Based on a true story!

[L-PinkVsD-Pink327 177]

You all have heard this in movie commercials right? "Based on a true story"?

 

Yeah... what exactly does that mean?

 

I usually shrugged that off whenever I heard that. But recently I saw an ad for a movie called "The Exorcist" or something like that say it was Based on a true story. It's made me begin doubting that phrase now since the movie being advirtised was about a *insert mock voice here* soul of Satan jumping from one body to the next through a horror like thing...

 

So now I'm convinced "Based on a true story" can mean just about near d*mn anything.

 

Will somepony prove me wrong about that overused ad line?

[Little Miss Fluttershy 677]

Some movies do have true stories behind them, but they change things around to make it more "hollywood style." So, they may use some overdramatic scenes to bring you in, but if it says it's based on a true story, some part of it is. But the other part is just stuff they changed/made up.

[Starshine 16,330]

It was loosely based on a true story

 

Let's just say there's a small secluded village. A mysterious disease broke and killed three children, and somehow all these death happened at night. Just after that a doctor arrived and gave a free cold vaccine, and since then there's no death

 

For the movie, they creates a legend about a small monster that lurks at the night, killing three children before a white priest arrived at the village and banished the monster to the otherworld

 

It's still based on a true story

[83awsm 234]

Alot of media is overdramatized nowadays. When it says "Based on a true story" it could really mean anything from a particular scene to the whole storyline. Just depends on the filmmaker’s ratio of authenticity to generating sales through fictional Hollywood depictions.

[SrFrog 926]

When it's based on something they'll throw their own ideas into it, retaining little of what they based the movie on. A good exaple of this would be The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

[L-PinkVsD-Pink327 177]

but if it says it's based on a true story, some part of it is. But the other part is just stuff they changed/made up.

 

Well then that brings up another question, how much of the movie actually happened? If it was only one scene, they really shouldn't be allowed to use that for their advirtising of that movie -.-

 

It was loosely based on a true story

 

Let's just say there's a small secluded village. A mysterious disease broke and killed three children, and somehow all these death happened at night. Just after that a doctor arrived and gave a free cold vaccine, and since then there's no death

 

For the movie, they creates a legend about a small monster that lurks at the night, killing three children before a white priest arrived at the village and banished the monster to the otherworld

 

It's still based on a true story

 

Hehe, thanks, that was pretty funny and I see your point.

 

 

When it says "Based on a true story" it could really mean anything from a particular scene to the whole storyline.

 

Thank you for clearing up it's meaning for me.

 

When it's based on something they'll throw their own ideas into it, retaining little of what they based the movie on. A good exaple of this would be The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

 

Oh yeah -.- You know, that didn't even happen in Texas, the guy was just from Texas, come on!

[Guest]

Every story is somehow based at least slightly in a true event. IT could even be said to based off a true story if any killer clowns ever existed, which they did.

[Colon Leftbracket 971]

My sis saw "The Devil Inside" and according to her that about 80% of the movie was documentary footage.

She said the movie depicted real dead people, real people who were "possessed", real people who actually contorted and twisted their bodies unnaturally, real people who speak with multiple voices, etc. In fact the only thing she said wasn't real is when they'd label the footage as Dramatization which only happened when one dude kills himself and another dude drowns a baby!

 

Now I didn't see the film, but could someone clarify on how BULLSHIT this sounds?

I don't quite see a film showing as much real footage of violence to real people as she described because that's insulting to the family of the deceased. Plus I don't buy possessions being real. I believe insanity is real and that could be said about either the possessed or the priests!

[Pony Joe 582]

The important word here is "based."

 

Even if a movie is only vaguely similar in plot and setting, it can still be "based" on a true story if the director/writer/producer was inspired by it.

 

Even The Legend of Zelda could be considered "based on a true story," since Shigeru Miyamoto has said in interviews that he based the game off of his childhood memories of exploring the wilderness.