You are now listening to post-mortem with Mick Harris, where the most influential voices in horror cinema

will spill their guts, literally, to the renowned horror director, writer, and producer.

Now here's your host, Mick Garris.

I'm Mick Garris and this is post-mortem.

Let's talk about the film biography, yes, the biopick.

People credit John Ford with the line,

when the legend becomes fact, print the legend.

It's a line from Ford's 1962 film, the man who shot Liberty Valence, and

though Ford quoted from the film often in interviews over the years, it was actually

birthed by the screenwriters, James Warner Bella, and William Goldbeck.

Yeah, as the Writers Guild of America would say, writers wrote that. And it has been the guiding

dictum of biographical movies since the form began, which might well be as far back

as 1906 with the Kelly gang about the notorious Australian outlaw Ned Kelly.

This famous quote means simply this. If the legend is a better story

than the truth, then go with the legend. If you're looking for historical veracity,

don't look to Hollywood.

Though many film biographies are very respectful,

they are movies, and movies have to appeal to an audience

and sell tickets.

Some are more accurate than others,

and some of them don't even bother to try. I produced the film

unbroken about my father in Wahl Lou Zamparini's World War II experiences.

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