# What biopics would you like to see? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258 "2005-11-22T16:02:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/1 "2005-11-22T16:02:24Z")
Are there any real-life figures whose stories you would like to see told (or re-told) on the big screen? I’d like to see a movie about the life of my personal hero, George Orwell. At the very least it should cover his time as a police officer in Burma, his “Down and Out in Paris and London” period, and his volunteer service in the Spanish Civil War. It should be a British production, ideally, but comprehensible to an American audience. (Despite the lucidity of Orwell’s writing, many of his essays are almost incomprehensible to an average American without footnotes, because they assume on the reader’s part broad general knowledge about British and European culture of his period.) ---
**Author:** ![vertizontal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ad7895/32.png) [@vertizontal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertizontal)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/2 "2005-11-22T16:21:04Z")
I’d love to see a big screen version of the story of the **Wright Brothers** inventing the airplane. And I’d want it to have James Cameron’s attention to historic detail, Steven Spielberg’s humor and tug at emotions, and of course a musical score by John Williams. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/3 "2005-11-22T16:32:26Z")
I’d second the motion for a truly excellent, well-written, big-budget, period-authentic (TEWWBBPA) Wright Brothers movie. Too bad no one did one in time for the 2003 Kitty Hawk centennial. Others who could do with a TEWWBBPA biopic: - George Washington - Queen Victoria (although “Her Majesty Mrs. Brown” is excellent, it’s just about one part of her life) - Thomas Edison - William Cushing (an incredibly heroic, charismatic U.S. Navy officer during the Civil War) - Zheng He (a very widely-traveled Chinese admiral and explorer, from the early 1500s, I believe) - William T. Sherman - Alexander Hamilton - Lord Byron ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/4 "2005-11-22T16:32:33Z")
**Paganini**. With all that stuff about him selling his soul to the devil. And of course [Maxim Vengerov](http://www.scena.org/lsm/sm8-3/Maxim_Vengerov_en.htm) will play the title role. I’d love terribly for someone to translate Nabokov’s _Speak, Memory_ onto the silver screen but I don’t think it’s humanly possible to recreate visually what he did in words. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/5 "2005-11-22T16:34:49Z")
The life story of [Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad Fredericksson Andersson Reuss](http://www.divasthesite.com/Singing_Divas/Stories/Bio_Frida_Lyngstad.htm) a/k/a The Redhead from ABBA. A fictionalized account of her life would be rejected as “too implausible.” ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/6 "2005-11-22T16:38:57Z")
Warren Zevon VCNJ~ ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/7 "2005-11-22T16:43:49Z")
[Effa Manley](http://btobsearch.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=EK6q5DKCya&btob=Y&isbn=1578860016&TXT=Y&itm=1) . She was a beautiful black woman who owned a Negro League baseball team in the 1940s. (I’m hoping to produce the movie and to get Halle Berry onto my casting couch. 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/8 "2005-11-22T16:54:55Z")
I’ve said this before, but if need be I’ll resort to accosting Hollywood types in my bathrobe: Orson Welles’ early life, with emphasis on the Mercury Theatre’s transition from the stage to radio, and leading up to the release of _Citizen Kane_. If no one makes this film before Leonardo DiCaprio gets too old to play the lead, I’m going to sulk. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/9 "2005-11-22T18:27:35Z")
**Sir Richard Burton**. The movie **Mountains of the Moon** gives some of his life story, but not all. The guy was fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/10 "2005-11-22T18:41:13Z")
Philip K. Dick! Okay, maybe I’m a little biased because he’s my favorite author ever, but seriously, the man led an incredible life. His five marriages, his religious visions, his struggles with mental illness, his drug use… his life has all the trappings of a GREAT biopic. I think it would spark interest even among non-fans. If they haven’t made it by the time I get something published, I would really like to write it. Of course, seeing as how Hollywood screwed up all of the adaptations of his work except for one, they probably couldn’t do much better with the man himself. I also always thought that The Eden Express by Mark Vonnegut should be made into a movie, but he’s not really famous, just for that book and being Kurt’s son. Actually, KV’s life might make an interesting movie too. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/11 "2005-11-22T18:46:14Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > I’ve said this before, but if need be I’ll resort to accosting Hollywood types in my bathrobe: > > Orson Welles’ early life, with emphasis on the Mercury Theatre’s transition from the stage to radio, and leading up to the release of _Citizen Kane_. > > If no one makes this film before Leonardo DiCaprio gets too old to play the lead, I’m going to sulk. Good idea, but why DiCaprio? I second **William V.'s** vote for a Zheng He biopic. He was a very important figure about whom the Western public knows too little. There are Chinese colonies all around Southeast Asia that owe their existence to Zheng He’s voyages. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/12 "2005-11-22T18:51:48Z")
Clint Eastwood should direct Gene Hackman in the story of John Ford. Before everybody gets old and dies. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/13 "2005-11-22T18:54:12Z")
The Chuck Yeager story. Yes, part of it was told in The Right Stuff, but you could fill three or four movies with what the man has done in his life. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/14 "2005-11-22T19:07:11Z")
**Mary Pickford** was a fascinating woman who achieved a level of success that was unheard of for a woman then, and is rare even today. I think most Hollywood actresses would kill to play the role of Mary, and her true life story reads like a work of grand, epic fiction. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/15 "2005-11-22T22:53:06Z")
A bit highbrow, perhaps, but I think the life of Marie and Pierre Curie would make a good film. Especially the part where overexposure to radium turns them into giant mutants and they level Tokyo. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/16 "2005-11-22T23:02:14Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Sir Richard Burton** Second. Also, how about **Nikola Tesla**? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/17 "2005-11-22T23:04:46Z")
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I’d like to see a biopic of the guy who founded what we know as Bank of America and, by extent, the first credit cards. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/18 "2005-11-22T23:12:05Z")
I’d be interested to see a biopic of Vince Lombardi, starring Eugene Levy. I’ve thought a little about the casting of the other roles, too: Paul Walker as Paul Hornung, Jeremy Piven as Forrest Gregg, Jake Gyllenhaal as Jim Taylor. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/19 "2005-11-22T23:12:25Z")
I think it would be neat to see a film based on the life of [Wanda Jackson](http://www.rockabillyhall.com/WandaJackson.html), the queen of rockabilly and the first female rock-and-roll singer. Plus, she dated Elvis! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258/20 "2005-11-22T23:16:18Z")
The Fox sisters (Katie and Margaret) – their experience with “rappings” at their house kicked off the modern spiritualism movement – they recanted later in life, then recanted their recantation – both died penniless. Maggie was involved with Elisha Kent Kane, the famous Arctic explorer, but his snooty family forbade him to marry her. [Here’s](http://www.prairieghosts.com/foxsisters.html) some info on them. I read [this](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060566671/102-3593148-2643351?v=glance&n=283155&v=glance) a couple of months ago and found it fascinating. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-biopics-would-you-like-to-see/332258.md?page=2)