ABSTRACT
This chapter describes some hot button areas associated with factual works and the ethical quandaries that result. In truth, the based-on-fact label is often meaningless, reduced to what legal departments consider acceptable risks, regardless of the factual basis. But some works contain more fiction than others, even in projects that tout a factual pedigree. Though the liberties taken, that is, the factual inaccuracies, noted were not substantial ones, it is nevertheless noteworthy that an entertainment trade industry publication should focus on factual errors in theatrical films, proving that more and more attention is being given to factual errors. Most documentaries have a distinct point of view, and possibly more of an agenda than the more maligned docudramas, works that mix fact with dramatic license while using actors. Nevertheless, many continue to define documentaries as truer than other works that claim a factual pedigree.
