Top 10 Movie Plots You Wouldn't Believe Are Based on True Stories
#10: “The Terminal” (2004)
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If you haven’t had the chance to do any international travel, then it’s likely you’ve never dealt with customs and immigration. Depending on where you come from, where you’re going, and why, the nuances of going from country to country can be complicated. In 2004, Tom Hanks starred in this film which saw his character stuck in limbo at an airport for months on end. Although never officially confirmed by the director or the studio, the movie seems to be inspired by the real-life limbo of former Iranian Mehran Karimi Nasseri. Mehran lived for 18 years in the departure lounge of the Charles de Gaulle Airport in France.
#9: “Cool Runnings” (1993)
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The idea of a Jamaican bobsled team alone just sounds absurd. But when you find out that this movie was inspired by real events, it brings the entire thing to a new level. The team made their debut in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The film tells the underdog story of how they ended up in the games, and some of the trials and tribulations associated with it. Although Hollywood took some creative liberties in the film, the base for it is actually true. The final film actually includes real footage from the team’s Olympic competition.
#8: “It Could Happen To You” (1994)
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The title of this movie is fitting as we’ve all dreamed of winning the lottery at one time or another. What would you do if you struck the jackpot? For Charlie Lang, played by Nicolas Cage, he decides to honor a deal he made with a waitress to split his lotto winnings with her when he couldn’t give her a tip for his meal. This story has all the earmarks of a romantic comedy but with one little bonus. Real life police officer Robert Cunningham really did split his lotto winnings with a waitress named Phyllis Penzo. Their story planted the seed for this fictionalized version.
#7: “Open Water” (2003)
Relationships are much like your everyday house plants. They need to be nurtured and cared for in order to grow. For Daniel Kintner and Susan Watkins, they’ve been stuck in their working lives and are struggling to stay connected. They decide to go for a scuba-diving themed vacation to get away from it all. As it turns out, they really did get away from everything. The two are accidentally stranded in the middle of the ocean, with marine life circling in on them. Interestingly enough, the movie was based on the real-life missing persons case of Tom and Eileen Lonergan. Like the movie, they too were stranded in open waters, and never seen again.
#6: “American Hustle” (2013)
The Shocking True Story of American Nightmare
Often when you throw a lot of Hollywood talent into a single film, it doesn’t come out as well as you’d expect. For American Hustle however, the combination of Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams proved to be a great success. The story is inspired by the real-world Operation Abscam executed in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The movie’s plot centers around several con artists who are roped into assisting the FBI in an undercover operation meant to expose several unsavory politicians. Like other movie adaptations, there are some creative licenses taken, but as the title sequence reads, “Some of this really happened.”
#5: “Jaws” (1975)
It spawned an entire generation of thriller films, and saw plenty of sequels along the way. But who would have ever thought the events depicted in Jaws were loosely based on a real story. The book that the movie is based on was inspired by real life shark hunter Frank Mundus. The attacks themselves were also derived from a series of shark encounters on the Jersey Shore in 1916. This was in a time when we thought sharks weren’t strong enough to inflict serious danger to human beings. Both the movie, and the real life events, changed our perception of sharks forever.
#4: “Changeling” (2008)
J. Michael Straczynski first stumbled upon a story about Christine Collins and the underlying circumstances for which she became known. He spent a considerable amount of time, more than a year, researching and learning more about what had happened to her son, and the details of Gordon Stewart Northcott's involvement in his disappearance. All of this research culminated in a script for a movie based on the events he’d spent so much time learning about. Clint Eastwood came on to direct, and Angelina Jolie starred as Collins. It was his first film screenplay to be produced and was met with much acclaim at the Cannes film festival.
#3: “Room” (2015)
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As a child, your view of the world is governed by the reality your parents set for you. You’re told things are a certain way, and you have no reason to disbelieve the information you’ve been given. Within the confines of this movie, Jack believes the “Room” he lives in is all that there is and everything else exists only on television. The nature of how and why they have come to live this way is a dark tale explored throughout this film. Unsettling enough, it goes even further when you learn that the book of the same name was inspired by the real life captivity of an Austrian woman by the name of Elisabeth Fritzl.
#2: “50 First Dates” (2004)
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Imagine waking up every day and having to re-learn a large portion of your life over and over again. Those who suffer from anterograde amnesia experience this very condition and it is very real. In this movie, Drew Barrymore’s character Lucy suffers from this condition. Interestingly enough, it was inspired by the real life story of Michelle Philpots. She too was injured in several accidents which ultimately triggered her unique memory condition. Much like Adam Sandler’s Henry, Michelle’s husband Ian also takes steps every day to remind her of who she is and what has happened since her incident.
#1: “The Men Who Stare at Goats” (2009)
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Hearing the title of this movie would never have you believe that the plot could easily be an episode of The X-Files. Starring Ewan McGregor and George Clooney, the movie tells the story about the U.S. military’s attempted use of paranormal phenomena to enhance their operations. The movie was inspired by the non-fiction book of the same name. Unusual for sure, the name alludes to activities where attempts were made to kill a goat by merely staring at it intensely. The book, and the movie both refer to The Stargate Project which was also a real U.S. effort that looked into the use of paranormal abilities for military use.
