Elizabeth Banks’ last film, cocaine bear, is inspired by the true and wild story of an American black bear who ingested an entire duffel bag filled with cocaine. The story itself, of a bear dying of an overdose after consuming 75 pounds of the narcotic, sounds like an interesting story to make the local paper, but Banks saw it had enough basis for an article.
So what other crazy and bizarre true stories could make for an interesting movie? The folks at Reddit seemed to have some ideas about certain events that could be adapted into a goofy movie.
Christopher Lee War Service
A famous Hammer Film actor and well-known power-metal singer, Sir Christopher Lee has certainly had an interesting career in the entertainment industry, but he is also known for his military service during World War II. Sir Lee was no ordinary RAF soldier, but an intelligence liaison officer with the Special Operations Executive.
Lee’s actions during the war could only be described as something out of an Ian Fleming novel. Truly a man of international espionage, Lee helped the allies gather intelligence throughout the African and Italian campaigns. He would eventually retire in 1946, but not before being tasked with hunting down Nazi war criminals to prosecute them. Redditor foowop15 said his life as a spy to Dracula actor as a “TV miniseries would be amazing for audiences.”
The kidnapping of Choi Eun-hee and Shin Sang-ok
South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee and her director ex-husband, Shin Sang-ok, were considered two of the biggest names in the South Korean film industry. This fame would soon put them under the radar of movie buff and known despot, Kim Jong-Il.
In 1978, the two were kidnapped on the orders of the future North Korean leader and were later forced to make films to help boost the North Korean film industry. Redditor OneManFreakShow brought up this wild story because they considered it a compelling narrative. A story about an entertainment power couple forced by an authoritarian regime to make movies seems like the type of story audiences would find hard to believe. But it happened, as the couple were “forced to make propaganda films for eight years” before finally fleeing to the US Embassy in Vienna.
Revenge Voyage of Jeanne de Clisson
A Redditor brought up a despised 14th century widow’s privateering career along the English Channel and suggested that “Tarantino or Park Chan-wook” be the one to lead it. Jeanne de Clisson was a French noblewoman whose husband was executed on suspicion of being a spy for the British.
Vowing revenge on the French crown, she made a deal with the British royal family to help them build a fleet and set sail to plunder all French ships. For 13 years, the “Lioness of Brittany” wreaked havoc across the Channel with her ships. Incredibly, these ships were all painted black with red sails hoisted on their masts, giving them a “black widow” aesthetic.
The radioactive scout
Growing up in Commerce, Michigan, David Hahn developed an affinity for chemistry and nuclear physics. Hahn was a member of the Boy Scouts and would receive merit badges in accordance with his research into atomic energy. Secretly, however, in his own constructed laboratory, David would create a neutron source in his garden. Shortly after a cleanout of his house by the EPA, Hahn would finally attain the rank of Eagle Scout.
David Hahn and his backyard experiences have been mooted by various Redditors to be a perfect tale to one day adapt into a movie. Although a Redditor felt that the story sounds like it had “no conflict” for it to fit, sadly, David Hahn’s story ends tragically. After the experience made him famous, he went through various hardships that led him to depression and drug addiction that ultimately claimed his life.
Texas Guinan: the queen of nightclubs
When most people hear about the Prohibition Era, they usually associate it with big names and properties, from Al Capone to Gatsby the magnificent. But for a decade, a single amendment created a landscape where many saw the profiteering and venturing through the contraband that was booze.
One such figure to see the value in having during Prohibition was famed actress and entrepreneur from Waco, Texas Guinan. Using his fame and talent, Guinan opened a chain of speakeasies to cater to celebrity patrons looking for booze. She was able to supply and support those looking to soak up the nightlife again. Time and time again, she would see her clubs destroyed by the cops, only to reopen the store right away. Redditor AnticitizenPrime, when discussing the queen of nightclubs, made the extraordinary connection, “so it’s probably not a coincidence that Whoopi Goldberg’s bartender in Star Trek was named Guinan, then?”
The witches of the night take flight
“A story about witches of the night would be cool,” Chronicdoodler said of topics for potential movies. The 588th Night Bomber Regiment was an all-female bomber unit. Nicknamed the “witches of the night” by the Nazis on the Eastern Front of World War II, this unit would carry out bombardments on Nazi encampments.
The planes used were essentially biplanes from the previous world war, but what seemed like a technological obstacle worked in their favour. The pilots flew low and idled their engines, allowing the aircraft to glide with the wind. The sound produced by their plane while in neutral is what would earn them their nicknames, as the Nazis compared it to flying broomsticks.
Evariste Galois
In the world of mathematics, there is a theorem that converts problems from field theory to group theory (called Galois theory), making them easier to understand. Discovered in the early 19th century, this mathematical feat alone is astonishing, but whoever discovered it led a far more interesting life.
Évariste Galois was a young mathematical genius and a staunch supporter of the French Revolution of 1830. In post-Napoleonic France, the nation saw the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, and so several protests spread across the country, eventually culminating in open rebellion. In favor of the revolution, his strong convictions would find him on the wrong side of a duel, killing him from the wounds he received. One Redditor described how the movie of his life could unfold as “an extremely melodramatic and over-the-top version of Goodwill hunting set in revolutionary France.”
The Great Armored Train Robbery
The Czech Legion was a volunteer force made up mostly of Czechoslovaks and other ethnicities seeking self-determination for their nations away from the Austrian Empire during World War I. Together, this unit would not only help fight the Central Powers, but also the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War.
Their encounters with the Bolsheviks are the reason czarnick123 raised them, as this legion would find themselves taking over “the entire Trans-Siberian Railway” back home. Stuck in Russia’s Far East, the Legionnaire captured railroad stations as well as armored military trains and used them to fight their way through Russia back to their homeland.
Syd Barrette
Syd Barret was once the original frontman of the hit psychedelic rock band, Pink Floyd. Unfortunately, his excessive consumption of psychedelics and LSD would cause him to regress, mentally. His personality saw a 180 degree turn from jovial to withdrawn and isolated.
Redditor epic_banana_soup suggested his life might have potential as a biopic to be one of the founding members of one of the greatest bands of all time. “It’s a tragic story that I think would work great as a movie,” the Reddit user said of recommending the tale.
The Phantom Army
A Redditor, in his suggestion of stories to make into movies, brought up various disinformation operations used by Allied forces during World War II. Everything from “Operation Fortitude” to “Ghost Army” would be a great base for a “decent comedy,” they say.
These proper operations were used by Allied forces to divert German defenses from their targets during the next full-scale invasion of Normandy. The Phantom Army unit was a 1,100-man force that would “imitate” other units, using various methods of deception including audio aids, paintings, and inflatable dummies to trick the enemy away from the enemy. operation.
