Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Biopics and movies based on real events are joining adaptations and blockbuster franchises at the multiplex as stories with a built-in audience who know what to expect. Movies and television shows that depict real people purport to tell us the real story, everything we know and do not know about a public figure packaged into one coherent narrative. But how do they do it? The Biopic and Beyond uncovers the process that turns the distant public figures that populate news and entertainment into screen characters that we can engage with and try to understand a little better. Even though they aren't the real thing, fictionalised versions of public figures can, for better or worse, colour the way we understand the real person behind them. Biopics and docudramas are not the only places on screen that give us access to the fake person behind the real person, with media as varied as sketch comedy, fan fiction, and the celebrity cameo contributing to the ways we understand media figures. Using case studies such as Mark Zuckerberg and The Social Network , Sarah Palin and Saturday Night Live , and Louis C.K. and Louie , The Biopic and Beyond will make you think about the way you see the world through a fictionalised version of it."-- Provided by publisher.