Capote (2005)
Centered Around the Actions of: Truman Capote
Main Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Film Cost: $7 million*
Main Actor Income: $1 million*
Capote fleshes out the life and times of the titular playwright and novelist, Truman Capote. You might recognize him for creating In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The former work is the focus of this movie. Capote follows the writer’s experiences which shaped the writing of this true-crime book, which brought him inner conflict while attempting to make sense of the causes of mass murder in Kansas.
Capote
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s believable imitation of Capote earned him an Academy Award. The universally praised biopic earned $50 million within the box office, simultaneously sealing the late Hoffman’s place in the Hollywood elite. Gerard Clarke wrote the biography which Capote revolved around.
Goodfellas (1990)
Centered Around the Actions of: Henry Hill
Main Actor: Ray Liotta
Film Cost: $25 million*
Main Actor Income: $500,000*
Martin Scorsese has directed plenty of infamous mobster movies, but Goodfellas is widely regarded as his crowning achievement, and it’s based on a true story! The movie follows the rise and fall of Henry Hill, a legendary mafia partner. Ray Liotta plays Hill, supported by his fellow goons played by Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro. The mafia accounts written by Nicholas Pileggi in his book Wiseguy formed the basis of the screenplay.
Goodfellas
Hill happened to be one of 20th-century mafia’s biggest members between 1955 and 1980. A failed drug deal led to his arrest, whereupon he decided to become an FBI informant to dodge a certain life sentence. His crucial information led to the convicting of fifty of his previous mafia partners in crime.
