

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

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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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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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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Sep 9, 2024 • 44min
This Week: 300: Rise of an Empire, United 93, A Star-Spangled Story, The Exorcism of Emily Rose
BOATS THIS WEEK (SEP 9-15, 2024) — Tuesday this week marks the anniversary of the Battle of Marathon, which we see in the movie 300: Rise of an Empire. Then, of course, we'll be looking at this week's anniversary of the 9/11 attacks from the movie United 93. For our third historical event, we'll learn about A Star-Spangled Story and how an event from this week in history inspired the U.S. national anthem. We'll also learn about the true story behind The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which released exactly 19 years ago today.Did you enjoy this episode? Support the next one!Events from this week in history
Tuesday: 300: Rise of an Empire
Wednesday: United 93 | BOATS #113
Saturday: A Star-Spangled Story
Birthdays from this week in history
Thursday: Henry Hudson in The Last Voyage of Henry Hudson
Friday: Daniel Defoe in Robinson Crusoe
Sunday: Marco Polo in Marco Polo
Historical movies released this week in historyFriday: The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Also mentioned in this episode
300: Rise of an Empire: Based on a True Story episode #5 about 300
300: Rise of an Empire: Photos from the battlefield at Marathon as it looks today
300: Rise of an Empire: Map of the Battle of Marathon
300: Rise of an Empire: More about the Battle of Marathon's affect on democracy today
The Exorcism of Emily Rose: The Windsor Star 1978 article interviewing the priests
The Exorcism of Emily Rose: National Catholic Register article about the 1998 revised rite of exorcism
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Sep 5, 2024 • 17min
Today: The Great Fire and the Extinguishment of the Great Fire of London
BOATS TODAY (SEPT 5, 2024) — After four days of fighting the flames, the Great Fire of London was finally extinguished on this day in 1666 so today we'll learn more about how the events from exactly 358 years ago today were shown in the TV miniseries called The Great Fire.Until next time, here's where you can continue the story.Watch it now: Find where The Great Fire is streamingDid 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/345Disclaimer: 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 2, 2024 • 23min
This Week: Rome, Geronimo: An American Legend, The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid
BOATS THIS WEEK (SEPT 2-8, 2024) — On this day almost two thousand years ago, the Battle of Actium decided power in Rome. Not coincidentally, we'll learn about that today from a TV show called Rome. The second event from this week in history according to the movies comes from the 1993 film called Geronimo: An American Legend, because Wednesday this week marks the 138th anniversary of that event. For our third event, we'll learn about one of Jesse James' infamous holdups from September 7th, 1876 as it's shown in the movie The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid.Until next time, here's where you can continue the story.Events from This Week in History
Monday: Rome
Wednesday: Geronimo: An American Legend
Saturday: The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid
Birthdays from This Week in History
Tuesday: James "Whitey" Bulger in Black Mass
Thursday: Jesse James in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford | BOATS #166
Friday: Marquis de Lafayette in Turn: Washington's Spies | BOATS #139
Saturday: Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age | BOATS #106 (Elizabeth) | BOATS #112 (Elizabeth: The Golden Age)
A Historical Movie Releasing This WeekFriday: 1992
Mentioned in this episode
Krakatoa and Edvard Munch's The Scream
Original newspaper reports of each Jack the Ripper victim
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Sep 2, 2024 • 9min
Today: The Great Fire and the Initial Ignition of the Great Fire of London
Editor's Note: The fire started after midnight on September 2nd in London, so if you're in the United States like I am then you might see this minisode release on September 1st due to time zones.BOATS TODAY (SEPT 2, 2024) — The Great Fire of London started exactly 358 years ago today, so we'll learn how well the TV miniseries called The Great Fire shows the way it all started.Until next time, here's where you can continue the story.Watch it now: Find where The Great Fire is streamingDid 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/344Disclaimer: 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.

Aug 26, 2024 • 27min
This Week: Saving Mr Banks, Krakatoa East of Java, From Hell
BOATS THIS WEEK (AUG 26-SEPT 1, 2024) — Tomorrow marks the 60th anniversary of Disney's Mary Poppins premiered, and that event is shown in the 2013 movie called Saving Mr. Banks about the making of Mary Poppins. If that's too confusing, give the episode a listen to unravel it all. From there, we'll travel to the west of Java to the movie incorrectly titled Krakatoa, East of Java. It got the geography wrong in the title, but we'll find out how well it shows the eruption of Krakatoa from August 28th, 1883. Then we'll go to London in 1888 because this Saturday is the anniversary of the first Jack the Ripper victim being discovered; an event from the movie From Hell.Until next time, here's where you can continue the story.Events from This Week in History
Tuesday: Saving Mr. Banks
Wednesday: Krakatoa, East of Java
Thursday: From Hell | BOATS #93 | Jack the Ripper newspaper reports
Birthdays from This Week in History
Tuesday: President Lyndon B. Johnson in LBJ
Friday: Mary Shelley in Mary Shelley
Saturday: Caligula in The Robe
Historical Movies Releasing This WeekFriday: 1992
Mentioned in this episode
Krakatoa and Edvard Munch's The Scream
Original newspaper reports of each Jack the Ripper victim
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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/342Disclaimer: 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.

Aug 19, 2024 • 23min
This Week: The Crucible, Sweet Dreams, Pompeii
BOATS THIS WEEK (AUG 19-25,2024) — Historical events from the movies start with The Crucible and how it depicts the Salem witch trials from this week in 1692. Then, we'll learn a bit about Patsy Cline's hit song "Crazy" because it was this week in 1961 that she started recording it in the studio, and that's shown in the 1985 biopic about her life called Sweet Dreams. For our third event, we'll learn about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius as it was shown in the movie Pompeii.Editor's note: The filmmakers couldn't have known this, but there's a good chance it didn't actually happen this week in history. Listen to the episode to learn more.Until next time, here's where you can continue the story.Events from this week in history
Monday: The Crucible
Wednesday: Sweet Dreams
Saturday: Pompeii
Birthdays from this week in history
Friday: King Louis XVI of France in Marie Antionette
Saturday: William Wilberforce in Amazing Grace
Sunday: Ivan Vasilyevich "Ivan the Terrible" in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Historical movie released this week in historyWednesday: Inglorious Basterds
Also mentioned in this episode
Photos from the real Pompeii
Schindler's List with Dr. Dan McMillan
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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/341Disclaimer: 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.

Aug 12, 2024 • 1h 3min
The Mummy (1999) with Dr. Aidan Dodson
The Mummy (1999) is packed with supernatural powers, Hollywood magic, and...maybe some truth? After all, mummies were a real thing. We'll chat with acclaimed Egyptologist Dr. Aidan Dodson to find out how much of the movie is based in history.Where to start learning more of the true story
Monarchs of the Nile
Sethy I, King of Egypt: His Life and Afterlife
More from Aidan's Lives and Afterlives series
Nefertiti, Queen and Pharaoh of Egypt: Her Life and Afterlife
The First Pharaohs: Their Lives and Afterlives
Tutankhamun, King of Egypt: His Life and Afterlife
The Nubian Pharaohs of Egypt: Their Lives and Afterlives
Thutmose III and Hatshepsut, Pharaohs of Egypt: Their Lives and Afterlives
Aidan's author pageDid you enjoy this episode?
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Disclaimer: 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.


