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Based on a True Story

The story of the descendants of Wong On offers a multi-faceted look at the intersection of the African American and Chinese immigrant communities.

The Real History of the Complex Relationship Between Chinese and Black Americans in the Mississippi Delta

The remarkable success of the movie “Sinners” has sparked a renewed interest in how the two communities wrestled with life under Jim Crow

Elisabeth was adept at crafting a persona that may not have promoted her standing in the Viennese court but certainly helped shape the public’s perspective of her to this day.

Based on a True Story

The Many Myths of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the 19th-Century Royal Whose Beauty and Tragic Death Transformed Her Into a Legend

The reluctant empress known as “Sisi” painstakingly crafted her image through portraits and photographs, ensuring she would be remembered in a specific way

Mark Rylance (left) and Damian Lewis (right) as Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII in "Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light"

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind ‘Wolf Hall’ and the Fall of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s Most Controversial Adviser

Based on Hilary Mantel’s novel “The Mirror & the Light,” the last installment in the acclaimed television series chronicles the last four years of the statesman’s life

A group photo taken at what might have been a memorial or funeral service at the Florida School for Boys in the 1950s

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind ‘Nickel Boys’ and the Brutal Florida Reform School That Inspired the Film

Based on a Colson Whitehead novel, the Oscar-nominated movie dramatizes the story of the Florida School for Boys, which traumatized children as young as 5 for more than a century

A sketch of Solomon Northup from his memoir, Twelve Years a Slave

On This Day in History

Solomon Northup’s ‘Twelve Years a Slave’ Came to an End as He Regained His Long-Awaited Freedom on This Day in 1853

Northup’s memoir told the story of his kidnapping and years of enslavement in Louisiana. The book became a national best seller and inspired an Oscar-winning film

Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, a new James Mangold film

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind ‘A Complete Unknown’ and Bob Dylan’s Early Career, From His Arrival in New York City to When He ‘Went Electric’

A new film starring Timothée Chalamet tracks Dylan’s evolution from an acoustic folk singer to a rock ‘n’ roll superstar

Kerry Washington stars as Charity Adams in Tyler Perry's newest film, The Six Triple Eight.

Women Who Shaped History

How a Black, All-Female WWII Unit Saved Morale on the Battlefield

The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion sorted through a massive backlog of undelivered mail, raising American soldiers’ spirits during World War II

Elliot Heffernan (left) and Saoirse Ronan (right) portray a mother and son in Steve McQueen's new film, Blitz.

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind Apple TV+’s ‘Blitz,’ a New Steve McQueen Movie About Britain’s Everyday World War II Heroes

Starring Saoirse Ronan as a young mother, the film celebrates Londoners’ resilience in the face of an eight-month Nazi aerial bombing campaign

Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus in Gladiator II, which tells a heavily fictionalized story of the joint reign of brothers Geta and Caracalla

Based on a True Story

The Real History Behind Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator II’ and Life as a Fighter in the Ancient Roman Arena

The “Gladiator” sequel centers on Lucius Verus, the secret son of Russell Crowe’s character from the 2000 film. Both men achieve fame as enslaved fighters driven by their desire for revenge

Reflecting on Romare Bearden's art, playwright August Wilson wrote, “What I saw was Black life presented on its own terms, on a grand and epic scale, with all its richness and fullness.”

Based on a True Story

The Surprising Artwork That Inspired Netflix’s ‘The Piano Lesson,’ a New Movie Based on August Wilson’s Award-Winning Play

A Romare Bearden print served as a starting point for the American playwright’s 1987 drama, which follows a Black family’s struggle to decide the fate of an ancestral heirloom

L to R: Kim Matula as Jane Curtin, Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman, Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster and Matt Wood as John Belushi in Saturday Night, a new film about the making of “Saturday Night Live”

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind ‘Saturday Night,’ the Movie About the Television Show That Changed Comedy Forever

A new film revisits the 90 minutes before the first episode of “Saturday Night Live” premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975

Kate Winslet as Lee Miller in Lee, a new film directed by Ellen Kuras

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind the ‘Lee’ Movie and Lee Miller, the Legendary Surrealist Photographer and World War II Journalist Who Inspired It

In a new biopic starring Kate Winslet, Miller’s many lives—as an artist, model, muse, cook and war correspondent—need little embellishment

A Victorian era depiction of the Battle of Stirling Bridge, which took place on September 11, 1297

On This Day in History

How William Wallace of ‘Braveheart’ Fame Defeated the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge

On September 11, 1297, the warrior vanquished the superior armies of Edward I, cementing his status as one of Scotland’s most iconic heroes

The new adaptation of The Decameron is “like a medieval ‘Love Island,’ and it descends into Lord of the Flies chaos,” says actor Tanya Reynolds.

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind Netflix’s ‘The Decameron’

Loosely based on Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th-century collection of short stories, the series follows a group of Italian nobles and servants who flee to the countryside to escape the Black Death

In "Lady in the Lake," Natalie Portman plays a fictional journalist who investigates a pair of mysterious deaths. The cases are inspired by the real-life disappearances of Esther Lebowitz and Shirley Lee Parker.

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind the Baltimore Deaths That Inspired ‘Lady in the Lake’

A new mini-series offers a fictionalized take on two unrelated 1969 cases: the mysterious disappearance of bartender Shirley Lee Parker and the murder of 11-year-old Esther Lebowitz

Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in Fly Me to the Moon, a new movie directed by Greg Berlanti

Based on a True Story

How ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ Pokes Fun at Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories

The new Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum film presents an alternative history in which government officials prepared to fake the moon landing before NASA pulled off the feat for real

This still from The Bikeriders is a recreation of Danny Lyon's photo Crossing the Ohio River.

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind ‘The Bikeriders’ and the Danny Lyon Photography Book That Inspired It

A new film dramatizes the story of a motorcycle club chronicled by Lyon in the 1960s, offering a tribute to the outlaw spirit

Alicia Vikander portrays Henry VIII's sixth wife, Catherine Parr, in the new film Firebrand.

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind ‘Firebrand’ and Henry VIII’s Tumultuous Relationship With His Sixth Wife, Catherine Parr

A new film dramatizes how the Tudor queen narrowly avoided execution on charges of heresy

A self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci

Based on a True Story

A New Leonardo da Vinci Biopic Is Coming to the Big Screen

The film will be an adaptation of Walter Isaacson’s biography of the Renaissance painter, scientist and inventor

A romanticized 1920 depiction of the capture of Blackbeard, one of history's most notorious pirates

Who Were the Real Pirates of the Caribbean?

During the Golden Age of Piracy, thousands of sea dogs sought fame and fortune. But the reality of a pirate’s life was less enticing than movies and television shows suggest

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