

Based on a True Story
Dan LeFebvre
We've all seen movies that claim to be 'based on a true story', but have you ever wondered how accurate they are? That's what we'll find out as we compare Hollywood with history.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 16, 2024 • 1h 15min
Indiana Jones with Neil Laird
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 356) — Today we're tackling all five movies in the storied Indiana Jones franchise that needs no further introduction. To help us separate fact from fiction, we'll learn from multiple Emmy-nominated director and producer Neil Laird.Learn more about Neil's workWhile his name may not be as popular as Indiana Jones, if you've watched programming on Discovery, BBC, PBS, History Channel, or National Geographic, then you're likely familiar with his work. From Mysteries of the Abandoned and Secrets of the Lost Ark to Forbidden History and Shark Week, Neil has produced over 100 programs around the globe that feature many of the real places and topics popularized by the Indiana Jones franchise.Get Neil's latest bookNeil is also the author of the Jared Plummer vs the Ancient World series about a TV director who travels back in time to shoot the greatest documentary ever made. Currently, there are two books in the series, Prime Time Travelers which features Jared going back to ancient Egypt and Prime Time Pompeii. Also mentioned in this episode
Prime Time Travelers
Prime Time Pompeii
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Note: If your podcast app doesn't support clickable links, copy/paste this in your browser to find all the links: https://links.boatspodcast.com/356Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases through these links. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dec 7, 2024 • 1h 26min
Tora! Tora! Tora! with Jon Parshall
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 355) — Today is the 83rd anniversary of the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor that was depicted in the 1970 movie Tora! Tora! Tora! Often praised for its accuracy, Tora! Tora! Tora! has also perpetrated some myths about what really happened.Where to watch Tora! Tora! Tora! nowTo help us separate fact from fiction, we'll be joined by Jon Parshall, an award-winning author who has worked as a historical consultant on numerous TV shows, and as a frequent lecturer at the U.S. Naval War College, the National World War II Museum, the Nimitz Museum, just to name a few.Get updates on Jon's new book at 1942book.com Also mentioned in this episode
Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully's Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Day of Infamy, 60th Anniversary: The Classic Account of the Bombing of Pearl Harbor by Walter Lord
At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor by Gordon Prange with Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon
Tora! Tora! Tora!: Pearl Harbor 1941 by Mark Stille
Pearl Harbor by H.P. Willmott
No One Avoided Danger: NAS Kaneohe Bay and the Japanese Attack of 7 December 1941 by J. Michael Wenger, Robert J. Cressman, and John F. Di Virgilio
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Nov 5, 2024 • 1h 9min
Casablanca with Bob LeMent
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 354) — Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, we're walking into Casablanca on this episode to answer: How historically accurate is the movie? Where to watch Casablanca nowHelping us separate fact from fiction is Bob LeMent from Static Radio.Listen to Bob's show at StaticRadio.comDid you enjoy this episode?
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Note: If your podcast app doesn't support clickable links, copy/paste this in your browser to find all the links: https://links.boatspodcast.com/354Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases through these links. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Oct 15, 2024 • 1h 28min
Miracle with Lou Vairo
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 353) — During the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, the United States sent shockwaves around the world as they upset the four-time defending gold medalist Soviet Union team in a game that would go on to be called the "Miracle on Ice." That story is told in the 2004 Disney movie we'll be talking about today.Where to watch Miracle nowTo help us separate fact from fiction, we'll be talking to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame coach Lou Vairo. Most relevant to our discussion today among Lou's long list of achievements was as a scout for the U.S. Men's Ice Hockey Team at the 1980 Winter Olympics which is depicted in the movie. So, he was there for a lot of the events depicted in the movie and will share a lot of behind the scenes of the true story.Get Lou's new autobiographyAlso mentioned in this episodeLou Vairo's bio at the U.S. Hockey Hall of FameDid you enjoy this episode?
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Note: If your podcast app doesn't support clickable links, copy/paste this in your browser to find all the links: https://links.boatspodcast.com/353Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases through these links. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Oct 14, 2024 • 55min
This Week: Napoleon, Thirteen Days, The Patriot, The Last Duel
BOATS THIS WEEK (OCT 14-20, 2024) — This Wednesday is the anniversary of Marie Antoinette's execution in 1793 that we saw inn the opening sequence of Ridley Scott's Napoleon (2023). After that, we'll travel exactly 169 years from 1793 to 1962, because Wednesday is also depicted in Thirteen Days (2000) as it's showing the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis. For our final historical event from the movies this week, we'll hop to October 19th, 1781 as it's shown in The Patriot (2000) to see how it shows the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. After learning about this week's birthdays from historical figures in the movies, we'll wrap up this episode by comparing history with another of Ridley Scott's movies, The Last Duel, which released in the U.S. on October 15th, 2021. Finally, we'll get a little behind the scenes update about BOATS This Week episodes for the remainder of 2024.Until next time, here's where you can continue the story.Events from this week in history
Wednesday: Napoleon (2023) | BOATS Napoleon Miniseries
Wednesday: Thirteen Days (2000)
Saturday: The Patriot (2000) | BOATS #60
Birthdays from this week in history
Monday: Dwight D. Eisenhower in The Longest Day (1962)
Wednesday: Oscar Wilde in Wilde (1997)
Sunday: Mickey Mantle in 61* (2001)
Historical movies releasing this week in historyTuesday: The Last Duel (2021)
Mentioned in this episode
JFK's October 22nd, 1962 speech
Cuban Missile Crisis timeline
Eric Jager's book that they based The Last Duel on
Eric Jager's article
Modern-day photos of Saint-Martin-des-Champs
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Oct 7, 2024 • 42min
This Week: Che!, Eight Men Out, 1492, Captain Phillips
BOATS THIS WEEK (OCT 7-13, 2024) — 57 years ago tomorrow, Che Guevara was captured in Bolivia just before his execution. Then, two years later, Omar Sharif portrayed him in the movie version of Che's story that we'll compare to the true story of this week's event. Then, we'll shift to Eight Men Out because as baseball season comes to a close, one of the darkest moments in Major League Baseball history happened this week back in 1919. This Saturday marks the anniversary of Christopher Columbus making landfall, which was shown in the movie 1492: Conquest of Paradise. For this week's historical movie release, the Tom Hanks movie Captain Phillips was released 11 years ago this Friday.Until next time, here's where you can continue the story.Events from this week in history
Tuesday: Che! | BOATS #115
Wednesday: Eight Men Out | BOATS #132
Saturday: 1492: Conquest of Paradise | BOATS #186
Birthdays from this week in history
Wednesday: Eugene Bullard in Red Tails
Friday: Eleanor Roosevelt in The First Lady
Sunday: Jane Grey in Becoming Elizabeth
Historical movies releasing this week in historyFriday: Captain Phillips | BOATS #28
Mentioned in this episode
Meet Félix Rodríguez, The CIA Operative Who Captured Che Guevara And May Have Tortured A DEA Agent by Marco Margaritoff
Infamous America's and the Black Sox Scandal
A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty
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Note: If your podcast app doesn't support clickable links, copy/paste this in your browser to find all the links: https://links.boatspodcast.com/351Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases through these links. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sep 30, 2024 • 43min
This Week: Alexander, 61*, Black Hawk Down, The Social Network
BOATS THIS WEEK (SEP 30-OCT 6, 2024) — Thousands of years ago this week, Alexander the Great fought his final decisive battle against Darius III so we'll start our journey by comparing the true story of Gaugamela with the battle in 2004's Colin Farrell movie. Then we'll hop onto the baseball field because tomorrow, October 1st, 1961, is when Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's MLB home run record. We'll learn about the Billy Crystal-directed movie called 61* (we'll learn about the * in the movie's title in the episode).For our third event from this week in history according to the movies, we'll learn about the Battle of Mogadishu—or, as it's commonly called, the Black Hawk Down Incident. That happened on Thursday this week, October 3rd, 1993. Then, after a few historical birthdays from this week in history, we'll wrap up today's episode by comparing history with 2010's The Social Network.Until next time, here's where you can continue the story.Events from this week in history
Monday: Alexander | BOATS #157
Tuesday: 61*
Thursday: Black Hawk Down | BOATS #105
Birthdays from this week in history
Wednesday: Paul von Hindenburg in Hitler: Rise of Evil
Wednesday: Mahatma Gandhi in Gandhi
Saturday: Ray Kroc in The Founder
Historical movies releasing this week in historyTuesday: The Social Network
Mentioned in this episode
Steven Bertoni's article on Sean Parker
Wall Street Journal article on Peter Thiel and Facebook's political ads
Baseball this week: See "The Whammer" in The Natural
Baseball this week: Say Hey, Willy Mays!
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Sep 23, 2024 • 35min
This Week: Turn, A Bridge Too Far, The Godfather Part III, Remember the Titans
BOATS THIS WEEK (SEP 23-29, 2024) — AMC's Turn: Washington's Spies shows us how Benedict Arnold's treason was discovered back on September 24th, 1780. The next day, on Wednesday this week, marks the anniversary of Operation Market Garden coming to a close, which we see in the classic film A Bridge Too Far. And then The Godfather, Part III has a key plot point surrounding a very real event that happened on September 26th, 1978: The death of Pope John Paul I.This week's movie premiere to compare with history is the 2000 sports drama Remember the Titans, which has its 24-year anniversary this Sunday.Until next time, here's where you can continue the story.Events from this week in history
Tuesday: Turn: Washington's Spies | BOATS #139
Wednesday: A Bridge Too Far
Thursday: The Godfather, Part III
Birthdays from this week in history
Wednesday: Fletcher Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty | BOATS #156
Thursday: T.S. Eliot in Tom & Viv
Friday: Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici in Medici
Historical movies releasing this week in historySunday: Remember the Titans
Mentioned in this episode
Turn: Washington's Spies: The "Treason House" where Arnold and Andre met this week in history
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Note: If your podcast app doesn't support clickable links, copy/paste this in your browser to find all the links: https://links.boatspodcast.com/349Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases through these links. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sep 16, 2024 • 31min
This Week: Frida, Chaplin, Tolkien, Goodfellas
BOATS THIS WEEK (SEP 16-22, 2024) — Tuesday is the 99th anniversary of the bus accident that changed Frido Kahlo's life, and we'll learn more about the way the movie Frida shows it happening. After that we'll jump to the movie with Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin for his being kicked out of the U.S., which happened 72 years ago on Thursday this week. Then we'll learn a bit about the start of an adventure that ended this week in history when The Hobbit was published on September 21st, 1937.Finally, Wednesday is the release anniversary of a classic Martin Scorsese gangster movie releasing, so we'll wrap up this week by learning more about the true story of Goodfellas.Until next time, here's where you can continue the story.Events from this week in history
Tuesday: Frida
Thursday: Chaplin | BOATS #283
Saturday: Tolkien | BOATS #141
Birthdays from this week in history
Wednesday: Greta Garbo in The Silent Lovers
Friday: Maxwell Perkins in Genius
Friday: "Red" Auerbach in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty
Historical movies releasing this week in historyWednesday: Goodfellas
Mentioned in this episode
Scott Eyman's book Charlie Chaplin vs. America: When Art, Sex, and Politics Collided
BBC documentary with Tolkien
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Note: If your podcast app doesn't support clickable links, copy/paste this in your browser to find all the links: https://links.boatspodcast.com/348Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases through these links. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sep 14, 2024 • 1h 42min
We Were Soldiers with Joshua Donohue
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 347) — Travel back to the 1960s during the Vietnam War while historian Joshua Donohue unpacks the real events behind the 2002 film We Were Soldiers. From the crucial role of helicopter pilots in the heat of battle, to the heart-pounding "Broken Arrow" moment, discover what Hollywood got right and where it took creative liberties depicting the Battle of Ia Drang in We Were Soldiers.Where to watch We Were Soldiers nowWhere to start learning more of the true story
We Were Soldiers Once...and Young
Josh's article: Heroic Fight for Wake Island
Also mentioned in this episode
Wikipedia's map of the battle
Records about Ia Drang at the Library of Congress
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Note: If your podcast app doesn't support clickable links, copy/paste this in your browser to find all the links: https://links.boatspodcast.com/347Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases through these links. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


