People who could get the biopic treatment?

Joseph Beyrle, who allegedly fought the Germans in the U.S. Army and the Red Army in World War II.

I'd like to see a movie focused on the woman Darlie Routier who supposedly murdered her two sons. I think a biopic actually was going to be in-development, but legal problems forced it to get shelved. The main issue with it being that the police and investigators who were involved in her case are concerned with getting a Historical Villain Upgrade.

Edited by Brandon on Jan 10th 2019 at 6:03:01 AM

Victor Lustig. This guy's story is so fascinating that I'm surprised Hollywood hasnt tried to make a film:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Lustig

I have a treatment on a biopic based on Magdalena Solís aka the High Priestess of Blood

Originally a prostitute, she was recruited by a group of con-men who had induced a entire village into a cult to play their "goddess". Thing is, she had religious delusion and legitimately believed she was a goddess. What started as a cult scam escalated into terrorizing a entire village with actual human sacrifices and cannibalism.

I'd like to see a movie about Thomas Sankara, the President of Burkina Faso (well, initially the Republic of Upper Volta) from a coup d'état in 1983 to his assassination in 1987. He is sometimes referred to as "Africa's Che Guevara" (who has of course been the subject of multiple movies, such as The Motorcycle Diaries and Steven Soderbergh's Che). African history doesn't get much attention in the West, and when it does it's often from an outside, Western perspective (The Last King of Scotland comes to mind). The only example of a movie about African history told from an (at least mostly) African perspective to be at least fairly well-known in the West that I can think of is Hotel Rwanda, though there may be others I'm forgetting. I did an IMDb search for the keyword "Africa" and the genre "History", and the results would seem to support the notion that there is indeed a dearth of such films.

Edited by TompaDompa on Aug 4th 2019 at 12:17:13 PM

I think they should make either a Jacksepticeye biopic, Kitty 0706 biopic, Camille Baum biopic, Cameron Boyce biopic, or a biopic about the Tubbs Fire.

Jack Kirby. Dude was a badass, fought in WW 2, and was one of the (if not the) best artists in comic history.

Just don't let Disney anywhere near it, they'll just try to whitewash how Marvel treated him.

There are a lot of comic book greats in need of a solid biopic. Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Steve Dikto and Will Eisner all had fairly interesting lives to turn into a film.

Louise Michel (an Anarchist figure from the 19th century) could be a fantastic subject for a biopic, but there's apparently only one (made-for-TV) film about her.

Actually it mystifies me that there are almost no films, not even French, about the 1871 Paris Commune. It should practically write itself − although its shape would depend heavily on the writer's political leanings.

Edited by Lyendith on Mar 7th 2020 at 5:09:28 PM

Plus they already did one for Dr. Marston, so more comic creators would be awesome.

Also imagine one for Edward Spencer Dodgson, who studied Basque and got called 'obnoxious' in his obituary.

I'm surprised they haven't done a Malala Yousafzai biopic.

Or how about Samantha Smith? She was a 10-year-old who wrote a letter to the leader of the Soviet Union in 1982 asking why they would drop nukes on the US, and was invited there as a goodwill ambassador. But sadly, she was killed in a plane crash 3 years later.

She's considered a peace icon in Russia, and she's well-known in her home state of Maine.

I was thinking a Philip K. Dick biopic could be the perfect sci-fi Oscar bait movie, since the Oscars love biopics, especially ones about people who suffered from mental illness or addiction(or, as in his case, both). As for how a biopic could be sci-fi, they could add PKD-like elements to the film(it's not like he never put autobiographical elements in his works).

I know he got a good amount of focus in Hamilton as the antagonist of sorts, but Aaron Burr's an interesting enough guy to have a whole movie dedicated to him.

"Hamilton II: King of Louisiana"

Speaking of pistol duels, Galois. Hell, it's even got the June Uprising, which also turned out to be unexpectedly suited to a musical. Probably shouldn't be a musical, though. Not sure what rhymes with "quintic polynomial."

Edited by TwinBird on Jul 16th 2020 at 11:36:20 AM

I'm not sure if this was already suggested, but it would be interesting to do a film about Roger Casement, with a focus on adapting the part of his life covered in the book King Leopold's Ghost. There's an obvious cinematic "in" in doing a serious version of How We Got Here with him being about to be executed for treason, and then you could flashback to show him starting out as a conscientious but otherwise unremarkable civil servant before being "radicalized" by the atrocities he discovered in the Congo.

Also, I don't know if there's a trope for this, but King Leopold's Ghost itself draws a lot of parallels between Casement and the fictional Marlow of Heart of Darkness, including discussing the various horrible people that inspired Conrad's Kurtz. One of whom was used as the villain in a recent Tarzan movie, which took inspiration from some of the same historical events.

Speaking of that movie, another historical figure who appears in the movie, George Washington Williams, would also be a good subject for a biopic.

Cathay Williams, an African-American woman who was born a slave and fought in the American Civil War while disguised as a man.

I'd love to see a biopic of George A. Romero with a focus on his experiences making the OG Trilogy of the Dead since all three movies had unique and often troubled productions.

Bonus points if they can get Ving Rhames and Sarah Polley to play Ken Foree and Gaylen Ross or see if they can get Joshua Seth to do a live-action part and play Joe Pilato

How about a Shakespeare biopic where Anne Hathaway is played by Anne Hathaway?

Very original joke, I know.

Sylvain Eugène Raynal, French colonel during World War 1. He was in charge of the defense of the fort of Vaux during the Battle of Verdun. Resisted German assaults for six days, Alamo-style, till they had no ammo and water left. It impressed even the Germans, who honored him with a new sword when he was captured.

Bela Lugosi: The guy was forced to leave Hungary for his political views, going to America and gaining the role of a lifetime as Count Dracula in the Broadway play and the 1931 movie. He was eventually typecast so bad that he could only find minor roles in horror movies and B-movies. Other low points include an unstable love life and addiction to morphine. Sounds at least somewhat biopic worthy to me. Of course, it was played with in Ed Wood, with Martin Landau playing Lugosi, but I mean a movie centered around him.

Edited by Mr_Blister on Oct 15th 2020 at 10:44:28 AM

Has there ever been an Edgar Allan Poe biopic?

Apparently, Sylvester Stallone of all people has been working on a script for an Edgar Allen Poe biopic for decades.

And speaking of horror authors, a biopic about Stephen King's many inspirations for his stories sounds like fun.

King has the obvious point of framing in the truck accident that almost killed him in 1999. It'd make for a good framing device (bed-ridden King contemplates his life) or just the story itself (bed-ridden King attempts to continue his work after nearly dying).