# All the President's Men: any theatrical docudrama produced quicker? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985 "2017-06-14T22:07:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/1 "2017-06-14T22:07:47Z")
_All the President’s Men_, the motion picture starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, was released in 1976, portraying events that happened just four years earlier (and based on the 1974 book). Has any other major (by which I mean wide, general theatrical release) motion picture, attempting to accurately portray actual events (with necessary dramatic license), been produced and released so quickly after the events that inspired it? My guess is that only films that were made during or immediately after World War II, but those that I recall were more general and patriotic, not specifically retelling actual events in detail. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/2 "2017-06-14T22:20:07Z")
I think THE INSIDER, with Al Pacino and Russell Crowe, has it beat. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/3 "2017-06-14T22:31:31Z")
Werner Herzog’s _Lessons of Darkness_ is about the oil fields that were set on fire during the 1st Gulf War, which lasted from 2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991. The film was released, IIRC, on 23 October 1992. Not a docudrama, tho. Hmmmm. _Captain Phillips_ came out in 2013 portraying events from 2009. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/4 "2017-06-14T22:37:11Z")
_Snowden_ came out in 2016 portraying events from 2013. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/5 "2017-06-14T22:43:00Z")
_13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi_ came out 3.5 years after the Benghazi attack. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/6 "2017-06-14T22:45:27Z")
_Serpico_ had a crazy-fast turnaround time. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/7 "2017-06-14T22:54:05Z")
I think the unbeatable record is _[The Zodiac Killer](http://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_exploitation_movie_about_the_zodiac_killer_released_as_a_trap_to_catch)_ (originally released as _Zodiac_), which was released in 1971 while the killer was still active and less than a month after the most recent Zodiac letter was received. The [story about the movie](https://templeofschlock.blogspot.com/2012/12/zodiac-hunter-interview-with-tom-hanson.html) is absolutely bonkers and worth reading if you have some time. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/8 "2017-06-14T23:25:35Z")
Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg are closing in to making movies while they are happening: Lone Survivor (2013) - About events from 2005 Deepwater Horizon (2016) - About events from 2010 Patriots Day (2017) - About events from 2013 ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/9 "2017-06-14T23:29:05Z")
_Zero Dark Thirty_ come out a little over a year after Bin Laden was killed. Probably helped that they were getting ready to make a movie about him when the news broke. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/10 "2017-06-14T23:51:55Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > _All the President’s Men_, the motion picture starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, was released in 1976, portraying events that happened just four years earlier (and based on the 1974 book). Not to highjack this thread, but I couldn’t find the other _All the President’s Men_ thread to post this, but I guess people interested in ATPM would be interested in this. With it’s 45th anniversary, MSNBC is airing a special, [_All the President’s Men Revisited_](http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/all-the-presidents-men-revisited-airs-saturday-617-msnbc) this Saturday, June 17. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/11 "2017-06-14T23:55:57Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > Has any other major (by which I mean wide, general theatrical release) motion picture, attempting to accurately portray actual events (with necessary dramatic license), been produced and released so quickly after the events that inspired it? Jennifer Lopez, starring in _Selena_. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/12 "2017-06-15T00:39:55Z")
[In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107205/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) was a 1993 TV docudrama released a mere three months after the Waco siege began, and six weeks after the final massacre. (The movie ends with the initial assault.) Actor Tim Daley, who played David Koresh, said it was very weird to play a character who he knew had died recently. The extremely right-wing [DC 9/11: Time of Crisis](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0353042/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_2) came out exactly two years after 9/11. [United 93](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475276/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) was released three years later in April 2006. [The China Syndrome (1979)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078966/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) was released two weeks _before_ the eerily similar accident at Three Mile Island. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/13 "2017-06-15T01:09:10Z")
[Medium Cool](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_Cool), while not really a docudrama, portrays events on the periphery of the 1968 Democratic convention, most notably the demonstrations. It was released in the US a little over a year after the actual events. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/14 "2017-06-15T01:54:10Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > _Zero Dark Thirty_ come out a little over a year after Bin Laden was killed. Probably helped that they were getting ready to make a movie about him when the news broke. This is most likely the closest answer for a cinematic story-based film as the film was already well into development when the capture and execution of bin Laden but there are certainly documentaries which have been produced while the subject stories they were presenting was still developing. As an aside, I’m sure someone is already developing a sequel for the scandal facing the current administration. The only question is the title. _All the Kremlin’s Stooges_? _Dodo Soup_? _Three Idiots and a Blowhard_? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/15 "2017-06-15T01:58:24Z")
Thanks folks - excellent answers all! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/16 "2017-06-15T05:42:20Z")
Upon further review, [_Victory at Entebbe_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075391/), produced within six months of Operation Thunderbolt, probably wins the prize for quickest turn around of the fim representation of a historic event’ produced within six months of the event… It’s not a particularly memorable film despite presenting one of the most impressive military special operations successes in history, but it was quick on the draw compared to the two other concurrent productions (_Raid on Entebbe_ and the domestic Israeli film _Operation Thunderbolt_). Stranger ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/17 "2017-06-15T09:59:31Z")
A Lifetime movie; [Will and Kate](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_%26_Kate:_The_Movie) was produced entirely between the announcement of Prince Williams engagement; in Nov 2010 and the wedding, in late April, it came out the week before. 5 months. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/18 "2017-06-15T10:53:53Z")
Not eligible on a number of grounds, but I once heard John Waters talking about an experimental film based around the suicide death of the daughter of Art Linkletter, that he made with friends, [The Diane Linkletter Story](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diane_Linkletter_Story). According to him, the film was inspired by stories about the suicide published in newspapers, shot and in the can before her funeral took place. And confirmed by the man himself [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3M-t64qkD8)- at 6:50 in. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/19 "2017-06-15T11:54:52Z")
Not directly addressing the OP, but I recall an amazingly fast turnaround on production on South Park. When Susan Boyle went viral on a British talent show, the episode of South Park the following week mentioned her performance. So in the space of one week, the event got written into the script, all the way through post production and on the air in a prime time show. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985/20 "2017-06-15T12:20:39Z")
Film of the actors on the field shot just after the Red Sox beat the Cardinals in Game 4 of the World Series on Oct 24, 2004 made it into Fever Pitch, which was released on April 6, 2005. They changed the ending on account of the Red Sox victory. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-the-presidents-men-any-theatrical-docudrama-produced-quicker/788985.md?page=2)