# Why the name change in The Assasination of Richard Nixon?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-name-change-in-the-assasination-of-richard-nixon/285021>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 16, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-name-change-in-the-assasination-of-richard-nixon/285021 "2005-01-16T14:06:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-name-change-in-the-assasination-of-richard-nixon/285021/1 "2005-01-16T14:06:09Z")

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In **The Assasination of Richard Nixon** , the name of the potential assasin of Richard Nixon is changed from the real life [Byck](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Byck) to Bick. This may be a minor point, but for some reason it bothers me. Were they afraid of being sued by his relatives? Are they admitting that their movie is fiction that has little relation to the actual story?

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-name-change-in-the-assasination-of-richard-nixon/285021/2 "2005-01-16T20:40:17Z")

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Just a guess: It’s a movie “based on real life events,” not a documentary. Simlarly, [The Great White Hope](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065797/combined) was based on the life of heavyweight champ “Jack Johnson” but it’s not a biography, and the character is named “Jack Jefferson.” The names are close enough that you get the connection, but ficionalized, and allows the filmmaker more leeway in telling the story.