Glen Powell starrer Hit Man has garnered critical acclaim among critics and audiences alike. The movie delves into the life of Powell’s character, a part-time staffer with the New Orleans Police Department who goes undercover as a hitman to catch criminals.
However, the movie did something different which the film director Richard Linklater addressed as he slammed Hollywood’s money-making trick. He also gave an example of Steven Spielberg’s 1998 project, Saving Private Ryan, which also utilized the trick.
Hit Man Director Opened Up About Hollywood’s Money-Making Trick
Hollywood has long been blending the storytelling narrative with facts and fiction, by claiming that movies are based on true stories to enhance its appeal. However, this is something where the Hit Man diverged, as it marketed the movie by stating that it is somewhat based on a true story.
By showcasing it like that, it kept the facts straight about taking a real-life incident as an inspiration and portrayed the movie by blending it with fiction. Richard Linklater, the filmmaker behind the acclaimed project, who is known for his maintaining an authentic style, further shared his insights in a recent interview.
In a ReelBlend Podcast, he expressed his frustration with Hollywood movies which often tend to mislead with that banner. He shared,
I kind of don’t like these movies that say this is a true story based on true story…I just didn’t want to be one of those full of crap movies saying, Oh this is all real’ and we’re really honest about it.
He reflected on his movie, stating that the 2023 movie has already been showcased as a blend of fiction and facts as there are scenes that didn’t really happen in real life. He further took an example of Steven Spielberg‘s epic-war movie, Saving Private Ryan, reflecting on how it used the same trick.
Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan Also Used the Same Trick
Further in the interview, Linklater specifically gave an example of Saving Private Ryan, a war epic movie set during World War II, following the D-Day invasion of Normandy. While he praised the movie for the film’s powerful depiction, he suggested that the movie’s claim to truth is compromised by its fictionalization.
You know, name any historical movie. Just say ‘Saving Private Ryan.’ It’s like, okay, that’s somewhat true. Yeah, there was one guy who had a family, but that’s not… Movies are reconstructions. They’re fake, they’re constructs, you can’t make a true anything.
Linklater’s statement depicted that no movie could be exactly based on a true event, challenging the industry’s use of the ‘true-events’ genre marketing tactic.
This is particularly true as the iconic director of Matt Damon’s movie himself admitted that the war epic could not portray the exact reality of war. In an interview with WFAA, Spielberg shared,
If I actually shot this movie as close to how it actually was, I could not have released the movie, I would not have found theaters. They would have accepted the movie and I would have gotten an X rating, forget an NC 17 or an R with an X rating.
Spielberg explained that he had to tone down the brutality of war for theatrical release, otherwise it would have been unacceptable to audiences had he decided to showcase what it would have truly looked like.
His confession greatly aligns with Linklater’s statement that films marketed as true stories often compromise on factual accuracy. However, there could be several reasons for the same including audience sensitivity as Spielberg addressed for his acclaimed film.
Hit Man is available on Netflix whereas Saving Private Ryan is streaming on Apple TV.
