BY: Amanda Jane Stern

Sometimes the best kind of story, is a true one. Twists and turns are not only staples of a work of fiction, oftentimes it’s the true stories that are far stranger than any work of fiction could ever be. Here are some upcoming biopics to be on the lookout for:

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

In times as contentious as these, we all miss Mister Rogers. Fred Rogers was not only a positive role model onscreen, but as we have learned from those who knew him, he really was one of the good ones. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood follows a cynical journalist who accepts an assignment from Esquire to write a profile on Fred Rogers, who discovers his perspective on life transformed by his time with the television personality. The film was directed by Marielle Heller from a screenplay written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. It is based on the Esquire article “Can You Say…Hero?” by Tom Junod. It stars Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers and Matthew Rhys as Lloyd Vogel (the character based on Tom Junod.) A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is scheduled to be released November 22 by Sony Pictures.

BOMBSHELL

If you’re like me, Fox News is probably not your go-to news source, but you are familiar with the allegations of sexual misconduct (by multiple women) against founder Roger Ailes. Bombshell is about those allegations. Nicole Kidman stars as Gretchen Carlson, the Fox News personality who spent a year recording Ailes’ harassment and set the whole story in motion. Charlize Theron stars as Megyn Kelly, who detailed her abuse by Ailes’ in a tell-all book, and Margot Robbie stars as Kayla Popisil, a character invented for the movie who will presumably join Carlson and Kelly in taking down Ailes. In addition to Kidman, Theron, and Robbie, the film also stars John Lithgow as Roger Ailes, Allison Janney, Malcolm McDowell, and Connie Britton. Bombshell was directed by Jay Roach from a script written by Charles Randolph. It is scheduled to be released December 20 by Lionsgate.

THE CURRENT WAR

This biopic follows the fight between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse (working with Nikola Tesla) over whose electrical system would become the one to power the world. Edison was on the side of Direct Current (DC) while Westinghouse and Tesla were for Alternating Current (AC). Personally, I’m a bit of an AC/DC girl myself. This whole dispute comes to a head when they both submit proposals to illuminate the Chicago World’s Fair. The Current War stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Edison, Michael Shannon as Westinghouse, and Nicholas Hoult as Tesla. In addition to them, the film also stars Katherine Waterston and Tom Holland. The film was directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon from a script written by Michael Mitnick. It is scheduled to be released October 25 by 101 Studios.

FORD V FERRARI

After talks between car manufacturers Ford and Ferrari, dealing with Ford buying out Ferrari, fail, Henry Ford II, upset at being rebuffed (ah, the male ego,) instructs his racing division to build a car that would beat Scuderia Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Ferrari had won the race several years in a row. If you’re looking for a movie with fast cars and pissing contests, this one’s for you, (actually, that sounds like a lot of fun to me.) The film stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale as the designer who builds Ford’s new racing car and the driver who races it respectively. The film was directed by James Mangold from a script written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller. It is scheduled to be released November 15 by Walt Disney Studios.

HARRIET

In school we all learned about Harriet Tubman: the slave who escaped to freedom, became an abolitionist and helped free hundreds of other slaves by helping them escape through the Underground Railroad, at least I hope we all learned about her. Now, she’s getting her own biopic. Harriet stars Cynthia Erivo as Tubman, and follows her from her own escape to freedom, to putting her life back in danger to help free others who are enslaved. The film was directed by Kasi lemmons, from a script she co-wrote with Gregory Allen Howard. In addition to Erivo, it stars Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, and Janelle Monáe. Harriet is scheduled to be released November 1 by Focus Features.

THE IRISHMAN

There’s been a lot of mob-talk lately in the political sphere, but this mob story has nothing to do with that. The Irishman tells the story of Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, a mob hitman and WWII vet, now an elderly man, who looks back on and recounts his time as a hitman for the Bufalino crime family, and his role in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, which is still a mystery to this day. The Irishman was directed by Martin Scorsese, from a script written by Steven Zaillian, based on the 2004 memoir “I Heard You Paint Houses” by Charles Brandt. The Irishman stars Robert de Niro as the titular Irishman, Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa, and Jo Pesci as Russel Bufalino. It also stars Harvey Keitel, Bobby Cannavale, and Anna Paquin. The Irishman is a Netflix film and will be receiving a limited theatrical release on November 1, followed by a digital streaming release on November 27.