the.com/biopic
A true story, loosened at the seams until it fits a three-act structure.
means A film that dramatizes the life of a real person, usually compressing decades into a tidy narrative arc.
from A 20th-century Hollywood blend of 'biographical' and 'picture,' coined by the film-trade press (often credited to Variety, that great forge of snappy showbiz shorthand) as a quick label for movies built around real lives.
- origin
- portmanteau of biography and picture, coined in 1951
- honest cousin
- documentaries, which biopics outperform at the box office
- oscar bait
- playing a real disabled or addicted genius wins statues
- legal shield
- composite characters exist mostly to dodge lawsuits