Biopicsaredramatizations of real-life peopleand are a saturated market, one that’s highly coveted come Oscar season. With spans ranging from a brief moment in time to the rise and fall of an entire career, these films capture the imagination of audiences clamoring to learn more about their idols. Unfortunately for them, there is not always a clear gauge of just where reality ends and the fantasy begins. Several upcoming biopics have hit the headlines lately, and not necessarily because audiences are excited for them. There was the much-touted Madonna biopic starring Julia Garner, which has now been officially scrapped in light of her world tour. Then there’s thebiopic of Amy Winehouse, which has left Winehouse fans wondering if it will only be a continuation of the exploitation that Winehouse experienced at the hands of the media during her lifetime.
And then there was the news that the star of the planned Michael Jackson film will be Jackson’snephew Jafaar Jackson, a thought which raises more questions than answers. When a biopic fails to get things right, they wind up disappointing not just the fans, but the people whose story they’re trying to tell. What happens when the subject has passed on and has no say in the production? Or, even worse, when the living star isn’t even consulted? Failing to pay attention to source material is, more often than not, the downfall of these films. Let’s take a look at some biopics whose subjects just didn’t get the representation they deserved.
Updated on September 16th, 2023, by Amanda Minchin:This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.
11Pam & Tommy (2022)
Pam & Tommy, the TV miniseries starring Lily James as Pamela Anderson and Sebastian Stan as Tommy Lee, got attention as soon as it was announced in 2018. The show followed the tumultuous three-year marriage of Anderson and Lee, giving hefty attention, of course, to the leaked sex tape that the pair made on their honeymoon. Anderson refused to be involved right from the outset. While Lee was not involved either, he didn’t outwardly object to the series.
Instead of getting the facts from the players involved, the eight-part miniseries was adapted from a 2014Rolling Stonearticle that was all about the sex tape. The series performed well critically, with both stars (who wore heavy prosthetics) receiving high praise for their performances. This success came, however, at the expense of both Anderson and Lee.Anderson is now vocalabout how it feels to have been exploited both when the sex tape was leaked, and now all over again, both times without her permission. She has recently released her memoir,Love, Pamela, in hopes of retaking control of her narrative.
10Jobs (2015)
One biopic that came under flak for historical inaccuracies isJobs. Starring Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs, the film was released in 2013, just two years after the Apple co-founder’s death. Co-founder Steve Wozniak was approached with the script early on and found it full of faults, particularly when it came to portraying himself, Jobs, and their relationship.
At the same time, he was approached for a more collaborative role working onSteve Jobs, which was released in 2015 and starred Michael Fassbender. This set off a bit of a war of words between Kutcher and Wozniak in the press and gave the general impression thatJobswas a bit of a rushed affair.
9The Imitation Game (2014)
English mathematician Alan Turing was a complicated man with a complicated life, so it’s no surprise that plenty of stars were jumping at the chance to play him when the time came. In the end,The Imitation Gamesettled on Benedict Cumberbatch. In the role, Cumberbatch portrayed Turing relating to two police officers the story of his years working as a cryptanalyst at Bletchley Park during World War II. He does an excellent job of portraying Turing as a socially awkward, possibly on-the-spectrum introvert.
The only problem? Turing was quite sociable. He enjoyed a wide circle of friends and did well in co-working situations. There were also concerns that Turing’s homosexuality was purposefully downplayed and that Keira Knightley’s role as close friend Joan Clark was over-romanticized. Then there are the accusations of him as a spy and, of course, the circumstances of his death.Information is Beautifulblasted the historical inaccuracies, stating that although a film about the workings of the Enigma machine was always going to be difficult to pull, “this film just rips the historical records to shreds.”
8Blonde (2022)
To callBlonde, the adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ fictionalized account of the life of Marilyn Monroe, polarizing is just the tip of the iceberg. While Ana de Armas received near-universal acclaim as the world’s most famous glamour girl, the writing and direction were controversial from the get-go. To start with, the film came under fire for presenting an anti-abortion stance when there was no record of Monroe ever having an abortion. Then there’s the graphic sex (and sexual assault) scenes that garnered the film an NC-17 rating.
Said de Armasof the role, “What has been tough for the audiences to understand about the movie, the emotional truth is so powerful in the film that it’s hard to separate that from, it’s not a biopic. So, for them, I’ve heard people like, ‘You missed this part of her life! You didn’t touch these other moments, and she was not only sad or depressed.’ And I’m like, ‘I know, but, we’re telling THAT story.” The film was overall condemned for repeating what happened to Monroe in real life: reducing her to nothing more than a sex symbol. Monroe has time and again proven to be an elusive character to anyone who has tried to resurrect her; perhaps it’s time to just let the legend rest, already!
7The Doors (1991)
For years, Oliver Stone’s blockbuster biopicThe Doorswas accepted as an accurate portrayal of its main subject, lead singer Jim Morrison, for a whole generation of movie-watchers and music fans alike. True, Val Kilmer’s star-making turn as the larger-than-life personality is hard to ignore, but so are the factual inaccuracies. Of course, there are the usual number of semi-nitpicky fallacies from what Morrison wore or said at a certain performance. What’s more upsetting, however, to the former band members and others who knew Morrison is that the character comes across as completely out of control, constantly drunk or on drugs, and downright cruel.
Morrison was a man who had his demons, but, in real life, he is also remembered as deeply sensitive, funny, and poetic. The parents of Morrison’s long-term girlfriend, Pamela Courson, who died two years after the singer, were also deeply unhappy with what they felt was a cartoonish portrayal of her by Meg Ryan. That plus the accusations by Melissa Gilbert of Stone’s behavior during auditions, casts a pall upon the picture.
Related:17 Biopics That Are Highly Inaccurate (But Still Entertaining)
6Grace of Monaco (2014)
Nicole Kidman stars as Grace Kelly in 2014’sGrace of Monaco. Set in 1962, Kelly is shown undergoing several crises all at once, including, but not limited to her marriage being in crisis and the feud between the French and Monégasque governments heating up. At the same time, she’s also tempted by an opportunity to appear in a Hitchcock film. While Kidman’s casting was near close to perfection, controversy was brewing well before the film was even released. The Grimaldi family, for one, was dead against it. They released the followingThey released the following damning statement: “The Prince’s Palace would like to reiterate that this feature film cannot under any circumstances be classified as a biopic.”
Maybe it would have been easier to make a film about Kelly back when she was just Grace Kelly and not Grace of Monaco. Setting it at a time when more was known about her life before she gave up her Hollywood career to be a princess, might have had a better chance at historical accuracy. Adding to all that, the director, Olivier Dahan, was feuding with now-disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein at the time. Unfortunately, the final cut was not really to anyone’s satisfaction and Kidman’s reception as the princess was mixed at best.
5A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
Sometimes the difficulty is that a biopic just isn’t necessary. Such is the case withA Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Just one year before Tom Hanks’ 2019 portrayal of Fred Rogers, the beloved children’s TV show host, two documentaries on Rogers’ life and work had already come out to much critical acclaim. This biopic is based on a 1998Esquirearticle and tells the story of an unhappy journalist whose life is transformed when he is set to interview Rogers, of whom he is initially skeptical. Anyone with two functioning eyeballs could see that Hanks was a perfect fit for the role.
Performances and good intentions aside, however, it’s hard to see what the film adds to the story of a man we already know as a great guy. There are no secrets revealed, no new angles examined. Frankly, audiences were better off watching the documentaries, which talk about real-life people who were transformed by the humble public television star. Instead, this film is chalked up as yet another instance where the casting was perfect, but the project was unnecessary.
4Nina (2016)
Casting an actor to play a real person is fraught with difficulties, which is something the makers of the biopicNinasoon found out. Initially, Mary J. Blige was cast as Nina Simon, the musical legend and civil rights activist. When she had to pull out, Zoe Saldaña stepped into her place. The light-skinned Saldaña, who identifies as Afro-Latina, was forced to utilize dark makeup and several prosthetics to look more like Simone.
This decision immediately caused an uproar. Of it,Simone’s daughter said, “My mother was raised at a time when she was told her nose was too wide, her skin was too dark. Appearance-wise this is not the best choice.” Even a Twitter thread purportedly from the late Simone’s estate bashed the decision. The film wound up a dismal flop, and Saldaña later went on to apologize for taking the role in the first place, acknowledging that the part should have gone to someone who could better honor Simone’s astounding legacy and life.
3Liz & Dick (2012)
Casting actors to actors is tricky, especially when those actors are as lauded as Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. In the case ofLiz & Dick, the casting of Lindsay Lohan, who is still in her turbulent tabloid years, as Taylor came off little more than a stunt. To be fair, though, she got the look of the famed beauty down pat.
Grant Bowler, who portrayed Burton, meanwhile, is famous in his native Australia for hosting several reality shows, includingThe Mole AustraliaandThe Amazing Race Australia. This is a far cry from Burton, who in real life was thought of as a natural successor to Olivier. This unconventional pairing went on to premiere on Lifetime, where it was generally panned by critics as a major disappointment.
2Seberg (2019)
Sometimes the subject of a biopic has a life that’s a little too complicated to truly be investigated within the context of a film. Such is the case with the 2019 filmSeberg. Activist and actress Jean Seberg, who wasplayed by Kristen Stewartin the film, has a complex biography as one of the most famous faces of the French New Wave. Seberg’s biggest claim to fame was her iconic role in Jean-Luc Godard’sBreathless.
The film, however, focuses on her involvement with a member of the Black Panthers, her subsequent investigation by the FBI, her suicide attempt, and the death of her infant daughter. That’s quite a lot to attempt to cram into one 102-minute film! In addition to its bloated ambitions, the movie was criticized overall for its largely superficial handling of Seberg’s short life.
