Biographies and autobiographies seemingly offer the ideal source material for fact-based film, but there are still issues to consider. Our series of guides to working with different source material moves on to look at writing scripts based on non-fiction accounts of one person and their achievements.

Working with biographies & autobiographies

We’ve chosen to separate biographies and autobiographies out from other non-fiction books for one reason – their focus on a single person from a single perspective.

Whether complementary or critical, this type of source material comes with a significant caveat. Bias.

When an author decides to write a biography or a notable individual wants to cash in by telling their life story, the output comes from a specific POV. This skews the story, either by glossing over the bad parts, making other figures in the book look like the “bad guys” or – alternatively – tearing the subject down.

We’re all familiar with the trashy, commercial biographies which claim to reveal all the dirt on a high-profile figure. Similarly, there are indulgent, vanity projects where the subject is painted as holier than thou.

Of course, there are also plenty of terrific biographies and autobiographies which offer a more balanced view of the subject, warts and all.

Likewise, there are notable authors, journalists, and historians who use the biography format to place the subject into a wider context and paint a more detailed picture of the time in which they lived. However, even these types of works are not free of conscious or unconscious bias.

Memory / inaccuracies

As with any source material which relies wholly or in part on anecdotes and personal recollection, you need to be aware that there could be gaping inaccuracies in the accounts.

Details might be “conveniently” forgotten or just simply remembered wrongly. People are notorious for looking at the past through rose-coloured glasses or altering events to make themselves look better.

There have even been instances of authors making up stuff, as well as examples of celebs using their status to lay into a parent or former spouse against whom they have a grudge.

Additional research

The overriding thing to remember about this type of source material is that it has an obvious or hidden agenda – to paint the subject in a certain light in order to tell a certain story.

This means that to get the full picture, you need to conduct additional research, even if you agree with the POV. This will allow you to gain a balanced picture of the subject and to develop similarly rounded supporting characters, ensuring the story does not become one-sided (or open to defamation claims).

In addition, the more research you do and the more sources you can cite can also help when it comes to the issue of copyright.

Legal rights

This is where biographies and autobiographies cross paths with non-fiction books.

If the book has been published, it likely falls under copyright protections. This means permission will need to be obtained from the rights holder (usually the publisher) in order to turn the material into a film / TV script or a produced film.

Exceptions might be if the material is unpublished or if it has entered the public domain.

The situation might also depend on the subject. If they are more obscure and/or still living, getting the rights to use the material will usually be easier than if they are high profile.

The rights might be cheaper to secure, or a living subject could prove readily willing to give you the life rights to their story. In this case, the research may shift to you interviewing the subject rather than using the published material.

For high-profile subjects, getting the rights to a book on their life is likely to be more challenging. However, in these cases, there might be so much material available on their life that the biography or autobiography simply becomes another research tool rather than the primary source material.

It all depends on the specificity.

If you want to tell a story about the early life of Elvis Presley, there is likely to be plenty of information publicly available, so you can get multiple sources for your story.

However, if, for example, the pilot of his private airplane publishes a tell-all book about what the King and his Memphis Mafia got up to on board, that story is likely to be so specific that any fact-based drama would rely on that pilot’s account – so, rights would need to be obtained.

As always, do your homework and seek legal advice. While legal rights are not the total purview of the writer, it’s important to understand the situation as it applies to your work to avoid problems down the line.

Fact-based films based on biographies & autobiographies

We end with a few fact-based films which use biographies and autobiographies as their main source material or inspiration (script links where available).

Biographies

• Schindler’s List (1993): Based on Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally, Spielberg’s film details Oskar Schindler’s efforts to save Jews during the Holocaust.
• The Theory of Everything (2014): This film about the life of physicist Stephen Hawking is based on Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by his wife Jane Hawking. Script source: Script Slug
• Goodfellas (1990): Scorsese’s mafia classic is based on Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, a biography of mobster Henry Hill. Script source: Daily Script
• A Beautiful Mind (2001): Russell Crowe stars in this acclaimed biopic of mathematician John Nash, which was inspired by Sylvia Nasar’s book of the same name. Script source: Script Slug
• Into the Wild (2007): The film is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer, telling of Chris McCandless’ wilderness adventures. Script source: The Internet Movie Script Database

Autobiographies

• 12 Years a Slave (2013): The acclaimed film about a free Black man kidnapped into slavery is based on the autobiography Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. Script source: Daily Script
• Raging Bull (1980): Often cited as the best film set in the world of boxing, this Scorsese classic is based on Raging Bull: My Story by Jake LaMotta. Script source: Script Slug
• The Pursuit of Happyness (2006): This film, starring Will Smith, is based on The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner, about his struggle with homelessness. Script source: Script Slug
• Catch Me If You Can (2002): Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed con artist Frank Abagnale in this film based on the autobiography of the same name. Script source: Script Slug
• Molly’s Game (2017): Aarron Sorkin wrote and directed this adaptation of Molly’s Game by Molly Bloom, an Olympian turned organised of high stakes poker games. Script source: Script Slug