Based on a True Story: Nonfiction Books into Movies

 

Monuments Men:  Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel recounts the story of a little known aspect of World War II history.  When the Nazis swept through Europe, they quickly swept up as many works of art as they possibly could, with orders to destroy those items seen as “degenerate art”—anything deemed anti-German or modern.  Works by Picasso, Klee, and others were actually burned.  A group of specialized recruits, people who were museum curators, art historians or art collectors, had the task of trying to recover as many works as possible before they were destroyed, sometimes at the risk of their own lives.  The book is as exciting as fiction. The movie is currently filming and stars George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damien, and Daniel Craig.  (Downton Abbey fans:  Hugh Bonneville, Lord Grantham himself, has a role in the film.) It'll be a bit of a wait, though:  the movie isn't scheduled to be released until December 2013.

jOBS is a movie about the life of Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple.  While this movie is based more on magazine articles and interviews, I don’t think you could go wrong by reading Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.  The author not only interviewed over 100 of Jobs’ friends, business partners, and family, but he had more than 40 interviews with Jobs himself.  Isaacson is an excellent biographer. The movie stars Ashton Kutcher and should be in theaters in April.

Back in 1947,  six adventurers tried to prove that ancient peoples from South America could have sailed to Polynesia.  They constructed a traditional raft and set sail, battling the elements, storms, sharks and other dangers.  The movie Kon Tiki  is based on the book of the same name by Thor Heyerdahl, and is scheduled for a limited release in April.

Unbroken:  A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand is the incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, a young Italian American bombardier who was shot down in the Pacific during World War II.  He was captured by the Japanese and spent 2 ½ years as a POW under horrific conditions. The story of his unquenchable spirit is wonderfully told by Hillenbrand, who enthralled us all with her story of a horse named Seabiscuit.  A film version is in development now, with some hig profile interest from Angelina Jolie and the Coen Brothers. However, even with big names attached, I wouldn’t hold my breath; some projects are “in development” for years.