Are the Best Films Today True Stories?

What genre has produced many if not most of the best Hollywood films in the last twenty years.

No, not superhero stories, nor horror, nor actioners.

True stories.

Invictus, The King’s Speech, The Green Book, Ip Man, Saving Mr. Banks, Mao’s Last Dancer, Hacksaw Ridge, Rush, 42, The Dish, The Imitation Game, Argo, Moneyball, Darkest Hour, American Sniper.

Let’s dive into one lesser known example.

The Best of Enemies is a 2019 Netflix drama with this premise:

In 1971 North Carolina, the white local leader of the KKK forms an uneasy alliance with a black activist after their southern town becomes riven by school integration.

Best of Enemies is based on true events and boasts a clever premise, rounded and intriguing, non-stereotypical, non-cliched characters driving a well-told, well-shot and poignant story. It also boasts some excellent casting and acting.

Let’s be explicit why this true story has a good premise. You should look for the same in yours:

This story is about real, complex people in a high stakes conflict situation. But most importantly it has a real grabber of an ironic twist: A white KKK male leader teaming up with a female black activist. We see the irony and sparks immediately. We hunger to see how that team will work out. Or not.

Here is the trailer for Best of Enemies 

Why are True Stories so Popular Today?

Some possible answers:

--Many of these stories had name recognition and a brand to sell them to producers and the public.

--They are all good stories and most of them are positive and uplifting.

--Film creative writing skill has crashed in the last twenty years.

Personally, I think that the quality of storytelling (in TV but especially in film) is weakening, as it has previously crashed in serious literature and drama on stage. The holdout of great storytelling today seems to be in thrillers and true stories.

Creative Actionable Takeaway

Do you have access to a true story that has name recognition, somehow buzzes memories out there, or has a WTF event at its core?

Really think about that! A story from history, from a public domain or news reported event, even from your own family history? Not a story that someone else has rights to but one you either know personally or can research and develop from the public domain.

Caveat: The big danger of true or your-family stories is that you believe they have a great story when in fact they don’t. It can’t be some weak memoir string of events only your family would care about. You must get your story idea vetted. What is new and big about your story concept? Does it have a new theme?

The premise of your true story must have a strong hook, with its main incident or plot problem being big enough to grab people and to be the core of a two-hour movie.

True stories are hard to develop. You may have much of the storyline events but often you need to invent strong characters, a clear unifying theme, and the vision.

Good hunting and good thinking. You can find those great true stories!

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