377: Feud: Bette and Joan with Scott Eyman

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 377) — The first season of FX’s “Feud” chronicles the turbulent making of the 1962 thriller “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” Over eight episodes set against Hollywood’s fading Golden Age, “Feud” focuses on a simmering resentment between aging stars Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, on-set clashes over performances […]
376: Project Blue Book

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 376) — This special three-in-one episode is a thorough exploration of the true story behind the U.S. government’s top secret program investigating UFOs called Project Blue Book. In 2019, the History Channel released a dramatized version of Project Blue Book’s reports starring Aidan Gillen as Dr. J. Allen […]
375: Donald Rumsfeld in the Movies with William Cooper

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 375) — Donald Rumsfeld served as the U.S. Secretary of Defense twice in his career, including during the 9/11 attacks. Today, we’ll learn how the movies “Vice”, “W.” bring a fictional portrayal of Rumsfeld. We’ll also look into the accuracy of the documentary “The Unknown Known” which interviews […]
373: Amelia with Chris Williamson

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 373) — Learn about legendary aviator Amelia Earhart as she was portrayed onscreen by Hilary Swank in the 2009 biopic. To uncover the true story, today we’ll talk with author, documentarian, and host of Chasing Earhart , the only podcast dedicated entirely to Amelia Earhart: Chris Williamson. Get […]
371: Classic: Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story with Matthew Polly

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 371) — How well do you know about the real Bruce Lee? There are a lot of myths that came out of the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, so today we’ll pull another classic episode from the Based on a True Story vault. Get Matthew’s Book Bruce […]
370: Titanic with Mark B. Perry

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 370) — Twentieth Century-Fox’s “Titanic” starring Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb claims to draw facts from 1912 congressional inquiries, so how well does it do when we compare it to history? Get Mark’s Book And Introducing Dexter Gaines Also mentioned in this episode Watch the movie Get the […]
368: Behind the True Story: Not a Real Enemy with Robert Wolf

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 368) — Go behind the true stories shown in Holocaust movies through the experiences of Robert Wolf’s family. Since we’ll be talking about the Holocaust, listener discretion is advised. Get Robert’s Book Not a Real Enemy Find Robert on Social robertjwolfmd.com Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a […]
367: John McClane in Die Hard with Patrick O’Donnell

(BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 367) — Is John McClane a realistic cop or just an action hero with a badge? Yippee-ki-yay, history lovers, let’s see if McClane would survive an Internal Affairs review. Get Patrick’s Book The Good Collar Also mentioned in this episode Patrick’s Podcast Hire Patrick Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or […]
366: Troy with Neil Laird

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 366) — Homer’s “The Iliad” tells the story of the Trojan War, a tale brought to the big screen in the 2004 film “Troy.” But with an ancient epic as its foundation—and Hollywood’s creative liberties—how much of the story is real? Get Neil’s Latest Book Prime Time Pompeii […]
357: Maria with Sophia Lambton

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 357) — A new biopic from director Pablo Larraín tells the story of renowned opera singer Maria Callas. Unfortunately, the movie falls short in telling the true story of the real Maria Callas. Today we’ll get to learn from Sophia Lambton, the author of The Callas Imprint: A […]
350: This Week: Alexander, 61*, Black Hawk Down, The Social Network

BOATS THIS WEEK (SEP 30-OCT 6, 2024) — Thousands of years ago this week, Alexander the Great fought his final decisive battle against Darius III so we’ll start our journey by comparing the true story of Gaugamela with the battle in 2004’s Colin Farrell movie. Then we’ll hop onto the baseball field because tomorrow, October […]