off-shoots of the genre, know that The U.S. Government has your back. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently created a special page on how to prepare for a zombie apocalypse. No joke!

For Memorial Day Weekend, Tom Brokaw hosts a special slate of reality-based war films on AMC, including Patton, The Longest Day, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Pearl Harbor, and Miracle at St. Anna.

THOR

2011-05-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

What does Thor have to do with outer space wormhole theories? And did ancient cultures praise Thor as their almighty God? These questions lead to some interesting truths about the popular Marvel title character and current blockbuster film.

In 1935, Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen realized that general relativity allows the existence of “bridges,” originally called Einstein-Rosen bridges but now known as wormholes (mentioned in the film). Analogies have been made between wormholes and Bifrost, the rainbow-type bridge connecting Earth (or Midgard) to Asgard (the celestial home of the Gods). A wormhole is a theoretical shortcut between two places in the universe via a tunnel. Perhaps the Norse mythmakers got a jump on Einstein's theory centuries ago.

A Mjolnir pendant

Thor had a major cultural impact on medieval Scandanavian culture.
Many people inspired by his bravery in battle wore Mjolnir, special pendants shaped in a hammer or 'T'. 10th-century soapstone medallion molds of Thor's hammer were discovered in Denmark. Another T-shaped artifact attributed to Thor's hammer can be found in an Iceland Museum. In the South Tyrolian Alps (Unterinn), evidence points to an ancient custom of burning T's into front doors of homes as a protection against evil-- especially violent storms.
In addition, one Swedish municipality has a distinct hammer shape symbol on their coat of arms.

F2F particularly enjoys the sequence in the film when there's a heated discussion over science versus magic (Thor: "I come from a land where they are one and the same.") At one point, one character quotes Arthur C. Clarke: "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic' leading to the conclusion that sometimes science fiction becomes science fact. Well said! You can read more about the film's science and wormhole comparisons in a Discover Magazine article here.

THE TREE OF LIFE

2011-05-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

"Molecular clouds gather to form galaxies."
"A large asteroid slams into the Earth."
"Our sun has become a white dwarf."

There are descriptions of celestial imagery on the official website for Terrence Mallick's newest film, The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. Years in the making, this enigmatic director's epic created a lot of buzz at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Described as an impressionistic story of a Midwestern family set in the 1950's, but covering big issues like the meaning of life, Malick consulted with NASA for footage of the cosmos and other grand imagery seen in the film, according to a Los Angeles Times article. Visual effects coordinator Dan Glass said images from the Hubbell space telescope were used by a group of advisers and consultants. "They were a team of people meant to ensure this was scientifically accurate," he said.

From science to religion to mythology there are many uses of the term 'tree of life'. Scientists refer to the tree of life when describing how all life on Earth relate to each other in an evolutionary context.

Read a Time magazine piece here.

PREDICTING THE FUTURE

2011-04-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

On April 21, 2011, a Terminator takeover was imminent, but so far there's been no sign of robotic baddies with German accents wreaking havoc on planet Earth. Whew! Maybe they were on Spring Break. That's a good example of science fiction sagas attempting to predict the future and even including specific dates.

According to Star Trek: First Contact, Earth's historic encounter with extraterrestrials should occur in 2063. And with Star Trek’s excellent track record of turning fiction into reality—cell phones, laser technology, floppy discs, touch screens, etc. – there’s a good bet we'll meet some of Spock’s kin someday.

A recent article provided a fascinating list of sci-fi movie dates to jot down in your calendars.

Another good example is 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the novel based on the film, Arthur C. Clarke described a device with functions mirroring the iPad ("...he would plug in his foolscap-size newspad into the ship’s information circuit and scan the latest reports from Earth. One by one he would conjure up the world’s major electronic papers…Switching to the display unit’s short-term memory, he would hold the front page while he quickly searched the headlines and noted the items that interested him.")

2001: A Space Odyssey

Many books and films, including "2001" also showed Skype-like two-way video communication.

Going back further, concepts of submarines and scuba divers can be credited to Jules Verne in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1875).

There are numerous examples of fiction becoming fact in cinema and literature, and it often seems like the newest innovations and concepts have been influenced by great futuristic minds -- from H.G. Wells to Ray Bradbury to Mark Twain (he's been linked to the invention of the Internet).

Read an interesting list here.

THE CONSPIRATOR UPDATE

2011-04-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

Director Robert Redford

F2F originally posted this story in 2010, prior to the premiere of "The Conspirator" at the Toronto Film Festival on a very significant date. The film went into wide release in April, 2011. A fascinating story in the Los Angeles Times debunks connections to real current events.

Here's an interesting coincidence-- a motion picture about the aftermath of one of America's most shocking attacks has a premiere date of 9/11. However, the film, directed by Robert Redford, takes place in 1865, not 2001. The Conspirator details the little-known story of what happened after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln (an intense search for everyone involved in the killing and subsequent conspiracy trail). Despite the fact that the 'attacks' are much different in nature and setting (A political figure vs. innocent victims in Twin Towers; the Civil War vs. the war on terror) the response to the September 11th event and Lincoln's death offer real similarities-- most notably the government's alleged violation of civil rights to seek justice.

The film focuses on the real story of Mary Surratt, who owned the boarding house where conspirators supposedly met to plot Lincoln's assassination. As the mother of one conspirator, she is guilty by association and held prisoner in shackles. The lawyer assigned to her case discovers she may be innocent and witnesses testify in her favor as a gentle, religious woman. But her fate is sealed in a military court and she becomes the first female hanged in the U.S. Mirroring recent history even further, the Supreme Court at the time of the trial had been weighing the jurisdiction of military cases involving civilians. Redford, no stranger to politically-charged fact-based films (i.e. All the President's Men) admits the film's showing on 9/11 at the Toronto Film Festival might evoke comparisons. "If you just tell the story that exists, it relates to the present, " he claims, "but it's up to the audience to decide for themselves how." (see more in L.A. Times story here).

More on Mary Surratt

Other Robert Redford politically-themed films:

The Candidate
Lions for Lambs
All the President's Men

TAXI DRIVER 35TH ANNIVERSARY

2011-03-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

"You talkin' to me?" remains one of the most memorable and oft-used movie phrases in history. Robert DeNiro staring manically into a mirror repeating the lines endures as one of film's most disturbing scenes. What distinguishes Taxi Driver from other gritty dramas could be its stark sense of realism-- and for good reason. Many areas of the story and production are based in truth. For instance, in preparing for the role of Travis Bickle, Robert DeNiro studied mental illness and heard taped recordings of the diaries of assassin Arthur Bremer, who shot presidential candidate George Wallace in 1972. Similar to the scene with Bickle at the political rally, George Wallace walked through the crowd after his speech until Bremer got close enough to confront him. DeNiro also got a New York cabbie's license and drover around the city, sometimes 12 hours at a stretch. In discussing his approach to acting, he said: "You've got to physically and mentally become that person you are portraying."

Actor Harvey Keitel rehearsed with actual pimps to prepare for his role. "We did a series of improvisations in which I would play the prostitute and he'd treat me a certain way," he said. "Then we'd switch and he'd play the girl. He taught me about how the girls were treated. He said, 'This isn't the old school where you beat up on the girls. You love them. If you say you're going to take a girl to dinner, you take her.' The scene in which I dance with Jodie arose from what he had taught me."

According to writer Paul Schrader, the woman playing the friend of "Iris" was a real prostitute, and the model for Jodie Foster's character.

Writer Paul Schrader admits the film was in part autobiographical, in a period of his life when he felt isolated, lonely, had suffered rejection, went to porno houses, and had an obsession with guns.

John Hinckley, Jr.

Martin Scorcese also made a point of filming in real locations, (as opposed to sound stages), which include the Belmore Cafeteria, a real hang-out for cab drivers.

On a distressing note, John Hinckley, Jr., after watching Taxi Driver, became obsessed with Jodie Foster, and wanted to impress her. He stalked her while she attending Yale, passing notes under her door and trying to contact her by phone. And in a bizarre 'life imitates art' moment, he later attempted to assassinate former President Ronald Reagan.

You can find many interesting stories and facts on the 35th Anniversary Blu-Ray edition of Taxi Drier, which including MovieQ text commentary written by yours truly, the creator of Film2Fact.

ELIZABETH TAYLOR

2011-03-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

She won two Oscars and was considered a real movie star. Her humanitarian work brought greater attention to important causes. Elizabeth Taylor may have lived a glamourous and extravagant life with multiple spouses, but her heart was grounded in truth both on and off screen. One of her most famous roles, Cleopatra, captured world wide attention, both for its costly production and her backstage romance with Richard Burton. Shot in Italy, the film attempted to recreate the spectacle of the Egyptian queen's encounter with the massive Roman Army, led by Julius Caesar. Despite some historical inaccuracies, the Oscar-winning film captured essential elements of the true story, and Taylor's performance was as mesmerizing as the real Cleopatra. Off-screen, Egypt denounced the film, in part because of Taylor's support for the state of Isreal.

Hopefully, movie audiences will discover this treasure and understand why this legendary actress earned her place as one of the finest performers on screen.

Coincidentally, Angelina Jolie --another female humanitarian and beauty-- will star in a new version of Cleopatra, directed by The Social Network's David Fincher.

Those interested can find a useful site to find resources galore about Cleopatra, Mark Anthony, and Julius Caesar.

THE CHINA SYNDROME

2011-03-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

The world watches with anxiety as Japan's nuclear facilities battle to prevent a meltdown after a 9.1 earthquake. What's the worst case scenario? Who's safe and who's in danger? Are we getting the whole truth? Or are officials covering up the truth? Similar questions were raised over 30 years ago in the gripping thriller, The China Syndrome, starring Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda, and Michael Douglas. What's more astonishing is the film opened 12 days before the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania. If that weren't bad enough, a line in the script mentions a meltdown the size of Pennsylvania! That allegedly elicited screams from some theater goers who lived nearby. Distributors of the film actually pulled the movie out of some theaters for fear of negative publicity.

In the film, a plant supervisor (played by Lemmon) discovers that the nuclear plant is unsafe and officials have falsified records. An emergency shutdown could prove catastrophic unless the truth comes out.

The title, The China Syndrome, is a real term coined in the early 70's (and listed in Merriam Webster's dictionary). The notion was posed by nuclear physicists who wondered if the molten contents from a nuclear meltdown could sink through the U.S. all the way to China. Without going into a long-winded dissertation on nuclear power, suffice it to say that there's no evidence to prove that theory. Experts claim that thick walls and other preventative measures would either stop the bad stuff from seeping through the earth or cool it beforehand, limiting its deadly trail. What's true is that nuclear accidents can release dangerous amounts of radioactive fallout into the environment, as evidenced in Chernobyl, where fuels from a runaway reaction turned water into steam at a massive rate, causing massive explosions (more perspective on the effects of radiation can be found here).

The cultural impact of The China Syndrome still lingers as the movie was referenced in a March, 2011 USA Today story concerning Japan's nuclear issues. And despite winning acclaim for its authentic storytelling and superlative acting (earning multiple Oscar nominations), The China Syndrome became a tragic and prophetic case of fiction becoming too close to reality.

The King's Speech

2011-03-05T23:30:00.000-08:00

2011 marked another year when a truth-based film won top honors. The King's Speech, in competition with Inception, Black Swan, True Grit, and the reality-based The Social Network, among others, chronicled George VI's personal ordeal with stuttering. In previous years, the Academy has often chosen factual sagas over imagined ones as Best Picture, including Braveheart, Amadeus, Schindler's List, and Patton. sometimes against the percentages. Gandhi won over E.T., A Beautiful Mind bested Lord of the Rings, Chariots of Fire topped Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Avatar lost to The Hurt Locker (based on real events).

What may have helped the film win four major awards, including Best Original Screenplay was screenwriter David Seidler's own admonition of being a stutterer. He lived in fear, unable to speak clearly in class, talk with girls, or answer the phone. (hear an audio interview with Seidler can be heard here).
"I had huge trouble with the 'H' sound, so when the telephone rang, I would break into a cold sweat, because I couldn't say hello," Seidler, 73, said in an interview. He remembers hearing the King valiantly struggle through his famous speeches, and wishing one day he might overcome his own impediment.

In addition, Best Director winner Tom Hooper and Best Actor winner Colin Firth watched hours of newsreel footage to mold the King George character. The pair admit to being deeply moved by watching George's 1938 speech, where he clearly can be seen in personal torment addressing the crowd.

As to those bizarre cures and treatments depicted in The King's Speech? Many were true to the era, including rolling around on carpets, sing-song voice exercises, and blasting loud music in headphones (making noise stimulates auditory processing). In showing a stutterer's delivery, however, the filmmakers chose to bend the truth. According to vocal experts, movie goers probably wouldn't sit still watching a serious stutter victim in real time, since they can be excruciatingly inaudible and get stuck on single words for long periods of time. In other words, showing an acutal stuttering victim in real time could have doubled the length of the film!

It's also worth noting that Winston Churchill and other notable royalty figures of the time were stutter victims. In fact, Churchill feared his troubled speech would seriously derail his political career.

Another indication as to why The King's Speech garnered both personal and critical acclaim? Audiences love movies about British Royalty. From Henry the VIII to Elizabeth I to Richard the III, studios have found success mining the history of kings and queens.

Other notable films on British Royalty:

The Queen
The Madness of King George
Henry V (1989)
The Young Victoria
Anne of the Thousand Days
Elizabeth (1998)
Lady Jane
Richard III
A Man for All Seasons

GOING MENTAL THE BLACK SWAN WAY

2011-02-15T11:24:00.000-08:00

Time for a shout out to someone who explores fact vs. fiction in motion pictures -- from a medical POV.

Dr. Marc K. Siegel writes a column called "The Unreal World" for the Los Angeles Times. His latest entry probes the probability of a prima ballerina like Natalie Portman's character going off the deep end in The Black Swan. He explores and debunks some of her psychotic behavior with the help of psychiatric professors.

In recent columns, Dr. Siegel has written about 127 Hours, Little Fockers, Death at a Funeral, and several television shows, including Grey's Anatomy, Royal Pains, House, and Nurse Jackie.

Dr. Siegel is a practicing internist, an associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, and the Medical Director of Doctor Radio with NYU Langone and Sirius/XM Satellite Radio.

True Romance on Film

2011-02-14T12:44:00.000-08:00

Without a doubt, Casablanca is one of the best romantic films of all time, and though lovers Rick and Ilsa are purely imagined characters, there are some factual sources. Playwright Murray Bennett (whose play was the basis for the film) visited a French nightclub, filled with multicultural types and the black piano player prototype for Sam. Also many of the extras in the film were real European refugees and exiles, including Wolfgang Zilzer and Lotte Palfi, who met on the film and later married --how's that for true romance?

In honor of Valentine's Day, F2F aims Cupid's arrow at some reality-based romantic movies.

Once (director John Carney's partial autobiographical musical features musicians Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, whose composition, "Falling Slowly", won a Best Song Oscar. The couple were also linked romantically during filming).

Walk the Line (the Johnny Cash / June Carter romantic biopic)

Bugsy (Bugsy Siegel's marriage was volatile, but the off-screen romance between Annette Bening and Warren Beatty was the real deal).

Becoming Jane (chronicles the romance between author Jane Austen and a young Irishman).

A Walk to Remember (this Nicholas Sparks tearjerker was based on the life of the author's sister.

Funny Girl (comedienne Fanny Brice's stormy love affair with a gambler won Barbara Streisand an Oscar for Best Actress. The link debunks some facts about her life).

Anna and the King (based on the story of teacher Anne Leonowens and the King of Siam. Also made as the musical, The King and I).

Bright Star. See F2F's entry about the real life romance between poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne.

Shakespeare in Love (fictional but with real historical figures, it's the supposed romantic story of the Bard's forbidden love affair while writing Romeo and Juliet).

Braveheart (William Wallace falls for Isabelle of France)

Cleopatra (the Egyptian queen's relationship with Marc Antony has been depicted in several films, but check out the 1934 version with Claudette Colbert)

Phantom of the Opera (there is much debate about the true identity of the characters, but the setting is real, and the French writer researched plenty of facts for his story).

Titanic (okay, the setting and some characters were real, but not the main lovers).

Out of Africa (loose autobiography of writer Isak Dinisen's affair with big game hunter Denys Finch Hatton, starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford).

Troy (the illicit love affair Helen and Prince Paris sparked war, based on Homer's Iliad, and based on real history.)

Bonnie and Clyde (the famous reckless, tragic gangsta love affair)

Sweet Dreams (about singer Patsy Cline)

And opening in 2011: W.E. (initials for American divorcee Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII. Their royal affair has been seen in more than one film, including The King's Speech)

Did we miss one of your favorites? Let us know.

A list of fact-based romantic films can be found here.

FILM ME OUT AT THE BALLGAME

2011-02-08T22:38:00.000-08:00

Anyone who's a fan of Ferris Bueller's Day Off may remember that part of his big adventure involved taking in a baseball game-- a real Chicago Cubs contest at Wrigley Field. Recently, an intrepid fan of the diamond made an exhaustive search to uncover which specific game the gang went to (June 5th, 1985 against the Braves). Of course, it's hard to fake filming at sports stadiums. Some notable scenes filmed at real games include The Naked Gun, Superman Returns, The Breakup, Pride of the Yankees, Major League, and Fever Pitch (including the 2004 World Series between the Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals).

THE RITE

2011-01-27T22:07:00.000-08:00

Father Gary Thomas

Father Gary Thomas has seen about 100 people allegedly possessed by the Devil. The Rite, starring Anthony Hopkins. is based on a journalist's first hand look at this Roman Catholic priest, who took exorcism training at the Vatican in 2005. In the film, a seminarian named Michael Kovak is sent to Rome to study with a Welsh priest (Anthony Hopkins). In real life, Thomas is one of just 14 certified exorcists working in the United States (Saratoga, California, to be exact). He admits that a large percentage of people who come to him are dealing with health issues or have been abused. If he determines a person has a 'demonic attachment', he tries various methods to weed out evil (i.e. prayer, the Eucharist, sacraments). Sometimes people behave violently, faces contort, they have to be restrained from doing harm to others or themselves. In one case, Thomas recalls a Venezuelan woman who hissed like a snake, changed appearance and almost jumped out a window.

Of course, The Rite is not the first film to chronicle 'real' exorcisms.
William Friedkin's classic demonic saga, The Exorcist is based on a 14-year old boy in Maryland named Robbie. Similar to the film, his mother sought religious help to answer the shaking bed, levitating in the air, and mysterious facial scratches. When a priest was called in, Robbie spoke in Latin, said he was the devil, broke holy water containers, and caused candles to shoot big flames in the air.

Skeptics, like Michael Cuneo, who witnessed numerous exorcisms for his book, American Exorcism: Expelling Demons in the Land of Plenty, found no supernatural effects. He, like many scientists, debunk possession claims as mental illness issues. Scientists also point out that real exorcisms often result in death, often due the radical actions taken by exorcists. One tragic case involved a woman tied to a cross, gagged, and left without food or water for several days. Another truth-based film, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, chronicles a priest's negligence in performing an exorcism, resulting in the death of a 19-year old girl.

On The Rite website, you can find dozens of news articles about exorcisms.

Interesting interview with Father Thomas discussing horror movies.

Films of note:

The Exorcist
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
The Last Exorcism

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

2011-01-27T14:05:00.000-08:00

The Sundance Film Festival is always a good source of films containing real facts, events, people, and scientific possibilities. In 2010, the lineup included Splice (see F2F profile here), inspired by real hybrid experimentation. Prior years included award winners like The Motorcycle Diaries (about Che Guevara), Smooth Talk (based on the life of serial killer Charles Schmid), American Splendor (a biopic on cartoonist Harvey Pekar), and Better Luck Tomorrow (loosely based on Asian American youth gangs), Waiting for the Moon (chronicling the relationship between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas), and The Believer (about a former Klu Klux Klan member's suicide). Included in this year's entries are some interesting religious sagas (including Kevin Smith's Red State, with a pastor modeled after gay-bashing Baptist minister Fred Phelps) and sci-fi films (Take Shelter, Perfect Sense, and Another Earth). F2F will track these and others for any truth-related connections.

Michael Shannon in Take Shelter

FINDING TRUTH IN FILM

2011-01-21T12:20:00.000-08:00

Let it be known that Wikipedia is a true resource for research, albeit not always a solid source of truth. That be said, films based on real events can be found there for easy reference. From The Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein's take on a 1905 Russian mutiny) to Private Parts (about shock jock Howard Stern), you'll find an eclectic mix of classics, foreign movies, TV movies, and obscure independents. Also, you'll find links to pursue deeper into the facts if so desired. It's worth noting, too, that the list starts with very few entries in the 1920's to much larger lists in the latter part of the century. Are factual films more popular today than yesterday?

Perhaps more interesting is the continuing trend of using hard facts, real science and true events in fantastical stories-- from Star Trek to Splice and Twilight to Tron. F2F probes the possibilities, using resources like New Scientist, Scientific American, Popular Mechanics, and the Science and Entertainment Exchange. Of the latter, you'll discover how consultants and experts help Hollywood make the unbelievable seem believable. They often use "The S & E Exchange" as a resource to find just the right scientist or tech head to assist on their film (for example, Ironman 2's Jon Favreau used the site to learn about giant particle accelerators). Most recently, the site highlighted Tron: Legacy. Director Joe Kozinski and his team spent many hours with physicists, neuroscientists, and roboticists in an attempt to ground the high-concept ideas into actual scientific principals. "We wanted a strong science foundation at key moments throughout the film, so we invited some of the smartest people we could find to provide answers we could incorporate," Kosinski said. Those key moments involved teleportation and quantum computing (Imagine one day sending a particle --or human-- into an highly-advanced computer). The Exchange went one step further by hosting a public panel with members form Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Lab and Cal Tech, who served as consultants on the film. "Science benefits when movies are more faithful to how scientists work," says Cal Tech physicist Sean Carroll, "and movies benefit if they take science more seriously." (Source: Scientific American).

IN PERSON: CRITIC AND CURATOR

2011-01-09T22:49:00.000-08:00

Scenes from the Life of Lucretia, Second Master of the Cité de Dieu of Mâcon, Master of the Psalter of Jean le Meingre III, and Master of the Munich Boccaccio, illuminators, about 1470

On January 9th, 2010, F2F visited the Getty Museum to hear film critic Kenneth Turan and curator Elizabeth Morrison discuss links between 'realistic, historic' films and illuminated manuscripts from the French Middle Ages. What does All the President's Men, W, Kingdom of Heaven and Richard III have in common with 15th century documents? You'd be surprised. First of all, imagine Spielberg or Ridley Scott transported back in time without any filmmaking tools. How would they tell their story? Most likely, they'd hire the finest artists to create lavish manuscripts detailing the Crusades or heroics of Alexander the Great. They'd also fashion their imagery to appeal to their audience. Turan and Morrison explored how powerful visual images of both films and medieval illuminations not only sensationalized epic adventures, but satirized political affairs. Morrison showed slides chronicling a simple horse who rose in power to become a king (an attempt to make fun of a previous inept ruler). Turan contrasted this saga with Oliver Stone's satiric study of George Bush in W. Coincidentally, both works were created shortly after each leader had left their positions of power and were fresh targets of ridicule in the public eye. Both Kingdom of Heaven and the French illuminations chronicled the Crusades, but heightened reality to tell their story. Clips of an attack showing several trebuchets launching fiery salvos may not have been historically accurate, but appealed to a 21st century audience with a thirst for spectacle. In turn, Morrison stated that the manuscripts took artistic liberties with its depictions of the Crusades in order to provide entertainment for the audience of the era. Updating Shakespeare's Richard the III to the 1930's provided audiences a time period they can better understand more easily against the Bard's archaic text. Similarly, French artists in the 1400's altered their pictorial sagas to create a new reality their readers would enjoy. Also, both eras elevated the heroic status of their subjects, as in the case of All the President's Men, when average reporters exposing a political scandal become courageous soldiers of truth. This intriguing lecture reminds us that the best storytellers use whatever mediums are available to entertain the masses, often blending myth and reality to great effect. And if they're lucky, their efforts may wind up in a museum as timeless works of art.

These extraordinary manuscripts are on view through Feb. 6, 2011. At the Getty Museum.
1200 Getty Center Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1687 Phone: +1 (310) 440-7330
Fax: +1 (310) 440-7751
E-mail: gettymuseum@getty.edu

REAL BOXING MOVIES

2011-01-06T22:37:00.000-08:00

The Fighter follows in the footsteps of many fine films focusing on factual fighters (how's that for alliteration?). Blow by blow, The Fighter attempts to accurately recreate Mickey Ward's rise to fame and pivotal title match. A fascinating side by side account of the film versus the real bout can be seen here. At times The Fighter also feels like a documentary within a documentary, as HBO cameramen capture raw footage of Mickey's drug-addicted brother Dickie recalling his infamous clash with Sugar Ray Leonard. English actor Christian Bale spent time with the real Dickie Ward to better understand his character and adopt his thick Boston accent.

Some of the best boxing flicks-- like Raging Bull and Cinderella Man-- receive Oscar Nominations. More often, these movies go beyond the ring and probe the human condition. The true story of Jimmy Braddock's epic win over Max Baer was not only a sports achievement, but filled Americans with hope during the Depression. Or in the case of Raging Bull, the title character's exploits mirror a real behind the scenes drama. Just prior to making the film, director Martin Scorsese's life was spiraling out of control and he almost died from a sadomasochistic work ethic. Robert DeNiro urged Martin to make the film, in part, as a form of rehab. Scorsese discovered his own self-destruction paralleled boxer Jake LaMotta's personal decline, which became the hook for the film.
"I didn't really understand it until a period of excess I was going through, which landed me in the hospital, was over," Scorsese admits. "I didn't understand what the film was going to be about from my side," he said. "When I made it through and I was all right, and I survived, I understood what the movie was about."

Other notable truth-based boxing films:

Somebody Up There Likes Me (starring Paul Newman as Rocky Graziano)
The Harder They Fall (starring Humphrey Bogart, based on Max Baer's boxing career)
The Great White Hope (starring James Earl Jones, loosely based on Jack Johnson)

TRUE GRIT

2010-12-26T23:36:00.000-08:00

The gallows at the Fort Smith National Historical Site

Is True Grit a true story? No, but there are many truths within this beloved Western saga. First, Fort Smith is a real place with a heap of history worth noting. Tourists can visit the Federal Courthouse where "Hangin' Judge' Isaac C. Parker once presided. In the film, Parker hears witness Rooster Cogburn explain why he gunned down some crooked cowpokes. In reality, Judge Parker heard 13,000 cases an sent over 150 men to be hanged. So there's no bending the truth when True Grit features a triple hanging (the real gallows still remain on display at the Fort Smith National Historical Site). F2F spoke with local historian Ben Boulden, who praised the filmmakers for their historical accuracy. "The Coens did a great job depicting the thoroughfare, Garrison Avenue," he said. "Some of the store names are actual, real stores that were here in the 1870's." He adds: "The predominance of wood buildings over brick also is accurate. Brick buildings did not become common downtown until the 1880's."
Boulden also praises the author of the book upon which the film is based--Charles Portis. "While admittedly using a fictional form and characters, Portis was trying to hep with that and convey the 'true' spirt of this area in the 1870's," Boulden said. "He was reading actual newspapers and made site visits as part of hs own research. The snake pit and what happened there was actually real although Portis inserted his fictional characters into it."

Judge Isaac C. Parker

Of course, there are two versions of the film, the original winning John Wayne a Best Actor Oscar (and features a young Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper). In terms of authenticity and historical accuracy, the original doesn't ring as 'true' as the Coen Brothers' adaptation. Most problematic are the filming locations. The 1969 version was shot on location against white-capped mountains in Colorado and in the climactic showdown, a famous landmark looms in the background--Chimney Peak. In truth the area of Fort Smith and its surroundings are located in Arkansas.

2010: A BANNER YEAR FOR TRUE TALES

2010-12-18T12:39:00.000-08:00

In 2010, a significant number of films 'based on a true story' were released. Below is a list of notable motion pictures 'inspired by' or 'based on' real events. Several have received honors and are worthy of Oscar nominations. F2F highlighted some of theses films (see asterisk).
The Fighter
127 Hours*
The King's Speech
The Social Network*
Secretariat
Conviction
I Love You, Phillip Morris*
Casino Jack
Fair Game
Unstoppable*

Made in Dagenham

The Runaways

Eat, Pray, Love*

Get Low

Extraordinary Measures
If you're wondering, 2009 featured several 'true story' sagas, too. Several were honored or won awards, including Invictus, The Hurt Locker, The Last Station, The Blind Side, Julie & Julia, and Bright Star.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA

2010-12-13T17:42:00.000-08:00

Watching Liam Nesson voice the role of a majestic lion in a CG-rich fantasy film adventure and you automatically think of Jesus, right? That's what some pundits and scholars would have you surmise while enjoying The Chronicles of Narnia movies. There's been much real world controversy surrounding the imaginary world dreamed up by author C.S. Lewis, a one-time Christian apologist. The books which serve as the source for the film series are said to be full of hidden and not-so-hidden religious symbolism. For instance, in The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe, Aslan's sacrificial death and resurrection parallels the Son of God; there's Edmund, as 'the son of Adam' who turns into a 'Judas'; Peter as St. Peter, and The White Witch as the Satan-like nemesis. When the first film was released, many religious groups sponsored screenings and integrated the story into sermons. In one instance, Catholic Outeach organizers rallied 150 coordinators to raise awareness of the film and to host special previews for church members. Disney allegedly hired Christian marketing pros to help promote the film. These decisions didn't please another famous children's fantasy author, Philip Pullman (The Golden Compass).
An admitted atheist, Pullman claims the book touts ideas of racism, prejudice, and lacks important Christian virtues. "The highest virtue is love, " he said. "And yet, you find not a trace of that in the books." he claims. Albeit, just one author's opinion. Pullman's books have been critized as well, for it's anti-religion themes.
   In the third film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, other popular Biblical topics filters into the story-- temptation, sin and redemption. The bratty cousin Eustace, who joins Lucy and Edmund on their sea journey, discovers a cave of treasures, and when greed takes over, is turned into a dragon. Attempts to 'shed his skin' and redeem himself could be interpreted as 'shedding his Sin." Throughout the film, Aslan appears as a 'savior' to our heroes in time of need. At one point, a faint sign of the cross is literally seen in a time of darkness, and Lucy hears Aslan whisper "courage, dear heart." It's interesting to note that when The Dawn Treader was released, Liam Neeson said Aslan "symbolizes for me Mohammed, Buddha, and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries." This may have upset some Christian groups, but if viewers of many faiths can relate to Narnia's uplifting messages, isn't that a win-win? And it can be argued that children won't be indoctrinated by watching a great swashbuckling tale of adventure. In fact, many parents welcome big-box office blockbusters with good vs. evil themes and thought-provoking ideas kids can gain insight from (rather than some of those over-the-top dreck with blatant merchandise tie-ins).

The films:
The Chronicles of Narnia:
  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
  Prince Caspian
  The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

CONS ON FILM

2010-12-11T22:31:00.000-08:00

I Love You Phillip Morris is an offbeat, bizarre true story based on con man Steven Jay Russell, who pulled off extraordinary scams and prison breaks all in the name of love.
"I did those things because I wanted to be with Phillip (Morris)," said Russell. "I was out of control." Steven met Morris behind bars (while serving time for petty theft). Once out of prison, they got in more trouble, forging bank accounts and jumping bail. Steven's elaborate hijinx (from posing as a lawyer and dying AIDS patient) and uncanny ability to sneak out of prison eventually got the best of him. Angry and embarrassed Texas prosecutors eventually sentenced Russell to 144 years in maximum security, with only one hour a day to leave his cell. See a fascinating story and interview here. Morris did less time, and wound up on the film as a consultant. He also appears in a cameo, standing next to Jim Carrey in the final court scene.

Steven Jay Russell

I Love You, Phillip Morris follows in the footsteps of other notable films based on actual con men. Some are listed below. But for fun, we've also listed some movies that are pure fiction.
Can you guess which ones are the 'real' con jobs?

The Sting

Paper Moon

Catch Me if You Can

The Grifters

Six Degrees of Separation.

ANSWER:

THE FAKES: Paper Moon and The Grifters. The Grifters, based on a pulp novel by Jim Thompson, stars John Cusack, Angelica Huston, and Annette Benning. Paper Moon won Tatum O'Neal a Best Supporting Oscar for her role as an orphan helping con man Moses Pray (played by her real life Dad Ryan O'Neal).

The Sting. The film was inspired by Ted and Charley Gondorff, brothers who pulled off elaborate confidence schemes.

Catch Me if You Can chronicles the exploits of Frank Abagnale (played in the film by Leonardo DeCaprio), who posed as a doctor, pilot, and attorney. The real Abagnale now works as a consultant for the F.B.I.

Six Degrees of Separation is based on a young man who posed as actor Sidney Poitier's son and conned people out of money, including Calvin Klein and Melanie Griffith.

REMEMBERING DECEMBER 7th

2010-12-07T20:40:00.000-08:00

On the Anniversary of Pearl Harbor, one should take pause and salute our military's heroic men and women. On film, there are both accurate and fictional accounts of this historic event and its aftermath.

From Here to Eternity (1953). This multiple Oscar winner (including Best Supporting Actor for Frank Sinatra), tells the fictional story of several soldiers on the eve of Pearl Harbor.

30 Seconds Over Tokyo (1944). Spencer Tracy stars in this gripping true story of America's first air strike after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Actual war footage was incorporated into the film to strengthen its believability.

Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) . This factual dramatization of the attack on Pearl Harbor and its aftermath shows perspectives from both the Japanese and American sides. The attempt to accurately portray the battle won the film a special effects Oscar.

In Harm's Way (1965). John Wayne leads an all-star cast of fictional military personnel stationed in Hawaii --except for Henry Fonda's portrayal of Admiral Chester Nimitz, USN and Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet during World War II .

Pearl Harbor (2001). Though the film didn't win over the critics, it recreates incredible battle sequences and is worth viewing for the bonus documentaries, featuring interviews with Pearl Harbor veterans.

HARRY POTTER

2010-11-28T22:55:00.000-08:00

Can magic wands cast spells? Doubtful. Is it possible to fly on a broomstick? Not yet, (even though there are theories). Granted, finding something 'truthful' within the Harry Potter franchise might require some hocus pocus. Perhaps if we get more specific. What facts lie behind those supernatural 'Deathly Hallows' in the final chapters of the film series? Well, when asked about the source of the finale's prime plot point author J.K. Rowling pointed to a real world myth: "Perhaps 'The Pardoner's Tale', by Chaucer" (a section of The Canterbury Tales). That ancient saga tells of three men who challenge Death after their friend dies. All three suffer an unfortunate, premature demise. Similarly, in Rowling's version, three men confront Death and each are bestowed a sacred relic (the Resurrection Stone, Cloak of Invisibility, and the Eternal Wand). All three succumb to Death as well. In truth, the term 'hallow' dates back to the Bible, referring to something holy or sacred. In modern times, 'hallowed' can signify precious relics. Example: at British coronations, a scepter, orb, sword and crown are bestowed upon new royal figures.

Another way to look at "Harry Potter" is through its real social impact on religion and education. Since the debut of the first book, various church groups have denounced the books' occult overtones and several schools have banned use of "Potter" in their curriculum.
"From a Christian perspective, sorcery... spell-casting, dealing with the occult has always been forbidden," says Linda Harvey, of the non-profit Christian group, Mission America. "Witchcraft is being pitched to our kids. We have no idea what we're playing with here, even though it's done in a lighthearted way." One police captain in Pennsylvania was so upset that a YMCA after school program was reading "Harry Potter" to children, that he pulled police from duty at a YMCA triathlon event.

J.K. Rowling may have also been influenced by ugly chapters in world history when depicting the struggle between elitist wizards battling 'mudbloods'. "The Deathly Hallows" mirrors Nazi ideology by forcing "Muggle-borns' to register with the Ministry of Magic, printing racist propaganda, and showing supremacist pure-blood factions rounding up undesireables.

Finally, it's worth noting that Rowling plucked dozens of classic characters, creatures, and concepts from ancient literary sources to construct her wizarding world-- from witches and fairies (tales from the Brothers Grimm), to powerful swords and sorcerers (the King Arthur legend), to the idea of 'the chosen one' who must find incredible courage to defeat evil (Lord of the Rings) . What's makes J.K. Rowling's work stand out and often seem truthful is a deft hand at creating characters and situations we can relate to-- the trials of adolescence, school life, social injustice, first love, racism, and the strength of family and friends.

UNSTOPPABLE

2010-11-12T15:15:00.000-08:00

"Where's the engineer?"
"Right here in the control room."
--ham radio chatter heard regarding runaway train, 5/21/2001.

Where's Superman when you need to stop an out-of-control train? If it's Unstoppable (directed by action maestro Tony Scott), the caped crusader is nowhere to be found. That's because this film is 'inspired by true events'-- in this case, an unmanned locomotive that sped for almost 70 miles before someone managed to put on the brakes. The event occurred in May of 2001 in Ohio. A train with 47 cars left the yard with no engineer aboard carrying a load of molten phenol acid (an explosive, toxic chemical). For more than two hours, the locomotive sped south from Toledo, with police and train crews desperately trying to protect civilians and clear a path to avoid a serious accident. Before potentially derailing on some nasty curves and spilling its dangerous contents near the capitol of Columbus, one heroic worker saved the day.
Trainmaster Jon Hosfeld sped his Dodge truck after the runaway for some 60 miles until a second train latched on the back of the train, slowing it down. Then Hosfeld leaped on board and cut the throttle. "That nobody got hurt was amazing," Jon said. "There were 40-some crossings that it went through." (A detailed account of the saga as it unfolded can be read here).
The Unstoppable filmmakers took plenty of liberties with that story, but vowed to make things as authentic as possible, including using Hosfeld as a consultant and relying on as little computer generated effects as necessary. That meant using real trains, real engineers, and several miles of rails for filming intense action scenes. Oh, yeah, and Denzel did some of his own stunts. "Whenever you see me running on top of a train at 50 miles an hours, that's really me," he said.

Accounts of runaway unmanned trains are rare. Not all have happy endings. Sometime after midnight in December, 1997, a train in Texas parked on an incline slowly and mysteriously pulled away after its crew abandoned it. Catching speed as it headed eastbound, it passed through sleepy towns until tragically, it crashed into a westbound train, killing its crew members and erupting into a fireball.
And for film buffs, there's Runaway Train, penned by famed director Akira Kurosawa, who claims he was inspired by a real unmanned train incident in Rochester, New York.
Who knows? If Unstoppable succeeds at the box-office, this may not be the last train epic leaving the station.

More on the real train that inspired the film.

SALUTE TO VETERANS

2010-11-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

A great way to remember our distinguished war heroes on Veterans Day is on film. Some of the best fact-based films are listed below. Although it's worth noting that several classic fictional films depict a realistic side of war (All Quiet on the Western Front, Platoon, M.A.S.H. to name a few).

The Hurt Locker (Iraq. See exclusive F2F entry here).
Blackhawk Down (Somalia)
Porkchop Hill (Korea)
The Lost Battlion (infantry WW1)
Letters from Iwo Jima (WWII)
The Longest Day (WWII)
Flags of our Fathers (WWII)
Tora! Tora! Tora! (WWII from the perspective of both Japanese and Americans)
Paths of Glory (WWI)

Did we miss a favorite of yours? Let us know in the comment section.

127 Hours

2010-11-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

Real life sagas chronicling incredible courage and sacrifice can often prove difficult for moviegoers to relate to. In some cases, these human stories feature unthinkable choices and force us to reflect on our own mortality and ask: what would we have done in the same situation? Director Danny Boyle tackles this dilemma to great effect in 127 Hours, which tells the true story of Aron Ralston, an expert climber whose arm was trapped under a huge rock. Ralston's survival depended on amputating his limb by his own hand with a small knife, a pair of pliers, and lots of guts. For those who want to know more about Ralston's story, the Internet has dozens of resources-- but nothing more moving than watching Aron himself reenact his ordeal on location. Watching him relive the most horrific episode in his life you see him almost break down. In other videos and articles, we discover more intriguing insights. At one time he sought to scale all of Colorado's major peaks during winter. Why?

"I had these insecurities of being adequate enough... if I was good at anything," he said. "And in order to feel something, I had to be in riskier environments." That attitude almost cost him his life prior to his life-changing accident. Without telling anyone (a mistake he admits) Ralston almost perished in an avalanche with two skier friends. But Aron didn't learn his lesson. On his infamous encounter with a boulder, he again failed to inform family or friends. He paid the price for his recklessness, but today Ralston makes a point of visiting schools and attending seminars as a motivational speaker, hoping to provide inspiration to those seeking a dose of courage. That hasn't stopped him from seeking risky adventures. He continues to climb and test the limits, often with a forearm attachment shaped like a piton.

NY Times video profile

Similar Themed Films:

Touching the Void.

Alive

Interested in more amazing survival stories? Click here.

TEN 'REAL' HORROR FILMS

2010-10-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

In honor of Halloween, here's a list of horror films inspired by or based on true stories. Most of the links explore the truth behind the terror.

1.) The Amityville Horror.
2.) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
3.) The Exorcist.
4.) Psycho. (note: see previous F2F story here).
5.) Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.
6.) The Entity. (on Martin Scorcese's top ten scary movie list)
7.) The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
8.) Wolf Creek.
9.) Silence of the Lambs.
10.) Primeval. (Based on a man-eating crocodile)

What's missing? List your favorite in the comment section below.

Learn more about some of these films here.

*BONUS QUIZ: Which 3 of the films above were inspired by the same serial killer?

Answer:

Answer: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Silence of the Lambs, and Psycho all cite the grisly killer Ed Gein as inspiration.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY UPDATE

2010-10-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

A year ago, F2F crossed the paranormal borderline seeking historic 'truths' that mirror the ghostly encounters in the indie blockbuster, Paranormal Activity (who knew Thomas Edison did research on the subject? See story here). For Paranormal Activity 2, we saw fit to scare up more fun facts.

First, when making the original, filmmaker Oren Peli spent a year researching spirits, demonology, and so-called 'real' case studies of paranormal encounters to bring a sense of authenticity to the project (if that's possible). "I have a large library... of every haunting, possessions and exorcisms," he said. "I learned the more violent entities are demonic. We wanted to be as truthful as we could be."

Speaking of truthful, Peli's inspiration for the story is a bit 'dispirited'. After moving to San Diego, Oren confessed, "I never lived in a single detached home." As a result he was freaked out by every small movement and odd noise heard in the house-- especially at night. That led to wondering how a video camera might capture the source of these incidents, which led to the movie. Sorry folks, not based on a real ghost story.

Then there's the startling story involving director Steven Spielberg, who was sent a DVD copy of Paranormal. According to the Los Angeles Times, Steven watched the movie, then suddenly the door to his empty bedroom became mysteriously locked from the inside, forcing him to call a locksmith. Steven claims the movie is haunted.

The new film's plot involves cleansing a house of 'evil spirits' and a demonic spirit who claims possession of a couple's first born child. F2F discovered many websites with instructions on how to rid your home of bad spirits-- including a 'greenliving' site! Talk about jumping on the eco-friendly bandwagon. And thanks to the social media surge, we found an exorcist on Facebook.

You can find hundreds of allegedly true demonic encounters on the web, in books, and on TV. Whether you believe in the paranormal or not, the "Paranormal Activity" docu-diary film style arguably makes it more scary and more fun to watch.

HORSE FEATHERS! A TRIVIA QUIZ!

2010-10-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

The recent opening of Secretariat follows on the heels of other thrilling horse race movies, like Seabiscuit, National Velvet, and The Black Stallion. Secretariat is based on a true story, but some films may fool you into thinking they're fact-based. All the films below claim to be inspired by real race horses, but one would never make it out of the fact-checker gate. And the loser is....?

1.) Dreamer
2.) Hidalgo
3.) Phar Lap

Read more to find out the answer.

ANSWER: Hidalgo. This is a fantastic study of myth masking as truth for decades. Several Arab historians have negated the existence of the Ocean of Fire, a 3,000 mile desert race or the American horse who won the competition. In fact, they claim if the race actually occurred, the finish line would have to be located in Eastern Europe. The incredible feats of rider Frank Morgan (played by Viggo Mortensen in the film) was allegedly sold as truth by many scribes, including Charles B. Roth, who wrote 'historical' magazine articles in the 1930's. Capitalizing on America's fascination with underdog winner Seabiscuit, Roth penned many 'true' rags to riches yarns, including Morgan's. Years later, he admitted "I do not have any documentary evidence of Mr. Hopkin's race in Arabia."

Dreamer was inspired by the true story of Mariah's Storm, who suffered a severe and potentially career-ending bone injury. But once nursed back to health, she beat the odds and won many high stakes races.

Phar Lap was a champion race horse from Australia who captured the hearts of thoroughbred fans during the Great Depression.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

2010-10-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

"It's a movie... a lot of it is fiction, but even the filmmakers will say that."
--Mark Zuckerberg, interviewed on Oprah.

   Sometimes F2F has to point out the potential lack of truth and factual information in a film. Many want to believe The Social Network chronicles an accurate story of Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg. However, there are enough substantial reports of fictionalized scenes and misrepresentations of the billionaire braniac to raise an eyebrow or two. First, check the source of the screenplay, based on the book The Accidental Billionaires-- The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal, by Ben Mezrich. The author's been criticized for his questionable reporting tactics, including not interviewing Zuckerberg. Business Week said the book was "a fictionalized account of the founding of Facebook." Eliot Schrage, a spokesman for Facebook compared Mezrich to Jackie Collins and Danielle Steele (ouch!). And this isn't the first time Mezrich's non-fiction work has come under fire. In Bringing Down the House, a group of techno-savvy M.I.T. students (sound familiar?), devise a system to cheat at blackjack and win big in Vegas. The Boston Globe criticized Ben's work for making up scenes and characters. The film was adapted into the film, 21, which, coincidentally, starred Kevin Spacey, one of the producers of The Social Network.

   Zuckerberg jokes that he was too busy creating code to be partying all the time, as the film suggests. Friends and colleagues also say the film was inaccurate. Matt Choler, an early FB employee disputes the notion that Mark came up with Facebook to impress a girl. "That's just wrong," he says. Others claim he's 'warm', 'introverted', and a 'man of few words' as opposed to cold, arrogant, and full of sharp-witted dialogue (as seen in the film). For that matter, can an author, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, or others portrayed in the film confirm the accuracy of conversations shown in The Social Network? David Kirkpatrick, who wrote The Facebook Effect, had the advantage of actually meeting and interviewing Zuckerberg. When asked if The Social Network accurately portrays his character? "Not even close," Kirkpatrick said. A film, he says, can't define a person's image.  He points to Zuckerberg's considerable donation to Newark schools as a way of showing Mark's better qualities. Still, critics call his timely show of charity as nothing more than damage control and that his public speeches are carefully scripted. The Winklevoss brothers who sued Facebook think the film was more generous of Zuckerberg than it should have been.
   Some writers have made interesting comparisons of Zuckerberg's film persona to Bill Gates. Both are nerdy tech-heads who created ground-breaking computer programs in their 20's, left Harvard, became billionaires, were accused of copyright infringement and settled huge claims out of court. But only one of them has a hit motion picture based on their lives.
   There is one fact that can't easily be disputed: even though Facebook wants its users to freely share their public lives online, its wunderkind founder guards his privacy and prefers to remain 'anonymous'. Only time will tell how much of the world sees the real side of Mark Zuckerberg.   Meanwhile, we can choose to pass judgement on this controversial genius through real interviews (see links below) and a well-crafted film. And F2F will continue to track this film come Oscar time.

Oprah interview

ABC interview

You Tube Interview

Zuckerberg's Facebook page

ARTHUR PENN: A TRIBUTE

2010-09-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

F2F would like to honor director Arthur Penn, who left behind a motion picture legacy worthy of serious study in any film school course. Bonnie and Clyde established Penn as an influential filmmaker, with a controversially brutal shoot-out ending that would pave the way for films like The Wild Bunch and Natural Born Killers. Penn's goal wasn't to glorify violence, but depict its impact truthfully on screen. He wanted moviegoers to feel as shocked as he was during World War II-- a soldier witnessing first hand the horrors of the battlefield.
Plus, in his own way, he wanted to dispel the myths created by the press which turned Depression-era gangsters like Clyde Barrow and John Dillinger into superstars. "I was trying to tell a true story," Penn once said. "I just inferred from that yellow press that they were idealizing these people... and myths... can't be fulfilled... so disappointment results." Thus, Penn's bank robbers were flawed, often comical in their actions.

Although Penn's films often played with the facts, he was often influenced by real events and people, especially during the Red-scare era of the 1950's and the turbulent 60's. Bonnie and Clyde reflected the rebellious anti-establishment movement caused by the Vietnam War. In The Chase, the director admits that when the film's killer meets his end, he was recreating the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby.

Historical figures were featured in more than one of Penn's films, including The Left-Handed Gun (Paul Newman as Billy the Kid), and The Miracle Worker, which won Oscars for Anne Bancroft as Annie Sullivan and Patty Duke as Helen Keller.

Arthur Penn will always be remembered as a daring, often experimental filmmaker with big ideas, unafraid of mirroring the realities of the day through a camera lens. He also helped strengthen the careers of some of Hollywood's most respected actors, including Dustin Hoffman, Jane Fonda, Gene Hackman, Warren Beatty, and Robert Redford.

Other notable Arthur Penn films:

Little Big Man The Missouri Breaks Night Moves
Mickey One Four Friends Alice's Restaurant

EASY A

2010-09-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic tale of adultery, The Scarlet Letter, often finds its way into the high school curriculum. That includes Ojai North H.S., the fictional setting for the teen comedy Easy A, where students not only study the book but reference film adaptations. The movie title also pays a sort of tongue-in-cheek homage to the book, since the book's heroine, Hester Prynne, wears a crimson 'A' to let everyone know she's an adulteress. In the film, a young girl lies about losing her virginity, then proudly wears the red 'A' to promote her sexual exploits. As the story progresses, she compares herself to Hester Prynne, and eventually reevaluates her misdeeds.

Exploring the real origins of the source material, Hawthorne set his saga in 17th-century Puritan New England, where society enforced a strict code of religion-based ethics. Women weren't allowed to wear lace, men could not smoke in public, and those missing church were whipped. After returning home from a three-year journey, a sailor was put in the stocks for kissing his wife in public. But the author was not only influenced by his ancestor's beliefs, but dramatic social changes taking place when he penned the story, in the mid 1880's. The feminist movement, led by Susan B. Anthony was in full swing. Two years prior to book's publication, the first women's rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. So in essence, Hawthorne may have been exploring what happens when strong women challenge traditional male authority, strike out on their own, and are willing to endure enormous sacrifices in that pursuit. A prime example of real history inspiring profound literature inspiring a savvy film.
Another example similar in nature and setting? Arthur Miller's The Crucible. The play's plot, concerning rumor and hysteria during the Salem witch trials, was an allegory to the blacklisting of alleged Communists during the 1950's.

Motion Pictures of note:

The Scarlet Letter (1934) (featured in Easy A)
The Scarlet Letter (starring Demi Moore and Gary Oldman)
Der Scharlachrote Duchstabe (German version, mentioned in Easy A).

Read the book online.

THE TOWN

2010-09-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

authenticious adv. 1. Genuine; real, combined with fictional attributes.
2. Boston-area slang term for mix of real people and places with fictional story [Grk: authentikos] Source, screenplay, The Town.

Kudos to Ben Affleck. Fact-based realism was first and foremost on his mind while making the gritty heist film, The Town. The actor/director met with real criminals and cops to capture true stories and bring authentic dialogue, character traits, and milieu to his motion picture. "We did a ton of research," Ben recalls. "We went to prison, talked to bank robbers, and met with guys at the FBI who were counterpoints to Agent Frawley, the character played by Jon Hamm."

The story, based on the book Prince of Thieves, by Chuck Hogan, is set in the Boston area of Charlestown, where one thief falls in love with a hostage.

And here's a startling fact: Charlestown is not only a real Boston neighborhood, but holds the record for producing the most bank and armored car robbers in the U.S.!

Affleck also based one memorable scene on a famous robbery in Harvard Square that went awry (a guard shot two out of three robbers who crashed their getaway car while fleeing).

Owen Burke, who plays one of the bank robbing gang, was cast through an open call. "I've actually met a few bank robbers from Charlestown," he reveals. "The were pretty open with me about some of the
things they did, so I can say firsthand that a lot of the movie is realistic."

In addition, Ben hired local Bostonians to round out the cast-- including ex-cons and ex-cops.

BACK TO SCHOOL

2010-09-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

F2F hit the books to explore some of the best-fact based films set in or around the classroom. A sample listing reveals a wide range of eclectic movies to consider:

Rebel Without a Cause
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
The History Boys
Stand and Deliver
The Blackboard Jungle
American Graffiti

Among those, we hit the books on a few notable titles:

Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Cameron Crowe wrote the screenplay based on his 1981 book (Universal Studios hired him before the novel was published). Despite being 22 years old, Crowe went undercover as a student at Claremont High School in California for one year to observe teen life. With help from the school principal and school friends, he captured a realistic portrait of high school angst and its relatable characters and situations. One character, Mark "Rat" Ratner, is based on Andy Rathbone, who went on to write several of the
"for Dummies' books. "We all knew who he was and why he was around, " Andy says of Crowe. "We budding journalists could relate and vice versa. He was friendly and interesting to talk to." Crowe also penned Almost Famous, based on his experiences touring with a rock band, and appeared as an actor in American Hot Wax, a biopic on Allan Freed (who coined the term 'rock 'n roll').

The History Boys. Set in an English grammar school, the film was adapted from a hit stage play and loosely based on writer Alan Bennett's school experiences and teachers he encountered. "I'd been taught at my own school in Leeds by somebody like Mrs. Lintott, in a very.. factual way," admits Bennett. He also confesses to writing his own life experiences into most of the students and head masters. "There's a pinch of yourself in every character," he said. One memorable line from the play was adapted from a famous quote by Henry Butterfield, Professor of History at Cambridge. His line: "History is one bloody thing after another" was changed to "History is just one f#@$ing thing after another."

Rebel Without a Cause. A real life gang member served as both a consultant and cast member in this gritty teen film. Director Nicholas Ray wanted a realistic feel, so he hired Frank Mazzolla-- a member of the Los Angeles gang, the Athenians-- to make sure the lingo, cars and clothes were all authentic. For research, James Dean hung out with the Athenians. Ray attended a gang meeting wired with a microphone and almost got into a fight. In addition, the knife fights and chicken runs were fact-based. The Los Angeles gangs once challenged each other by driving toward each other from opposite ends of a tunnel on Mulholland Dr.

The title comes from a non-fiction book exploring the psyche of a troubled youth named Harold, whose started shoplifting at 12, then committed an assortment of crimes that landed him in juvenile institutions and ultimately jail. The doctor describes the teen as a fidgety, sullen, gullible, lacking judgement, and insight-- which could describe much of James Dean's character in the film. In addition, the author sums up his views of this psychopathic subject as a 'rebel without a cause... an agitator without a slogan... a revolutionary with a program.. to achieve goals that is satisfactory to himself alone.'

Other notable fact-based films:

Fame (featured in a previous F2F entry)

Carrie
Freedom Writers
Conrack
Grease
Lean on Me

Did we miss one of your favorites? Let us know! Leave a comment below.

SCHOOL NOW IN SESSION!

2010-08-30T21:11:00.000-07:00

As kids head back to school, F2F wondered: what's your favorite fact-based high school movie? Oh sure, anyone can shout out The Breakfast Club or American Graffiti. But is there any grain of truth behind those films? For extra credit do a little homework and list a flick with some real backstory and you'll get a gold star! (Supply your answers at the Comment section below).

As a teaser, name which movie was filmed at the writer/director's actual high school:

a.) Grease
b.) Napoleon Dynamite
c.) Heathers

ANSWER:

Napoleon Dynamite. Filmmaker Jared Hess attended Preston High School in Idaho, where several scenes were filmed. In addition, several scenes were inspired by actual events, including the cow being shot in front of the school bus.

PIRAHNA 3D

2010-08-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

Take a bite out of this: pirahnas have been found in North American lakes. True! Most people probably think they only exist in South America. So if you're watching the new Pirahna 3D film and thinking that could never happen north of Bolivia, well, you'd be wrong. The good news: those discovered in northern waters don't normally live long (and are not native-- probably placed there by someone illegally). So how did they get their nasty reputation? We have President Teddy Roosevelt to thank for that. Seems he once saw them devouring a cow (!) and reported the grisly details. Wait, how does a cow on land get eaten by a fish?
By dipping its head in the water to drink, then snap! The little devils litterally yank them in and munch away in a matter of minutes (see photo, right). In case you're wondering, there are no known reports of human-death-by-pirahna attacks, except in the movies. However, some people keep them as pets and natives have used their razor sharp teeth for tools and weapons.

Article on pirahnas.

Watch a Video of Pirahnas eating an anaconda.

Side note: The first two Pirahna films had sharp filmmakers behind the lens: Joe Dante (Gremlins) directed the first Pirahna with a script by John Sayles (Lone Star); and James Cameron (Avatar) was hired, then fired on Pirahna Part II: The Spawning. It's interesting to point out that John Sayles also penned a film --Alligator--based on the urban myth that baby pet gators flushed down the toilet breed in the sewers of a major metropolitan city.

EAT, PRAY, LOVE

2010-08-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

After watching a memoir come to life on screen like Eat Pray Love, with its vivid characters (Felipe, Sofi Ketut) and exotic locales (India, Indonesia, Italy), F2F was curious: what's happened since the book was published in 2006? What impact, if any, has the book had on popular culture? A visit to author Elizabeth George's website fills in some interesting details. She reveals that she's still in contact with many people in the book, including the real Brazilian lover whom she married (played by Javiar Bardem in the film). Yude continues to play music and lead tours in Indonesia. 96-year old palm reader Ketut Liyer found celebrity as a result of the book, with tourists flocking to gain his insight. Unfortunately, that new-found fame may have taken a toll on his health. Days before the premiere of the film Ketut was hospitalized with a heart ailment.
During the film's production, writer/director Ryan Murphy needed help with a scene. He called the real Richard from Texas to provide a personal story, which was used for an emotional segment on a roof in India with Richard and Julia Robert's character. For many, that scene brings plenty of tears. Murphy admits directing the film changed his life. 'I went through a very Liz Gilbert-like journey of my own," he confesses. "So it became more than a movie or book. It became a life-changer." Sadly, the real Richard from Texas passed away after succumbing to heart problems. Gilbert notes, however, that he died with a smile on his face. And what about the author herself? In 2008, Time Magazine named her one of the most influential people in the world, thanks to Eat Pray Love's success. She continues to write, including a sequel to her hit novel (Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage), and remains humbled by her own success. "I have never entirely understood the rocket-like trajectory of that book," she said. "and so-- with the movie and all of it -- I stand back amazed, watching it all unfold and wondering at this strange turn of destiny."

A good site for
Interviews and Behind-the-Scenes footage.

Independent Spotlight: Callous

2010-08-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

The independent film world often becomes the breeding ground for realistic, fact-based films. Case in point: Callous, winner of multiple film festival awards, recently released on DVD. The gritty story explores child abuse through a compelling, original narrative, featuring Native American mysticism. The movie is based on real life events that took place in the life writer/director/producer Joey Lanai. One of its stars, Kari Nissena, portrays an abusive mother who holds great power over her entire family. "I was told that my character's lines were 100% direct quotes straight from real life," Nissena told F2F. "And the actions that were played out in the movie were true to life, with maybe 15 to 20% of the film altered for artistic reasons." Kari researched abuse cases for the role, plus gained 30 pounds to look similar to the real person her character is based on. The attention to detail and accuracy throughout the production definitely had an effect. "Many people have come up to us after screenings somewhat shaken or with tears in their eyes because they can identify with the story because of their own stories of abuse," Nissenna revealed.

The real impact of the film? Proceeds of Callous DVD sales will benefit Mi Casa Group Homes, an organization which cares for abused and neglected kids (ages 5-18). "This is a charity that Joey's producing partner Thom Michael Mulligan has spent time at," Kari said. "It is near to his heart. And we wanted a charity that we could help directly and really make a difference."

DVD's of Callous can be purchased here.

Callous at IMDB.

*SPECIAL EVENT: TRUTH IN OUTER SPACE

2010-08-05T09:38:00.000-07:00

It's time for a shout-out for a fascinating fiction-vs.-fact event. On Thursday, Aug. 5th, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences presented "Out of this World: the Science of Space Movies", hosted by teacher Adam Weiner, author of Don't Try This at Home! The Physics of Hollywood Movies. From Star Trek to Apollo 13 to Superman and beyond, Weiner explored the 'real' physics in several popular movies. Special guests included NASA astronaut Dr. Jeffrey A. Hoffman and visual effects wizard Richard Edlund (Star Wars).

On Friday, August 6th, Adam continued his exploration of outer space reality with a screening of Fritz Lang's 1929 film, Woman in the Moon, considered to be one of the most influential sci-fi films of its time.

Film2Fact applauds these exciting events, having explored the reality of sci-fi ideas depicted in Avatar Transformers, Iron Man, and Star Trek.

Further reading:

Don't Try This at Home! The Physics of Hollywood Movies by Adam Weiner

The Science of Science Fiction: 83 Predictions That Became Scientific Reality by Robert Bly

The Physics of Star Trek by Lawrence M. Krauss

THE GHOST WRITER

2010-08-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

When a writer bases his fictional work on a real political leader, one of the questions they're often asked is: what's your motivation? Is the intent to criticize, praise, satirize, or simply document the life a major world figure? Take a look at some political films in the past couple of decades and it's clear the intent of some filmmakers (Oliver Stone comes to mind). In the case of The Ghost Writer, released in August 2010 on DVD, screenwriter Robert Harris (and author of the book, The Ghost, on which the film is based) admits that the true source of inspiration for the character of Adam Lang was former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Harris was less than pleased with Blair for supporting the Iraq War. But rather than pen a critical essay on Blair, Harris opted for wildly imaginative story with mass appeal and an underlying message. "Popular fiction can take readers into serious issues," he said. Harris also fictionalized Blair's intent to make a hefty profit from his autobiography.
"We have a curious phenomenon in Britain, " Harris said. "For the last 30 years, we've had three Prime Ministers-- Thatcher, Major and Blair --who have gone on to make a fortune in the United States selling their memoirs."

Several plot points in the film paralleled actual events. News reports continue to suggest Tony Blair might face war crime trials and find a need to seek asylum in the United States (whereas in the film, Lang is accused of approving the interrogation and torture of British citizens by the CIA). In a January, 2010 protest in London, one left-wing lawmaker thought Blair's actions in Iraq were 'more terrible than the crimes of Macbeth.'

Upon further inspection, the influential and conspiratorial role of Lang's wife could have been inspired by such powerful political wives as Hilary Rodham Clinton, Barbara Bush and Elizabeth Edwards, who are often thought to be backstage presidential puppeteers. The characters of Foreign Secretary Richard Rycart and the U.S. Secretary of State look a lot like their true-life counterparts, Robin Cook and Condeleeza Rice. Lang's memoir, My Life, happens to be the same title of Bill Clinton's memoir. Coincidence? And as not to spoil a major plot point, a tragic event in the film closely mirrors mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Credit must go to co-screenwriter and director Roman Polanski, who is no stranger to films based on true events. He won a well-deserved Best Director Oscar for The Pianist, an autobiographical account of growing up in World War II Poland. "Every film I make, I hope it has some meaning beside being an entertainment piece," Polanski said in an interview seen on The Ghost Writer DVD release.

Interview with Polanski on The Ghost Writer

COMIC CON 101

2010-07-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

We dedicate this entry to that humongous, wild, movie-related annual event, Comic-Con. Recently, it’s become the premiere destination for studios to hype big budget blockbusters, most notably those relating to animated characters, action stars, graphic novel adaptations, and every superhero put to ink. 2010’s line-up include panels on some highly-anticipated releases-- The Green Lantern, Thor, Red, Megamind, TRON: Legacy, Captain America, and The Green Hornet. Comic books still reign supreme at Comic-Con, and it’s interesting to see their ‘real’ impact on not just the movie screen, but at the blackboard. Many educators over the years have discovered how to use comics as a learning tool, often plucking out real facts to teach science, history, and language arts. In fact, sifting through Comic-Con’s vast four day schedule, you’ll find scholarly panels entitled: "Using Comic Book Characters for Cultural Critique", "Comics in the Classroom," and "The Secret Origins of Good Readers" (which explores how teachers, librarians, and publishers can bring comics into the classroom as a learning tool).

You can find evidence of popular movie and comic superheroes making appearances in college courses across the country. At the University of Minneapolis, physics professor James Kakalios teaches a class called “Everything I Know in Science I Learned from Reading Comic Books.” One of his lessons explained the physics behind the death of Spiderman’s girlfriend after she was thrown off a roof by the Green Goblin. Even though Spidey caught her in his web before hitting the ground, the impact was 20 times the force of gravity, thus snapping her neck.

Kelley J. Hall, associate dean of academic affairs and associate professor of sociology at DePauw University used the X-Men comics to examine prejudice and violence used against various groups of people (also a theme in the feature films). In her classes, she points out comic plot points relating to Jim Crow laws, discrimination, and HIV/AIDS. "I can't say for sure that the writers were doing this specifically," said Hall, "but it's not hard sociologically speaking, it's not hard to apply X-Men to real events."

Dr. Shaun Treat, assistant professor of communication studies at the University of North Texas thinks comic book heroes reflect American politics, culture and attitudes. "They're a fun way to introduce students to rhetoric and philosophy," he said. In his course, "Mythic Rhetoric of the American Superhero", students watch The X-Men movies, V for Vendetta, and read a alternative universe Superman saga set in Soviet Union during Stalin's reign. He emphasizes how comics not only reflect, but influence the real world. "Organ Transplants were portrayed in comics before they became reality," said Treat.

Soon, you could see a sociology course on Captain America, charting the character's creation in 1941 that stirred patriotic feelings during World War II to 2010, where the filmmakers behind Captain America: The First Avenger filmmakers have toned down his stars-and-stripes flag-waving persona. Apparently, they seem to feel that too much of an old-fashioned red, white, and blue attitude may be political poison at the box-office.

INCEPTION Exclusive

2010-07-15T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hey, we’ve all seen A Nightmare on Elm Street, so we know evil doers can enter our dreams, right?

Seriously, in writer/director Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Inception, saboteurs find a way to enter people’s dreams to extract or plant information. But is anything like that remotely possible? Nolan offers little insight into the background of his story other than doing research on lucid dreaming—simply defined as the state of mind where a dreamer is aware that they’re dreaming. To find out more, Film2Fact got an exclusive interview with Ryan Dungan Hurd, a lucid dream researcher with an MA in Consciousness Studies, a Certificate in Dream Studies from John F. Kennedy University, and a book entitled Sleep Paralysis: A Dreamer’s Guide.

F2F: What are the real possibilities of sabotaging or invading one’s dreams?

Hurd: Mutual dreaming is a real phenomenon that is experienced by millions. I'd define mutual dreaming as statistically improbable dream content shared between two or more people on the same night. But that is consensual dream sharing. Dream invasion, on the other hand, is not as well understood. I think it's more likely to happen the old fashioned-way (dream telepathy, vision quests) rather than through some technology-assisted method involving drugs and fancy Virtual Reality goggles.

Is it possible to extract or plant information through dreams via injection or other means?

Hurd: There's certainly no scientific evidence. Robert Waggoner, author of Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self tells a story about his own lucid dream in which he teaches a friend of his to become aware she is dreaming when she sees a peace sign in front of her face. Then, four months later, Waggoner met this friend for lunch and as they walk towards each other in greeting, she gets a "curious look" on her face and then makes a peace sign right in his face. She says later she's not sure why she did that. (more on this story can be found here).

Have there been any successful attempts to extract or plant information in dreams?

Hurd: The best scientific evidence for dream telepathy is the work done by Dr. Montague Ullman and Stanley Krippner, PhD at the Maimonides Medical Center in the 1970s. By setting an intention, focusing on emotions and visual imagery, "senders" can influence the dreams of "receivers" who report their dreams. The International Association for the Study of Dreams actually conducts research into this method every year at their annual conference for fun as a "dream telepathy contest." It's always done in a way that the receivers have no idea what the sender is focusing on, and the results are always stunning. Someone regularly comes up with the image or a statistically improbable rendition of the image on that night.

Has the government or military ever experimented in dream invasion technology or manipulation?

Hurd: The claims of a secret government research on dream sharing and manipulation are either fictional or still classified. However, The movie The Men Who Stare at Goats recently portrayed a fictionalized account loosely based on US and Russia government projects investigating "psychic powers" including the remote viewing projects on the 1970s and 1980s. Remote viewing is the alleged use of deep imagination, trance or dreams to discover information about a place, person or event. The evidence is pretty convincing. An Air Force program (for example) resulted in the successful location by remote viewing of a downed Soviet TU-22 airplane. During the Gulf war remote viewing was used extensively for intelligence gathering, and from 1990-1995 a program called "Stargate" was resurrected from an earlier Ft. Meade project (Not to be confused with the film and television series of the same name). Ted Koppel interviewed former "Stargate" personnel in 1995 on Nightline. The work most likely continues in classified projects despite the 1995 briefing from the Defense Intelligence Agency that remote viewing has no scientific merit.

Upon further research, Film2Fact found some amusing information in a book called Mind Matrix: Covert Electronic Harassment Mind Control Program by the mysterious Commander X. Allegedly, there are over 40 pages of official U.S. patents for mind control devices. The inventors of some of the patented devices claim to be able to project subliminal messages into the minds of unsuspecting victims, as well as to silently influence moods and behavior. There are also devices that can broadcast a speaking voice directly into the brain, completely bypassing the normal auditory system. Scary stuff, especially if you believe The Matrix is based on fact and Big Brother is watching.

More on Ryan Dungan Hurd

A site devoted to some Inception-related articles.

Other films of note relating to dreams and mind manipulation. Please add to this list!

Dreamscape

The Matrix

Spellbound

The Cell

TRIVIA QUESTION!

2010-07-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

Nicholas Cage once said: "I've always wanted to play a magician in a film."

But he wasn't talking about The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Which film was he referring to (and yes, he had a few tricks up his sleeve)?

ANSWER:

Nicholas Cage once said: "I've always wanted to play a magician in a film."*

He got his wish in the film:

Next

*In an interview that can be seen on a DVD bonus feature produced by Stephen R. Wolcott.

TWILIGHT UPDATE

2010-07-09T00:02:00.000-07:00

They say life imitates art, but this news item really sucks. Following the release of the blockbuster hit Twilight Eclipse came stories of a 'biting' trend amongst teenagers. Apparently, drawing blood is an expression of love, despite real dangers of infection and physical harm. Doctors also fear this can have an emotional impact, if the intent of biting is to establish ownership of another person. This gives new meaning to the term 'hickie', which I guess is so last century that I shouldn't even bring it up.

More evidence of the real cultural impact of films. A few notable examples: after the release of Jaws, beach goers feared going in the ocean. Some scholars argue that the timing of Casablanca's release directly affected the U.S. involvement in World War II. The music in 2001: A Space Odyssey created a spike in classical music sales and was played on the Apollo 8 mission.

The impact of film on society is worth a lengthier discussion. In the meantime, I'll check to see if bachelor parties in Las Vegas spiked after the release of The Hangover.

Video of biting trend

JULY 4TH FILMS

2010-07-04T16:03:00.001-07:00

How many films have a Fourth of July theme?

There’s the musical, 1776, Yankee Doodle Dandy (featuring a terrific singing/dancing performance from James Cagney), and Revolution, starring Al Pacino with a weird accent. Mel Gibson stars in The Patriot, a grisly saga loosely based on a real officer named Francis Marion (nicknamed 'the Swamp Fox").

For pure pleasure with a solid dose of real facts, try National Treasure. The writers did their research – inserting several accurate historical details and quotes relating to the Declaration of Independence, plus basic truths about famous landmarks such as Independence Hall, The National Archives, and Trinity Church.

The DVD bonus features also offer a hypothetical argument connecting the Knights Templar and Freemasons. In the film, The Knights Templar and Freemasons collaborated to protect invaluable treasures. In truth, however, there is no proof that Freemasons are descendants of the Knights Templar. The filmmakers were correct in naming famous Freemasons who were part of the American Revolution, including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Paul Revere, and John Hancock. On the other hand, the last signer of the Declaration of Independence, Charles Carroll, who figures in one of the movie’s key plot points, was not a Freemason. What may be more interesting is to learn some famous names who were members of Masonic Lodges, including: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Mark Twain, Harry Houdini, John Wayne, Arnold Palmer, Napoleon, Irving Berlin, Clark Gable, and several U.S. Presidents. (more names listed here).

National Treasure proved popular enough to spark a sequel, and a proposed third film is in the works.

And for the record, there is no secret map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.

More on National Treasure's truth meter.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA CONTINUES

2010-07-03T19:50:00.000-07:00

Many moons ago, Film2Fact discovered fascinating insights within Twilight: New Moon (see story here). Now, with the release of Twilight: Eclipse, we’ve unearthed some real world updates you can really sink your teeth into.

First, legend has it that vampires can’t see their own reflection in a mirror. If so, then it’s possible heartthrob Robert Pattinson gave the make-up crew fits. According to ancestry.com Pattinson’s ancestors are linked to Vlad III, the true inspiration for author Bram Stoker’s famous bloodsucker, Dracula. The Romanian ruler was nicknamed Vlad the Impaler for his cruel treatment of his enemies. Somehow Pattinson’s roots twist from Vlad through British royalty, including Prince William and Prince Henry. (Curiously, in 2006, at the premiere of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Pattinson was discussing a scene involving his character, Cedric. He commented: "I felt like Dracula.") But he’s not the only Twilight member bearing fangs. Author Stephanie Meyer also has British roots connecting her to Vlad.

From vampires to werewolves, there’s plenty of real legends that Stephanie Meyer explored for her novels. Perhaps the most interesting is the concept that Native Americans can turn into wolves. True to the North American tribe depicted in the film, the Quileute people pass down legends from generation to generation, explaining the origin of their tribe. According to what’s called a creation myth, a hero named Q’wati (which translates to “Transformer”), traveled through Quileute’s land one day, but saw no people—only two wolves. He magically transforms the wolves into humans and tells them they’ll live to be strong and brave. You can hear and see more about the Quileute tribe, including visits from the Twilight cast here.

The real world impact is that curious Twilight fans are not only learning more about tribal cultures like the Quileute, but are being exposed to a more authentic on-screen depiction of Native Americans. However, there’s no truth to the rumor that most Native American males remain shirtless 90% of the time. That notion just helps to sell more popcorn.

More on Vlad the Impaler.

More on the Quilete.

NOW ON DVD/BLU-RAY

2010-07-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

Several films highlighted on Film2Fact have recently been released on

DVD and Blu-Ray.

Check out fascinating insights on these film

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Shutter Island

Alice in Wonderland

Avatar

Sherlock Holmes

FLASHBACK: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

2010-06-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

In Monroeville, Alabama, a play is staged every year to honor a book written 50 years ago. That book, written by Harper Lee, was turned into the film, To Kill a Mockingbird, featuring the Oscar-winning performance of Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. Despite the fact that Lee never wrote another work of fiction, Mockingbird endures as a beloved, emotionally-charged classic and is often required student reading. The film made a real impact both on and off-screen, and there are several interesting truths behind the words.

To begin with, Harper Lee based attorney Finch on her father, Amasa Lee,

who similarly defended a black man in 1923. Peck and Amasa met during the production and formed a strong kinship. So much so, that Peck was given Amasa’s watch and chain, which Gregory wore when he won his Academy Award.

One of the most interesting characters in the film is Dill, who visits the Finch children during the summer. Harper based the character on her real-life friend Truman Capote, who visited Lee’s hometown after his parents divorced.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lee, Harper Lee's mother and father, lived very near,” Truman once said. "Harper Lee was my best friend. Her father was a lawyer and she and I used to go to trials all the time as children. We went to the trials instead of going to the movies."

In 1959, Harper helped Truman as a research assistant on his landmark book, In Cold Blood (which was also turned into a film). Since Harper Lee’s hometown played strong roles in her story, the film’s production designers traveled to Monroeville and took photos and measurements of the courthouse. Subsequently, they went to great lengths to make an accurate recreation of the courtroom inside a soundstage. Today the real courthouse in Alabama serves as a museum dedicated to the film, book, and life of Harper Lee.

The 35^th Anniversary DVD edition also offers an excellent documentary about the film’s legacy.

TOY STORY 3

2010-06-21T15:20:00.000-07:00

What truths can be found in an animated film about a bunch of talking toys?

Well, some of those toys seen in Toy Story 3—including Barbie, Ken, Mr. Potato Head, Chatter Telephone, and Slinky Dog—were based on real physical playthings, some whose origins date back more than 50 years.

Inventor George Lerner first introduced Mr. Potato Head’s ears, nose, eyes, and other attachments for real fruits and vegetables circa 1950.
The idea morphed from a “funny face” kit featuring 30 pieces into sets that included plastic spuds with pre-drilled holes.

However, one of the most fascinating toy evolutions began in 1943 when Richard James, a mechanical engineer working in a naval shipyard, watched a torsion spring fall off a table and wiggle. After testing the ‘walking’ capability with various spring prototypes, James introduced the Slinky to the public in 1946 at Gimbels Department Store (the first batch of 400 sold in 90 minutes). Not only has the toy endured for generations whether by itself or in the form of a dog (which debuted in 1952), Slinky has impacted world culture in many ways. During the Vietnam War, soldiers discovered that Slinkies made effective radio antennas. Doctors have used Slinkies for physical therapy. The toys also have been transformed into mail holders, lighting fixtures, bird repellers, drapery holders, and sprung up in pecan-picking devices.

Credit must go to the staff at Pixar for researching the real world for their films. From traveling to Venezuela for Up or dining at Parisian restaurants for Ratatouille, they bring a strong sense of authenticity to their fantasies. While exploring daycare centers for Toy Story 3, the animators came across many Chatter Telephones, which led to that toy's inclusion in the film. They also made a point of casting a real U.S. military Sergeant, R. Lee Ermey in the role of the toy soldier character, Sarge.

So what about Buzz and Woody? Do they have any basis in truth? According to executive producer John Lasseter (director/writer Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and writer of Toy Story 3), the inspiration for Woody was a beloved Casper doll he owned as a child (which still lives in Lasseter’s office). Animators also used Lasseter’s likeness for the character of Buzz Lightyear. In addition, the character’s first name was a tribute to astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the 2nd man to walk on the moon, and they patterned his suit after those worn by Apollo’s space travelers. Aldrin once filmed an amusing video ‘coaching’ Lightyear for a shuttle mission (shown here). Subsequently Buzz Lightyear flew on the space shuttle Discovery in 2008 and lived aboard the International Space Station for 15 months.

Needless to say, some toys have a ‘life’ of their own.

Mr. Potato Head site.

John Lasseter talks toys on YouTube

Story on the origins of Barbie and Ken

TRIVIA GAME: Who said it?

2010-06-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

"Art…has the power to make any spot on earth the living center of the universe: and unlike science, which often gives us the illusion of understanding things we really do not understand, it helps us to know life in a way that still keeps before us the mystery of things…that keep us moving in a lively way and that lead to useful discovery."

Who said it?

1. WILLIAM STEIG (author, Shrek)

2. MAURICE SENDAK (author, Where the Wild Things Are)

3. LEWIS CARROLL (author, Alice in Wonderland)

Click to see answer!

WILLIAM STEIG

THE A-TEAM

2010-06-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

Colin Powell. Pat Tillman. Singer Kris Kristofferson. James Earl Jones. These are a few notable members of the real "A-Team" --not to be confused with the blockbuster motion picture, based on the 80’s TV series, directed by Joe Carnahan. In the film, Hannibal and his cronies are former Army Rangers, a secretive, Special Forces division of the United States military.

The real U.S. Army Ranger history dates back to 1670, when an elite “Ranger” unit learned guerilla tactics to resolve a conflict with Native Americans.
From that point on, you’ll find Rangers fighting in almost every major U.S. conflict. Unfortunately during the Civil War, a group of famous Rangers sided with the Confederacy, using expert reconnaissance and surprise attacks against the Union.
In World War II, the title RANGER was given to the first fighting unit to set foot on European soil. A now famous motto: “Rangers, Lead the Way!” was first shouted as members of the 75^th Ranger Regiment

landed at Normandy. Other WWII Rangers worked under General George S. Patton and took on some of the most dangerous and perilous missions – from the Philippines to North Africa. Subsequently, special elite forces battled in Korea, Vietnam, Panama, and freed trapped Americans during an heroic rescue mission in Grenada

Sadly, some Ranger conflicts ended in tragedy, most notably in Somalia, where 18 were killed in the “Blackhawk Down” incident (recounted in Ridley Scott’s film). As noted earlier, there were several famous members of the Rangers, including former NFL football player Pat Tillman, who served with the 75^th Ranger Regiment in Afghanistan, but died during a friendly fire incident in 2004.

What's interesting is that the Most moviegoers will enjoy The A-Team for its over-the-top action, thrills, and fun. However, exploring the truth behind one important source from which the film takes its premise can remind us of real heroes kicking butt. And fearlessly watching our back. “Rangers, lead the way!”

SIDE NOTE: Director/writer Joe Carnahan revealed that part of the idea for the A-Team script came from a real news story regarding the Iraq War. "We literally went on Google and found out that Saddam Hussein robbed the central bank of Iraq 24 hours before Shock and Awe," Carnahan said. "And literally had this guy go in with a stick-up note and say, 'I want $600 million in Euros, $400 million in…,' and we actually have a copy of the letter. I thought that was a great way to start. If anything, that was kind of the moment of inspiration."

SPLICE

2010-06-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

Imagine confronting a snarling, rabid human female with wings and a long stinger tail?

That’s the kind of human/animal hybrid you’d find in the thrilling sci-fi film Splice.

But did you know scientists have been combining human and animal cells for over 15 years?

In fact, it was a 1995 experiment combining a human ear with a hairless mouse (the ‘earmouse’) that inspired Splice director Vincenzo Natali. Several significant cases have been documented in the last few years, bridging that the gap between fantasy and reality.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota created pigs with human blood flowing through them. The Chinese created the first ‘chimera’, fusing human cells and rabbit eggs. Biologist Fred Gage of the Salk Institute in California placed human neurons in mice to understand the effects of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. There’s real hope that potential cures and immunization for diseases can be found through genetic human/animal experimentation. Example: Joe has HIV. Extract some of Joe’s good stemcells into a pig. Train those cells to fight infection. Deploy back into Joe and launch major offensive against HIV. In similar fashion, Scientists also think they can harvest replaceable organs (Joe has a bum liver. Grow a new one in a sheep).

Okay, so where are the mutant man-hamsters gone hog-wild? None reported so far. However, much credit for unorthodox, yet imaginative human experimentation like this must goes to H.G. Wells and Mary Shelley. Who knows how many scientific minds were inspired by the animal/human vivisections in The Island of Dr. Moreau (Wells), and the combining of anatomical parts from multiple subjects to breathe life into Frankenstein (Shelley)? At the same time, those authors raised alarming ethical questions in their stories. To what lengths should mankind experiment with life and the natural order of things? Today, real outrage and concern surround animal human hybrid experimentation. As proof, Canada has banned chimera research. On July 29, 2010, it will be illegal for scientists in the state of Arizona to produce a human-animal hybrid. This comes after Ohio passed a similar law. Are the timing of these laws and the release of Splice coincidental? Hmm.

Other films with similar themes.

The Island of Dr. Moreau

Frankenstein

Species

Beyond the blog: Film2Fact on DVD

2010-06-01T22:06:00.000-07:00

See where Stephen has explored "Film2Fact" in special documentary segments on DVD releases.

Star Trek Film Collection Scientists from the Jet Propulsion Lab discuss the reality of stellar cartography; an astronaut delivers a live message from the space station; roboticists explore the possibilities of creating an android like Data.

Herbie: Fully Loaded A real pro female NASCAR race car driver demonstrates the ins and outs of speeding around the track at the California Speedway.

Star Trek: Voyager On each season's DVD bonus disc you'll find "Real Science with Andre Bormanis." Star Trek's writer/science consultant separates the truth from the imaginary in specific episodes.

Primal Fear Renowned forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz and other experts explore the sanity defense used by famous criminals.

Marked Woman (Bette Davis Collection 2). Historians look at how the film mirrors real gangsters and criminal events.

PRINCE OF PERSIA

2010-05-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

Do you know where the word “Assassin” comes from?

The term links directly to Hassassin (or Hashashashin), one of the most famous groups of assassins in history. And it’s no coincidence you’ll find a similar nasty bunch of Hassasin in Disney’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Sure, this fantasy film is based on a video game, but its author, Jordan Mechner, did his homework to bring realism to the tale.

The Hassassin sect (left) gained fame thanks in part to the journals of Marco Polo, who encountered them during his travels to Alamut, an impregnable mountain fortress located near present day Teheran, Iran. In The Prince of Persia, Alamut plays a vital role as the location of the Sands of Time. Only ruins of the real Alamut fortress remain today. Mechner also chose an authentic name for his Prince-- Dastan. According to producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Jordan found the name (which translates as ‘trickster’) in a Persian book of kings called the Shahnamen.

However, Mechner and the filmmakers may have bypassed historical accuracy when it comes to leaping off walls and other swashbuckling antics. The movie incorporates strong elements of ‘parkour’--which sounds like it might originate in Persia, but the gravity-defying practice of jumping, vaulting and climbing has origins in modern day France. The skills are linked to traceurs, whose intense training allows them to overcome environmental obstacles with speed and precision using only the human body. (More on its origins here)

On a final note, much criticism has been made of the film’s casting of non-native roles. According to some sources, a real Prince of Persia could have played the lead. Actor/film executive David K. Zandi is one of the last descendants of the Persian Zand Dynasty, who ruled in the 18^th century. He’s also skilled in martial arts, rides horses, and sword fighting. Was this a royally missed opportunity?

Notable Persian-based legends on film:

The Thief of Bagdad (One of the inspirations for the game)

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

Aladdin

FLASHBACK: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

2010-05-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

May 20^th, 1980. The Royal premiere of The Empire Strikes Back in London.

Thirty years ago there lines around the block for this Star Wars sequel, and today the film is still regarded as one of the best (if not “the” best) in the series. When it comes to exploring the possibilities of scientific truths depicted in "Star Wars" films, we need to remember that Lucas had other things on his mind than accurate astrophysics. He favored Joseph Campbell over

Stephen Hawking. That said, it’s worth asking: how far have we come in 30 years? How much of an impact did Star Wars have on the science world?

Well, one area worth exploring: robotics. Both R2-D2 and C-3PO have been inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame, established by the Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science. The RHF honors real and fictional robots, including HAL (from 2001: A Space Odyssey), the Mars Pathfinder Sojourner Rover, and Astro Boy. Carnegie Mellon is one of several institutions doing serious robot work.

A few years back, Forbes Magazine asked scientists about the far-fetched ideas shown in Star Wars. Will we ever see Light Sabers? No way. Hyperdrive? Not quite.

But when it comes to The Empire Strikes Back, specifically in the area of replaceable robotic limbs (like Luke’s severed hand?)-- progress!

MIT developed an impressive robotic knee and lower leg that allowed patients to not merely walk normally, but rollerblade!

More recent developments create connections between the nervous system and severed parts for enhanced mobilization. And NASA has contributed to robotic limb research for use in space.Speaking of NASA, they’ve beendeveloping a robot (see video) who looks very similar to C-3PO. And not by coincidence, one of the prototypes is called R2, short for Robonaut 2. NASA’s goal is to send robots on missions to the Moon and aboard the International Space Station. They may even replace the need for human-based space flights. Buzz Aldrin may not be happy about that, but it seems the future will not be void of droids.

ROBIN HOOD

2010-05-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

“I always figured that there was so much written about Robin that he definitely existed.”

- director Ridley Scott, Robin Hood

Ridley S cott is not the only one curious about the truth behind Robin Hood (the latest film version starring Russell Crowe). Scores of historians throughout the ages have pondered if the plucky bowman and his story were based on actual people and events.

The reality? Richard the Lionhearted, Eleanor of Aquataine, and King John (left) all lived in the era depicted in the screenplay along with a sheriff named William de Grey, who had a run-in with several outlaws; Sherwood Forest exists within Nottingham, an English county; and there’s evidence of not one, but many blokes named Robin Hood–- since the name was as common as John Smith back in the day.

No academic archer seems to have hit the proverbial bull's eye on a single figure.
Was he a fugitive named Robert Hod, circa 1226? The Earl of Huntington, Robard Hude, buried in Kirklees Priory? How about Fulk Fitz Warin, a medieval robber who tricked unsuspecting travelers? Or as one historian suggests, is the name “Robin Hood” just an alias used by many outlaws?

The ‘alias’ idea rings true in modern times. From Jesse James to Somali pirates, the Robin Hood reference has been adopted hundreds of times no matter how loosely it may fit. For instance, a May, 2010 British news story tells of a woman jailed for forging inheritance documents and wills from recently deceased hospital patients and handing out their money to prostitutes, refugees, and the homeless (likening herseld to a 'modern-day Robin Hood').

December, 2009: a master blackjack player who goes by the moniker Robin Hood 702 gave all his earnings to a family struggling to pay much-needed brain cancer treatments for their daughter. Then there’s the claims of Somali pirates who vow to use their stolen booty to deliver aid to Haiti, while bypassing government red tape. There’s also an organization called Robin Hood: L ionhearts, who award people participating in worthy causes and the Robin Hood F oundation

which nabbed $88 million from the rich to give to the poor of New York City. And that’s just the tip of the… arrow.

Without a doubt, the spirit of Robin Hood remains alive in movies, the press, and in various philanthropic circles targeting the underprivileged.

YouTube video of modern day Robin Hoods.

Origins of Robin Hood

Other films of note:

The Adventures of Robin Hood (starring Errol Flynn)

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (with Kevin Costner)

Robin and the 7 Hoods (a Frank Sinatra musical)

UPDATE! IRON MAN 2

2010-05-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

BUILDING A BETTER

PARTICLE ACCELERATOR.

When Hollywood filmmakers need ‘real’ help from the science world, they often turn to the Science and Entertainment Exchange, an adjunct of the National Academy of Sciences.

In Ironman 2, the producers called on them to learn more about a giant particle accelerator (above), which Tony Stark uses to help power the reactor in his chest (in truth, some accelerators can be used to create high levels of radiation for use in bacterial sterilization, plastics, and cancer therapy). The Exchange connected them to Mark Wise, a physicist from Cal Tech in Pasadena who consulted on scientific theories and concepts used in some of the film’s sequences. “They wanted the scenes to look good, but they also wanted elements of truth in what they did, “ said Wise.

Jennifer Ouellette, director of the Exchange says movies and science together can be a good match. “Science brings new ideas to the table as creative fodder,” she said “Hollywood brings science (and scientists) to vivid life in a way that captures the imagination of the general public -- it’s a win-win situation for both science and Hollywood."

What’s even more interesting are some of the names on the Advisory Board of the Science and Entertainment Exchange—including directors Michael Mann (Public Enemies), Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity), Rob Reiner (Stand by Me); writer Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back), Oliver Sachs, Sherry Lansing, and Dustin Hoffman. With 'real' and 'reel' innovators like these working together, only time will tell before we see the most far-fetched movie ideas turn from... Film2Fact.

Source for the Ironman 2 science story here.

SEE MORE on IRONMAN 2 in previous entry.

IRON MAN 2

2010-04-27T21:58:00.000-07:00

How cool would it be to fly around in an Ironman supersuit? When the first movie debuted in 2008, there was plenty of buzz throughout the science world about the real possibilities. Up to that point the most realistic image was some daredevil in a jetpack, ala James Bond in Thunderball.

So whatever happened to the jetpack?

Well, after years of misfires, one-offs, and prototypes, the reality is consumers can now place orders for their own jetpack for around $86,000 through Martin Laboratories in New Zealand. Each gas-powered device is powered by a pair of mega fans that can take thrillseekers for a brisk 30-minute ride.

But flying is only one part of the suit. Tony Stark’s slick body armor provides super strength, weaponry and other gadgetry. Is there anything like that in the real world?

Since 2000, Raytheon has been developing exoskeleton technology with a robotic suit that amplifies strength, endurance and agility.

In addition, Lockheed Martin offers the HULC (left, not to be confused with that other Marvel superhero), a battery-operated exoskeleton apparatus that enables field soldiers to maneuver with greater flexibility while carrying heavy loads (up to 200 pounds). And like changes made to Tony's suit in Ironman 2, developers are enhancing HULC’s robotic abilities with compact fuel cells that can last more than 72 hours. However, when it comes to firepower, the only advantage these suits seem to provide is the ability to carry a bigger, heavier weapon.

The fact that Ironman-style supersuits are being designed for the military raises interesting dilemmas: to what degree should the creators of new weapons technology be conscious of its affects on Mankind? What if these weapons got into the wrong hands? Those questions were not lost on screenwriter Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) who gave advice during the development of Ironman 2. He thought Robert Downey, Jr. should pattern his character after J. Robert Oppenheimer, who commandeered The Manhattan Project (the top-secret World War II program that developed the world’s first atomic bomb).

In the film, Tony Stark worries about sharing his potentially lethal technology with the world. In contrast, Oppenheimer expressed concerns about the global impact of weapons of mass destruction. “Before we opened the door to this horrifying new world in which we live today, we should have knocked,” he said. Some historians claim Oppenheimer had conflicted views on his role as “the Father of the Atomic Bomb.” Upon seeing the first bomb test, Robert was instantly reminded of a quote from the sacred Hindu text, the Bhagavad Gita: “I am become death, destroyer of worlds.” Later, Oppenheimer became an advocate for nuclear arms control during the Cold War. Similarly, Stan Lee created the comic character Ironman in the early 1960’s to explore the role of American technology in the fight against Communism. In 2010’s Ironman 2, moral issues surrounding weapons technology and the arms dealers who seek to profit from them mirror our own real world.

Although we may not see a fully realized Ironman suit in the near future, or its affect on society, we have to thank the creators for stirring the imagination in more ways than one.

Notable films concerning weapons technology, arms dealers, bomb tests:

Dr. Strangelove (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb)

The Lord of War

Fat Man and Little Boy

Fun faux site on Stark Industries

KICK-ASS

2010-04-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

Let’s check out the latest movie Superhero check list:

Faster than a speeding bullet? Not a chance.

Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound? Yeah, right.

More powerful than a locomotive? Maybe a Lionel model.

The title character in Kick Ass has zero superpowers, and besides his nifty suit, fights off the bad guys with a couple of nightsticks and a lot of guts. Based on a comic by Mark Millar, the film breaks squeaky clean comic conventions and strips the heroes of high-tech gifts or gadgets. As a result, there’s a hefty dose of vigilantism, violence, and vulgarity (be warned, parents, this ain't Superman or Spidey).

Now for the burning Film2Fact question: are there real superheroes out there saving the day without superpowers? Yes—both female and male and more than one in Gotham, er, New York City (the setting for Kick-Ass). In fact, there’s an organization called “The Heroes Network”, with upwards of 300 members! Their aim: bring truth, justice, and freedom to the world beyond the confines of a comic book.

Take the mighty “Tothian”, (right) a stick-toting martial arts expert who looks like your average buff guy in combat boots, except for a special logo on his shirt (he shuns a mask or cape because they interfere with his hero duties). This former Marine’s superhero M.O. is pretty straightforward-- break up fights and escort woman at night through perilous neighborhoods. “I love kicking ass, but that’s not what being a real-life superhero is about,” Tothian admits. “It’s about protecting people, and NOT wanting them to be in harm just so that I could have the glory of saving them. Otherwise, what’s the purpose of going out there in the first place?”

Another hero patrolling the alleyways and sidewalks of Metropolis is “Dark Guardian,” who gained his moniker by cornering an armed criminal in a convenience store until the police arrived. Some of his duties include stopping drug peddlers in Washington Square, wiping out graffiti, and helping the homeless.

And plenty of Girlpower props go out to “Terrifica”, a 30-something single female who prowls the bar scene to protect inebriated women from overzealous men. Donned in a red outfit, boots, blond wig and cape, Terrifica packs pepper spray, cell phone and camera to help stop predators. “I protect the single women living in the big city,” she says.

But we’ve only only scratched the surface. There's Citizen Prime, The Eye, and Superbarrio (of Mexico) and so much more. You can find a list of real caped crusaders at reallifesuperheroes.org.

As for author Mike Millar, he confesses the character of "Kick-Ass" is based on his own experience—not wanting to be a superhero, but trying to win a girl. In the storyline, the lead character pretends to be gay to capture a girl’s affection. In reality, Millar lied about an obsession with the TV series Dynasty to impress a girl who loved the show (not exactly an admission of gayness, but you get the idea). So much for going the macho superhero route.

Video of real superheroes in action.

BASEBALL

2010-04-12T22:52:00.000-07:00

"...when I was reading the script, I said to myself, if this was fiction, I would never do it. It's too unbelievable. But what makes this great is that all of it really happened." - Dennis Quaid

Roy Hobbs. Crash Davis. Jim Morris. Which one is not the name of a real baseball player? We’ll reveal the answer later, but all three score a home run when it comes to great baseball movies. And since April marks the beginning of America’s favorite National pastime, it’s fitting that in April, 2010, Sony Pictures released one of cinema’s most beloved baseball movies -- The Natural, on Blu-Ray. Based on the book by Bernard Malamud, the film chronicles the heroic saga of Roy Hobbs, who stages a miraculous comeback years after a shocking tragedy seemingly ends his career.

Were Malamud and the filmmakers inspired by true events? You betcha. The lives of many real baseball players helped craft the character and storyline. First, there’s Shoeless Joe Jackson, infamous for his role in the Black Sox Scandal, who, like Roy, was asked to alter the outcome of a game (but

unlike Hobbs, Jackson was banned from baseball for life for allegedly throwing the World Series against Cincinnati in 1919). Then there’s legendary Boston Red Sox slugger, Ted Williams, who many people called “the greatest hitter who ever lived” (a line uttered in the film by Hobbs). Redford patterned his swing after Williams, and chose Ted’s number 9 for his jersey. Finally, there’s the sad tale of Eddie Waitkus of the Chicago Cubs, who like Roy, was shot by a femme fatale. In the real story, an obsessed fan stalked Waitkus after learning he was being traded to another team. She tracked him to a hotel, firing a rifle at close range, barely missing his heart. After almost dying on the operating table, Waitkus miraculously returned to baseball and was honored with the Comeback Player of the Year in 1950. In addition, Eddie was often referred to as a “natural” when it came to his skills on the playing field.

Bull Durham often joins The Natural in Top Ten Baseball Film polls. Its sense of realism mixed with humor is not accidental. The film takes its title from the Durham Bulls, a real minor league team in North Carolina. Both writer/director Ron Shelton and actor Kurt Russell (who helped develop the script) played minor league baseball. Kevin Costner can really knock the leather off a ball and has taken batting practice with professional teams, like the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Tampa Bay also plays a pivotal role in the true-to-life baseball story, The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid. His character, Jim Morris, abandoned dreams of pitching professionally and became a high school teacher and baseball coach. After his team wins their first-ever championship, he’s convinced to try out for the big leagues. At age 35, when most players are past their prime, Morris signed with the Devil Rays as the game’s oldest rookie.

As for the real names, only Roy Hobbs rings false. Crash Davis, played by Costner, is based on Lawrence “Crash” Davis, a minor league shortstop, who once played for the Durham Bulls.

More fun facts about these films can be found on the DVD/Blu-Ray bonus features.

Here's some other notable films based on real events and players:

Pride of the Yankees (about Lou Gehrig)

Eight Men Out (about the Black Sox Scandal)

The Babe (about Babe Ruth)

CLASH OF THE TITANS

2010-04-03T23:24:00.001-07:00

The current remake of Clash of Titans opens in a vast universe while a narrator explains how the Greek Gods still live in the stars. In truth, the narrator is correct.

Perseus – the heroic demigod in the film-- is also a very popular constellation, located in the Milky Way. This pattern of stars is one of many named for mythic Greek figures by the Roman astronomer Ptolemy inthe 2^nd century (others include Pegasus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, also characters in the film). Today’s astronomers still enjoy linking the mythical tale of Perseus battling the Gorgon, Medusa with the real group of celestial bodies. Case in point: when NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory took a dazzling shot of Perseus a few years ago, they describedtheir results as a skull, staring in space—in other words, Medusa’s head (see photo, right). This ‘skull’ is formed by hot gas near the Perseus cluster of galaxies. The ‘eyes’ are thought to be magnetized bubbles of energetic particles produced near a massive black hole the size of the Milky Way.

The heroic demigod is also famous for a spectacular meteor show that occurs every summer. The Pleides is so named because it’s believed the meteors come from the Perseus constellation.

But back on on Earth, Tufts University also paid tribute to this Greek hero. The Perseus Digital Library Project is an evolving collection of resources for studying the archaelogy, texts and translations, geography, and ancient worlds, including Greece. Dig through their extensive database and you’ll find tons of information about the Greek gods.

Of course, Perseus is just one example of how modern day culture turns Greek mythic characters into fact. Why if someone were to shout “release the Kraken!” today, no one would run in fear of an humongous monster. Instead, they’d be in the presence of one of the world’s most humongous supercomputers.