<Li> Riding in Cars with Boys (2001)--based on the life of memoirist, children's author and creative writing teacher Beverly Donofrio, who wrote the autobiographical book on her life by the same title </Li> <Li> Rock Star (2001)--tells the story of Chris "Izzy" Cole, a tribute band singer whose ascendance to the position of lead vocalist of his favorite band was inspired by the real - life story of Tim "Ripper" Owens </Li> <Li> There is a Secret in my Soup (2001)--based on the Hello Kitty murder </Li> <Ul> <Li> 8 Mile (2002)--based on rapper Eminem and his rap battles in Detroit </Li> <Li> 24 Hour Party People (2002)--based on the story of Tony Wilson and Factory Records from 1976 to 1992 . </Li> <Li> Auto Focus (2002)--based on the life and career of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane, as well as his friendship with John Henry Carpenter </Li> <Li> Bloody Sunday (2002)--based on the events of Bloody Sunday on January 30, 1972, in Derry, Northern Ireland, in which 26 unarmed civil - rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army </Li> <Li> Catch Me If You Can (2002)--the story of con artist Frank Abagnale, directed by Steven Spielberg </Li> <Li> Chicago (2002)--adapted from the stage musical by Bob Fosse and Fred Ebb, exploring the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Jazz Age Chicago, directed by Rob Marshall </Li> <Li> City of God (2002)--Brazilian crime drama film, adapted from a book by Paulo Lins, depicting the growth of organized crime in Rio de Janeiro between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s, directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund </Li> <Li> Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)--biographical spy comedy film depicting the life of popular game show host and producer Chuck Barris, who claimed to have also been an assassin for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) </Li> <Li> Dahmer (2002)--the story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer </Li> <Li> Frida (2002)--the story of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo </Li> <Li> Kandahar (2002)--the story of Afghan refugee Nelofer Pazira's return to Afghanistan, directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf </Li> <Li> The Laramie Project (2002)--adapted from the play The Laramie Project, both by Moisés Kaufman, telling the story of the aftermath of the 1998 murder of American student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming </Li> <Li> The Mothman Prophecies (2002)--adapted from the 1975 book of the same name by John Keel, telling the story of the Mothman sightings in the Point Pleasant, West Virginia, area in 1966 and 1967 </Li> <Li> Paid in Full (2002)--based on events in the life of drug dealer Azie Faison during the crack epidemic in 1980s Harlem, leading up to the murders of his friends Rich and Donnell Porter, directed by Charles Stone III </Li> <Li> The Pianist (2002)--based on the memoir by Władysław Szpilman, a Polish musician of Jewish origins and a childhood survivor of Nazi - occupied Poland </Li> <Li> Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story (2002)--based on the 2002 court case Marc Hall v. Durham Catholic School Board </Li> <Li> Rabbit - Proof Fence (2002)--Australian drama film based on the book Follow The Rabbit Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara, based on the true story of the author's mother and two other mixed - race Aboriginal girls who ran away from the Moore River Native Settlement north of Perth, Western Australia, to return to their Aboriginal families after having been placed there in 1931; directed by Phillip Noyce </Li> <Li> The Rookie (2002)--based on the life of American professional baseball player Jim Morris, known for his brief Major League Baseball career </Li> <Li> Ted Bundy (2002)--the story of serial killer Ted Bundy </Li> <Li> We Were Soldiers (2002)--based on the Battle of Ia Drang, the first major engagement of American troops in the Vietnam War; directed by Randall Wallace </Li> </Ul>

Hollywood war movies based on true stories list