Marco Castaneda is a graduate student at the California State University, Los Angeles. He is currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts Degree in Television, Film, and Theatre, and expects to graduate in the Spring of 2023. He has a strong passion for creating stories as well as reading them. Marco believes that art helps people to give a unique perspective of our lives and the lives of others. He is also currently a substitute teacher for K-12th grade and hopes to teach students how to use their creativity through all aspects and subjects of their lives and not to be afraid of using their talents.
Sep 26, 2024
Over the years, filmmakers – whether they are auteurs or not – tend to stay true to the written source materials as much as possible whenever they direct biographical films. Sometimes they even choose to take creative endeavors of adding a little bit of narrative fiction to keep the historical figure interesting. Either way, it keeps the viewer strongly interested in thebiopic and the portrayal of someone that made a huge impact on history. The greatest thing about biopics is that it ranges from different genres – from crime, sports, war,music, and other unusual subgenres such as action and dramedy. However, there are two huge commonalities that the biopic genre focuses on, drama and history. Without those two genres, there would not be a story that focuses on the hardships and achievements of an individual that made their mark on society..
Filmmakers such asSteven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, Michael Mann, and even Tim Burton can’t help but make a movie that will remind generations of moviegoers how historical figures had made an impact in the past and why their stories are important in the present. The concept of remembering an individual like the 16th PresidentAbraham Lincoln, or Freddie Mercury can remind someone that they are larger than life.
Movie studios get so excited for biographical screenplays because they believe that it will draw attention to historians, history teachers, and their interested students who are keen to learn about war, politics, and sports.
Steven Spielberg made the film ‘Schindler’s List’as a reminder to not only teachers and students, but also to familiarize people all over the world that the Holocaust happened to the Jews during the second World War, and how six million lives were lost by Nazi Germany. The film informs the viewer that more than 1,000 lives were saved in Oskar Schindler’s Factory in such a dark period of history. The movie’s message was to inform the world that one fortunate man had noticed the horrors of the Holocaust and was able to create a safe haven for the Jews.
19 years later, Spielberg makes a historical piece – ‘Lincoln’ – which focuses on his endeavors of abolishing slavery for African Americans in 1865. It’s to show upcoming generations that Lincoln is more than a person’s face that is displayed on every five-dollar bill. He also had a wife named Mary Todd as they both raised two sons: a younger son named Tad and an older one named Robert Todd – who wanted to go join the Union Army. Historians and the average viewer would find the subplot of Robert wanting to go to war interesting since Mary Todd attempts to convince Lincoln to make the amendment and end the civil war.
The Necessities of Bending the Truth for Biographies
Over the years, screenwriters have taken an interesting approach to making their biopics a lot more interesting by doing alterations to what happened. A good example would be ‘Walk the Line,’ which covers the life of Johnny Cash and his love for June Carter. There is a scene that shows an intoxicated Johnny collapsing on a Las Vegas stage during a 1965 performance while June Carter played alongside him. The collapse never happened. Though screenwriter Gill Dennis and director James Mangold decided to make that inaccurate detail for the sake of dramatic effect. What was true is the fact that Johnny suffered through drug addiction.
In the film ‘Dallas Buyers Club,’ there has been a lot of praise with Matthew McConaughey’s Oscar-winning performance as Ronald Woodroof, a homophobic womanizer and electrician who was diagnosed of AIDS and learned he had 30 days to live. However, he ended up living seven more years because he sought better treatment in Mexico. Though, the story featured a character who is a transgender woman named Rayon (played by Jared Leto), another individual that was also diagnosed with AIDS. In reality, Rayon did not exist and was created to make Ron a more sympathetic person to their diagnosis. Secondly, the Rayon character helped Ron Woodroof to be less prejudice about homosexuals and transgenders since they both ran a drug distribution service in an apartment at Texas called “Dallas Buyers Club”, which also catered for patients who were also part of the gay community. Ronald Woodroof’s story took around 20 years to be made. The writers Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack did a good job of keeping Ron’s struggles as true as possible. Along the way, there have been some creative choices by having the Rayon character made and portrayed by Jared Leto. Eventually, Jared won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for his role.
Another film that decided to add some incorrect details was ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’a movie that focused on the life ofthe lead singer Freddie Mercury and his rise to fame with the legendary band “Queen.” There has been an exaggeration of his timeline with his AIDS diagnosis. A fair number of fans who have heard of Queen will know that he was diagnosed after his Live Aid Concert performance with the band. The false detail was used to add importance to the concert as well as Freddie and Queen performing the song Bohemian Rhapsody (which is the given title of the film).
There have been some complaints with the altercations on how the famous figures were portrayed. Whether the person is a cinephile, history buff, or an average filmgoer, there’s no denying the fact that the filmmakers take an interesting and creative approach to rewriting history. A good screenwriter will always take initiative of being aware of the facts and therefore use some fictional details sparingly for the sake of getting the viewers engaged to the story. Therefore, the memory of famous figures will never be forgotten as time marches on.
By Marco Castaneda
Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.
I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
Marco Castaneda is a graduate student at the California State University, Los Angeles. He is currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts Degree in Television, Film, and Theatre, and expects to graduate in the Spring of 2023. He has a strong passion for creating stories as well as reading them. Marco believes that art helps people to give a unique perspective of our lives and the lives of others. He is also currently a substitute teacher for K-12th grade and hopes to teach students how to use their creativity through all aspects and subjects of their lives and not to be afraid of using their talents.
Marco Castaneda is a graduate student at the California State University, Los Angeles. He is currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts Degree in Television, Film, and Theatre, and expects to graduate in the Spring of 2023. He has a strong passion for creating stories as well as reading them. Marco believes that art helps people to give a unique perspective of our lives and the lives of others. He is also currently a substitute teacher for K-12th grade and hopes to teach students how to use their creativity through all aspects and subjects of their lives and not to be afraid of using their talents.
Marco Castaneda is a graduate student at the California State University, Los Angeles. He is currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts Degree in Television, Film, and Theatre, and expects to graduate in the Spring of 2023. He has a strong passion for creating stories as well as reading them. Marco believes that art helps people to give a unique perspective of our lives and the lives of others. He is also currently a substitute teacher for K-12th grade and hopes to teach students how to use their creativity through all aspects and subjects of their lives and not to be afraid of using their talents.
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