Some completely missed the mark
One of the wonderful things about fiction is that it invents a space in which anything can happen. Events that seem entirely illogical or far-fetched are at home and comfortable in a fictional narrative.
Indeed the storylines of many books and films leave us thinking, "Imagine if that happened in real life!" But in some very surprising cases, it did.
Check out this gallery for some films you'd never guess took inspiration from real-life events.
The 1984 classic starring Kevin Bacon tells the story of a town where dancing was made illegal by a strict pastor. In the film a group of high school students get the law overturned in time for prom.
The film is set in a town in Oklahoma and that town actually exists. In 1979 a group of high school students went up against their local minister, who believed dancing was the tool of the devil.
Both the original film from 1950 and the 2003 remake of 'Cheaper by the Dozen' were based on the semi-autobiographical novel by siblings Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.
The authors' parents had 12 children over a span of 17 years and their father was a construction engineer and efficiency expert who believed his factory principles could be applied to the household.
In his autobiography he describes how, between the ages of 15 and 21, he forged millions of dollars worth of cheques. And when he was caught, he was actually hired by the FBI to catch other fraudsters.
The 2019 comedy starring Eddie Murphy tells the life story of filmmaker and standup comedian Rudy Ray Moore. Moore's on-stage alter ego is Dolemite.
There are some other big names that appear in the cast alongside Murphy, including Snoop Dogg and Chris Rock. The critical reception of the film was very favorable.
The 1994 rom-com starring Nicolas Cage tells the story of a police officer who buys a lottery ticket and agrees to split the winnings with a waitress instead of giving her a tip.
When he ends up winning US$6 million he honors his agreement, just as real-life police officer Robert Cunningham did when the same happened to him.
The 2009 biographical comedy-drama 'Julie & Julia' tells the parallel life stories of young chef Julia Child and New Yorker Julie Powell, who undertakes to cook all 524 recipes in Child's book in one year.
The movie is based on two books: real-life chef Child's autobiography, 'My Life in France,' and real-life New Yorker Powell's memoir, 'Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.'
'Newsies' is one of the few Disney musicals to be inspired by a true story. The 1992 film starring Christian Bale is based on the New York City Newsboys' Strike of 1899.
The movie, which initially bombed but later garnered a cult following, tells the story of the kids who rallied newspaper sellers to strike in order to force publishers to bring prices down.
In the late '70s and early '80s there was a con artist named David Hampton, who tricked people into believing he was the son of Sidney Poitier to swindle them out of large sums of money.
The 1993 film 'Six Degrees of Separation' is a comedic take on his story, with the protagonist renamed Paul and played by the one and only Will Smith.
In the 2004 rom-com '50 First Dates,' Adam Sandler plays a marine veterinarian who falls in love with art teacher Lucy (Drew Barrymore). But Lucy has a memory impairment that causes her to forget him with every new day.
Although the impairment suffered by Barrymore's character, "Goldfield's Syndrome," is fictitious, according to Cosmo there is a British woman who wakes up every day thinking that it's 1994.
John Lee Hancock's drama starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw tells the story of an impoverished teen who, with the help of his adoptive parents, makes it as an NFL star.
The heartwarming film is based on the life of real-life NFL great Michael Oher, and pictures of him with his real-life adoptive parents roll during the closing credits.
Robert Redford's drama, which stars Brad Pitt, tells the coming-of-age story of two young sons of a minister who grow up in the Rocky Mountains around the time of WWI.
The movie is in fact based on the semi-autobiographical novella, 'A River Runs Through It' by Norman Maclean, which was published in 1976.
Although it's pretty much impossible not to have heard the story of Bonnie and Clyde, easier to miss is the story of Texas rangers Hamer and Gault who travelled the country trying to hunt them down.
John Lee Hancock's 2019 crime drama tells the story of those rangers, with Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson taking the leading roles.
In a fact that's sad but true, Martin McDonagh's harrowing 'Three Billboards' is based on a true story. Although some creative license was taken, the film was inspired by an unsolved murder in 1991.
When 34-year-old Kathy Page was murdered in Vidor, Texas and no progress was made towards catching her killer, her mother put up a series of billboards in the area criticizing the police.
Steven Spielberg's 2004 comedy drama 'The Terminal' centres around an Eastern European man (Tom Hanks) who becomes stranded in New York airport when his passport is rendered invalid.
Believe it or not, something close to this happened in real life: Iranian refugee Mehran Karimi Nasseri was stuck in a Parisian airport for almost 20 years because he didn't have a working passport.
Sources: (Insider) (Cosmo)
See also: Horror films based on true stories
Movies you didn't know were based on true stories
Real events that are stranger than fiction
MOVIES Films
One of the wonderful things about fiction is that it invents a space in which anything can happen. Events that seem entirely illogical or far-fetched are at home and comfortable in a fictional narrative.
Indeed the storylines of many books and films leave us thinking, "Imagine if that happened in real life!" But in some very surprising cases, it did.
Check out this gallery for some films you'd never guess took inspiration from real-life events.