# Why no Wright brothers movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [June 22, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809 "2008-06-22T17:50:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![jlh3rd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@jlh3rd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlh3rd)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/101 "2015-06-08T01:56:58Z")
Looks like Tom Hanks is going to produce a mini series of the Wright bros…at least I stand in good company… ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/102 "2015-06-08T18:44:16Z")
I’m in the middle of McCullough’s biography right now. It’s clear that they were brilliant men who succeeded precisely because they \*didn’t \* just copy their predecessors. I think the reason there isn’t a biopic about them is that neither make compelling cinematic characters, and the overall story is one of early success and then things went downhill, never to recover. The patient wars don’t paint them in a positive light, either. The best thing to do, story wise, is have the demonstration in France be the climactic finale, and just gloss over the rest of it, if you mention it at all. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/103 "2015-06-08T19:24:12Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Bit of a hijack … Heh. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/104 "2015-06-08T19:33:46Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I think the reason there isn’t a biopic about them is that neither make compelling cinematic characters, and the overall story is one of early success and then things went downhill, never to recover. As adults, no, they weren’t all that colorful. There’s some good story material to be mined in their youths and their family lives, with the unusual Wright family dynamics brought to the forefront. Wilbur’s dalliance with becoming a minister, his withdrawal and diffidence around women resulting from his hockey injury, and Katherine’s wifelike devotion to her brothers all belong on film. The typical story lines start with two geniuses descended from Olympus to start a bicycle shop, and that just loses interest after a few tellings. > [@](#): > > The best thing to do, story wise, is have the demonstration in France be the climactic finale, and just gloss over the rest of it, if you mention it at all. A better finale scene on-screen might be [Wilbur’s demonstration flight over New York harbor](http://wrightstories.com/wilbur-wright-circles-the-statue-of-liberty/) with the Lusitania’s horn blowing in salute. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/105 "2015-06-08T19:39:48Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > As adults, no, they weren’t all that colorful. There’s some good story material to be mined in their youths and their family lives, with the unusual Wright family dynamics brought to the forefront. Wilbur’s dalliance with becoming a minister, his withdrawal and diffidence around women resulting from his hockey injury, and Katherine’s wifelike devotion to her brothers all belong on film. … A “based on truth” movie would turn this into a gay incest sausage-fest – they would be portrayed much like the Lannisters. ---
**Author:** ![jlh3rd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@jlh3rd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlh3rd)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/106 "2015-06-10T03:21:33Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > A “based on truth” movie would turn this into a gay incest sausage-fest – they would be portrayed much like the Lannisters. Based on truth?..whose truth?..show me evidence…not conjecture… ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/107 "2022-06-09T21:37:32Z")
Back in 1948, “Henry Blanks” (Henry Blanke?) was attempting to make a feature, _The Story of the Wright Brothers,_ to star Gary Cooper and either Henry Fonda or Jimmy Stewart. I don’t know what became of it. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/108 "2022-06-09T21:49:26Z")
The story of the Wright brothers’ patent battles is to me quite interesting. I don’t know how well it would work for a biopic, but their failure to market their invention successfully allowed for example France to develop an aircraft industry faster than America. And of course that are my hometown heroes so yeah I’d love to see a good movie about them. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/109 "2022-06-09T22:21:14Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Kevin Smith would make a great Gustav Whitehead, just to add a bit of controversy. I’ve been digging into Whitehead to write about flying cars. No one seems to remember that his claim involved making the first flight in a vehicle he drove over ten miles to the site, and newspaper mentioned it as a flying car at the time, making it the first of both. However, newspaper databases are now deeper. I’ve dug up earlier articles about his “flight” which show - conclusively, to my mind - that his success was fictionalized by a local newspaper reporter off an earlier failed attempt. The two stories are exactly the same, except that the second turned it from a failure into something glorious. The Wrights’ story could easily be made into an interesting movie. Their 1908 triumph in France alone was some of the biggest news of its era, much bigger than the first flight itself. If you ended the movie there you’d avoid all the stuff people complain about above. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/110 "2022-06-10T01:17:50Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The Wrights’ story could easily be made into an interesting movie. Their 1908 triumph in France alone was some of the biggest news of its era The Wrights’ story, IME, has something in common with US 1940-41: there is a sharp info boundary. Almost everyone knows about the 1903 flight, but the period that follows it is a vague mist to most, the same way that we all know about Pearl Harbor, but the years before it are a featureless blur. I had to pursue these ignored pieces of history that get casually elided by the people most of us get our narrative from. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/111 "2022-06-10T01:31:58Z")
Is there enough verified personal details for a movie? It’s well known they owned a bicycle shop. They tinkered in their shop and eventually developed viable ideas for a plane. Where did the money for the prototype come from? Who were the investors? Finding investors could be a key part of the story. How close did they come to running out of money? Giving up? I dislike movies that just invent personalities for historical characters. Lets make Orville a ladys man that romances several women and cast George Clooney. Wilbur is an introvert that stays home,smokes cheap cigars, and reads Dickens. A lot history gets trampled by imaginative Hollywood writers. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/112 "2022-06-10T03:18:39Z")
As a professional editor, I suggest you work on your punctuation. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/113 "2022-06-10T03:29:40Z")
> [@jlh3rd](#): > > Correct…and add that the Smithsonian Institute was also a participant in this scheme. This played a big part as to why the original Wright flyer stayed on display in France for decades before being returned and put on display in the U.S. Excuse me, but at what point was The Flyer on display in France? In his book _ **Fields of Battle: The Wars for North America** _, British historian John Keegan talks about seeing it in a museum in London when he was a child. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/114 "2022-06-10T03:42:50Z")
I read a biography of the Wrights when I was growing up (and another more adult work thirty years later). Did they not market their own brand of bicycles (also called Wright Flyers) put together using parts from other manufacturers? SFAIK, their development period was funded entirely by the proceeds from their cycle work. I don’t recall any mention of investors. I do remember the brothers being downright secretive about what they were working on and not seeking any publicity until they had accomplished what they set out to do. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/115 "2022-06-10T04:29:23Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Where did the money for the prototype come from? Who were the investors? No investors - the Wright brothers were entirely self-financed. By being smart and careful, they kept expenses low - income from the bicycle shop easily sufficed. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/116 "2022-06-10T04:37:36Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Did they not market their own brand of bicycles (also called Wright Flyers) … There’s no record of any bicycle model they sold under that name. Two model names they did use were “St.Clair” and “Van Cleve”. There’s some record of a plan to use the name “Wright Special”, but apparently they never actually sold a bicycle with that name. ---
**Author:** ![jlh3rd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@jlh3rd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlh3rd)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/117 "2022-06-10T11:39:19Z")
Sorry, not France…it was London. ---
**Author:** ![jlh3rd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@jlh3rd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlh3rd)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/118 "2022-06-10T12:05:07Z")
I’m not in english class…I’m in an internet forum…try to stay on topic… ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/119 "2022-06-10T19:03:38Z")
Moderating: > [@terentii](#): > > As a professional editor, I suggest you work on your punctuation. Just sayin’. As a volunteer mod, i suggest you comment on the post, and not the poster. And that’s a seven year old post. Why even bother? No warning, but don’t do it again. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2022, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809/120 "2022-06-10T19:04:19Z")
Moderating: > [@jlh3rd](#): > > I’m not in english class…I’m in an internet forum…try to stay on topic… If you have a problem with a post, please just report it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-wright-brothers-movie/453809.md?page=7)