I saw this terrific true story on news and am wanting to make it into a movie.  I'm curious if anyone has ever done this before and if there is any law or anything that I need to do to make such a story.  

My wife tells me that if I just make the movie, that since I don't know details about a particular persons life, there is enough leeway that I can make such works.  Is there validity to that statement.

I also think back to movies like 'Pain and Gain' in which the actual people involved, who are still alive, were never consulted about such a story and say that the facts are incorrect.  It appears as if it was made without agreement.  Is that possible?

Hi Joe - Looked this up on Google for you:

Didn't find much, however links that could be of use:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/taking-care-business/37848-legal-implications-being-based-true-story.html

http://www.rightsofwriters.com/2011/01/can-you-tell-your-own-true-story-even.html (not exactly it, but close and should be a good read)

http://www.artslaw.com.au/info-sheets/info-sheet/telling-peoples-stories-on-film/

The last link is for Australian laws and I believe you are from the US, however it covers your question rather thoroughly and these things don't differ much.

Based on what I read and it seems obvious enough, you can get sued for defamation. Even if you change names if it is obvious that the movie is based on that true story and the people involved find out and have an issue with the portrayal of something in the movie...

Even if it wouldn't go legal and the people involved still spoke out that this is nowhere close to what actually happened your reputation as a film-maker could have a smudge on it.

If it's not a big story everyone is aware of though, there's a good chance it would fly under the radar, especially considering this would be an independent movie with no guarantee of a lot of people viewing it. So even if the people involved found out and something was terribly wrong they could be hesitant to speak up or take it legal to draw attention to it.

An option is just grabbing the main concept and change the surroundings so much that no one would link it to the true story.

As an US resident, which I am not, you might have a better idea where to find laws on this and you could always consult a lawyer.

OT: You had a thread up about finding a writer for a movie here. How did that go? Did you find someone?

- DS

Just steal it and change things around... or if you really want to tell that exact story, get in touch with the people involved and talk business. They're going to want a cut and possibly payment up front. Make sure you secure ownership of the rights.

When it comes to "based on..." or "inspired by...", there's only one rule: Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Thanks you guys.  Sorry for replying so late.  I apparently wasn't getting emails when people replied and had difficulty finding this discussion.

DS741
Thanks for the information.  That's better than anything I've found myself.

Bogey
That's so true.  Haha.  You know, I looked up the real Pain and Gain story, which was wacky in itself, the movie was way off.  Much of it didn't happen, yet they liked to say, "its still a true story".

I'm still working on finding someone for my screenplay too.  Thanks for asking.