29 of 2015's Movies That Are Based on True Stories

Release date: Dec. 11

You may hear that this movie is about a giant whale that sinks a boat in 1820 and think, "Oh, so it's inspired by Moby Dick." Actually, this is based on the book that was written about the true story that inspired Herman Melville's novel. Chris Hemsworth plays first mate Owen Chase, whose boat goes up against gigantic whale . . . and loses. Only eight sailors survived after the ship sunk in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Watch the trailer for In the Heart of the Sea.

Release date: Dec. 23

The leads in this movie — Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, and Steve Carell — are such big names that we wouldn't blame you for forgetting all about the fact that it's based on the housing bubble that led to 2007's financial crisis. Not only is the movie based on real events, it's an adaptation of Michael Lewis's book, which chronicled the crisis.

Watch the trailer for The Big Short.

Release date: Dec. 25 (limited)

Alejandro González Iñárritu is following up Birdman with this western based on Michael Punke's novel. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, a 19th century fur trapper whose team leaves him to die after he's mauled by a bear. He survives and sets out to exact revenge on his old pals.

Watch the trailer for The Revenant.

Release date: Dec. 25

Director David O. Russell is again teaming up with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper for this biopic about Joy Mangano (played by Lawrence), the inventor of the Miracle Mop. The single mother of three balanced college and several jobs throughout the '80s, and in 1990, she developed the mop. Her business took off when she regularly began selling her product on QVC, and within a few years, she was a millionaire.

Watch the trailer for Joy.

Release date: Jan. 30

This indie didn't make a lot of noise when it came out, but the story behind the film, starring Kevin Costner, is fascinating. The director, Mike Binder, was inspired to write the film based on his own life. He and his family took in his biracial nephew after the child's mother, Binder's sister-in-law, died. The movie changes quite a bit (Costner's character's wife dies, and there's a massive legal battle over the child), but the roots are based in truth.

Watch the trailer for Black or White.

Release date: Feb. 20

Kevin Costner also stars in this inspiration sports film about the underdog high school track team that wins the 1982 California state championship. He plays Jim White, a coach who enlists students from the predominately Latino school for the team. White is a real guy, and though he's retired now, he still shows up to watch the kids during practice.

Watch the trailer for MacFarland, USA.

Release date: April 3

Effie Gray, which stars Dakota Fanning and Greg Wise, is inspired by the unhappy marriage of Euphemia Gray to art critic John Ruskin in 1848. Though the two were wed, he refused to consummate the marriage. After six years, she confronted him and according to a letter she wrote, he claimed "he had imagined women were quite different to what he saw I was, and that the reason he did not make me his wife is that he was disgusted with my person the first evening." That's cold.

Watch the trailer for Effie Gray.

Release date: April 10

Helen Mirren plays Maria Altmann, the woman on a quest to retrieve art that the Nazis stole from her family during the Holocaust. She eventually reclaimed five out of six paintings that she was seeking, thanks to her lawyer, played by Ryan Reynolds in the film. The most famous of all the paintings is Gustav Klimt’s "Adele Bloch-Bauer I," aka the Woman in Gold, a portrait of Altmann's aunt.

Watch the trailer for Woman in Gold.

Release date: April 17

Jonah Hill plays journalist Michael Finkel opposite James Franco as Christian Longo, a man who is accused of murdering his family, in this drama. The true story is exceptionally disturbing, especially because the real-life Longo strangled and drowned his wife and children, and then assumed Finkel's name.

Watch the trailer for True Story.

Release date: June 5

The Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson is the subject of Love & Mercy, a biopic starring both Paul Dano and John Cusack as Wilson. The movie is being marketed as an exploration of "the personal voyage and ultimate salvation of the icon whose success came at extraordinary personal cost." So far it looks like it's staying true to the real story of Wilson, who struggled with bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder, and his wife, played by Elizabeth Banks in the movie.

Watch the trailer for Love & Mercy.

Release date: July 17

This tense-looking drama revisits Dr. Philip Zimbardo's 1971 psychology experiment that tested how people react when they're put in positions of power. Michael Angarano, Ezra Miller, and Tye Sheridan all star as volunteers who agree to be put in a fake prison situation, only to have the outcome change them forever.

Watch the trailer for The Stanford Prison Experiment.

Release date: July 31

Jason Segel is venturing into serious territory by playing author David Foster Wallace in this biopic. Widely known for his 1996 novel Infinite Jest, Wallace suffered from depression and committed suicide at age 46 in 2008. The movie follows the author and Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) during one of Wallace's promotional book tours. Lipsky ended up writing Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip With David Foster Wallace, which inspired the movie.

Watch the trailer for The End of the Tour.

Release date: Aug. 14

Named after their 1988 hit track, rap group N.W.A. takes center stage in Straight Outta Compton. Original members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre are producing the movie, so hopefully it'll be pretty true to how things really went down when the group formed in 1986. Fun fact: Ice Cube's son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., is playing him in the movie.

Watch the trailer for Straight Outta Compton.

Release date: Sept. 18

Tobey Maguire takes on the role of real-life chess prodigy Bobby Fischer in an intense-looking biopic. The movie focuses on Fischer's highly publicized 1972 match against Russian player Boris Spassky, played by Liev Schreiber. The showdown between the United States and the USSR captured the world's attention, but the pressure got to Fischer, who later became a recluse for 17 years before undertaking a rematch with Spassky. Peter Sarsgaard and Lily Rabe are costarring in the movie.

Watch the trailer for Pawn Sacrifice.

Release date: Sept. 18

Johnny Depp (and his creepy blue contact lenses) will play Whitey Bulger in this crime biopic about one of the country's most infamous mob bosses. After becoming an influential figure in Boston's organized crime scene in the '60s, Bulger flipped in 1975 and became an informant for the FBI. He fled for 16 years and was only arrested in 2011. He's currently in a Florida prison for being found guilty on 31 counts of racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and weapons charges.

Watch the trailer for Black Mass.

Release date: Sept. 18

Everest is based on the book Left For Dead by Beck Weathers, a survivor of the 1996 mountain-climbing disaster that claimed the lives of eight hikers. Jake Gyllenhaal and Jason Clarke are playing the leaders of two different expeditions who get caught in a fatal blizzard. Keira Knightley, Josh Brolin, and Robin Wright are all starring in the film, which is sure to give you fresh fears about ever climbing a snowy mountain.

Watch the trailer for Everest.

Release date: Oct. 2

Freeheld tells the true story of Laurel Hester (played by Julianne Moore), and her partner Stacie Andree (played by Ellen Page). When police lieutenant Laurel is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she begins the long battle to have her pension benefits go to Stacie. It was a groundbreaking case for same-sex couples, and the movie is very touching.

Watch the trailer for Freeheld.

Release date: Oct. 9

If you've seen the documentary Man on Wire, you're already familiar with the story of Philippe Petit. He's a French high-wire artist who famously walked between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. Though the stunt was completely illegal, all charges were dismissed in exchange for Petit doing a performance for children in Central Park. The new movie, directed by Robert Zemeckis, features Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Petit.

Watch the trailer for The Walk.

Release date: Oct. 16

If you're willing to take on something incredibly heavy, you might want to check out Spotlight, the story of the journalists who uncovered the massive history of molestation within the Catholic Church in 2003. Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Liev Schreiber all star in the film as reporters from The Boston Globe.

Watch the trailer for Spotlight.

Release date: Oct. 16

If hasn't been too long since Steve Jobs passed away, but this is already the second movie about his life. Michael Fassbender plays Jobs in this iteration, which not only focuses on his profession rise to fame, but the struggles within his personal life. Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, and Jeff Daniels all appear.

Watch the trailer for Steve Jobs.

Release date: Oct. 16

Robert Redford takes on the role of Dan Rather in the film inspired by the scandal that led Rather to step down from 60 Minutes in 2008. Truth revolves around his colleagues at the show who researched a story about George W. Bush going AWOL during his military service. The government questioned the story once it ran on the air, and 60 Minutes came under microscopic scrutiny. Cate Blanchett is also starring.

Watch the trailer for Truth.

Release date: Oct. 16

Steven Spielberg is directing this drama based on the story of an ordinary insurance lawyer who is sent to negotiate the release of a US prisoner of war during the Cold War. Tom Hanks is playing the lead, alongside Amy Ryan as his concerned wife.

Watch the trailer for Bridge of Spies.

Release date: Oct. 23

This political drama centers on the women's suffrage movement of the late 19th century. Carey Mulligan plays the main character, a young political activist. While her character isn't based on anyone specifically, Meryl Streep plays Emmeline Pankhurst, who was a real leader in the movement. She founded a suffrage advocacy group, spent time in prison for getting physical with officers, and played a huge part in getting the Representation of the People Act passed. She passed away weeks before the government extended the right to vote to women over 21 years old.

Watch the trailer for Suffragette.

Release date: Oct. 30

Sandra Bullock plays political consultant Jane Bodine in this drama inspired by the 2005 documentary of the same name. Jane Bodine isn't a real person, but the events and people in the feature film are based on those from the documentary. The movie pits Bullock's Jane against another consultant (played by Billy Bob Thornton) as they rally for their candidate clients in a South American election.

Watch the trailer for Our Brand Is Crisis.

Release date: Nov. 6

Bryan Cranston is playing Dalton Trumbo in this drama about Hollywood's blacklisted writers of the 1940s. Trumbo, who wrote screenplays for films like Spartacus and Roman Holiday, was just one of the many insiders who were imprisoned because of supposed Communist ties.

Watch the trailer for Trumbo.

Release date: Nov. 13

It was only five years ago that 33 miners became trapped underground when their mine collapsed. Now, Antonio Banderas, Juliette Binoche, and James Brolin are in a movie about it. You better bring a box of Kleenex to this tale about human survival in the face of tremendous odds.

Watch the trailer for The 33.

Release date: Nov. 27

Eddie Redmayne is already stunning on posters for The Danish Girl, in which he plays Lili Elbe, the first woman to successfully undergo sexual reassignment surgery. The movie revolves around how Lili's relationship with her wife (Alicia Vikander) evolves along with her transformation.

Watch the trailer for The Danish Girl.

Release date: Nov. 20

Tom Hardy is taking on double duty as twins Ronald and Reginald Kray, infamous English gangsters. Though they put up a front as nightclub owners, they were actually leaders in organized crime throughout the '50s and '60s. Their story is unique in that Ronnie was openly bisexual and was rumored to have been sleeping with a psychopathic admirer (played by Taron Egerton in the film).

Watch the trailer for Legend.

Release date: TBA

Ben Foster is playing cyclist Lance Armstrong in this biopic. The movie will follow Armstrong's story as he wins seven consecutive Tour de France titles, and is eventually stripped of his them when it is discovered that he had been taking performance-enhancing drugs. Lee Pace, Chris O'Dowd, Dustin Hoffman, and Jesse Plemons all costar.

Watch the trailer for The Program.