Inspirational movies based on true stories

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Acropreneur

8 min readJun 5, 2018

Movies are one of the greatest ways to feed information into your mind in a fun and interesting way. Entrepreneurs are mainly motivated by stories of rags to riches, or an ordinary man doing extraordinary things, therefore we have accumulated 14 Inspirational movies based on true stories that might help entrepreneurs go through tough times and remember that, “Success is a journey, it takes time.” After reading the list, you may leave a comment saying which movie you think should be added to this list of “Inspirational movies based on true stories”, and I’ll add it asap.

1) The Pursuit of Happyness

Yes, it is supposed to be spelt like that, in case you were wondering (lol). This is one of the most inspiring movies that I have ever seen. The movie is about Chris Gardner’s intensively hard life. Chris has been evicted from their apartment, he and his young son find themselves alone with no place to go.

Even though Chris eventually lands a job as an intern at a prestigious brokerage firm, the position pays no money. The pair must live in shelters and endure many hardships, but Chris refuses to give in to despair as he struggles to create a better life for himself and his son.

This movie will make you feel extremely lucky to have any material possessions that you own, and will humble you down to earth. Due to it’s dramatic play and perfect rags to riches story, we have added this to the #1 spot on ‘Inspirational movies based on true stories’

2) Walt Before Mickey

Disney, a company now worth 155.68B (2018) was started by an Entrepreneur that never gave up on his dream, although he was heavily criticized for it. Walt Disney had to endure years of failure, with the constant feeling of disappointment but it was his perseverance that kept him going.

The movie highlights a young Walt Disney following his journey from Missouri to Hollywood, as he encounters opportunities, tough deals, and a growing romance. Although, the acting may not have been on point, the message was clear: If you work hard on a burning desire, you will be on the path to success, although failure is inevitable, character is built upon those moments. This perfect rags-to-riches story made us add it to the list of Inspirational movies based on true stories.

3) The Social Network

The Social Network is a MUST-WATCH movie for any millennial. It teaches the value of being an autodidact and a little rebellious. In summary, during 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer genius Mark Zuckerberg begins work on a new concept that eventually turns into the global social network known as Facebook.

Six years later, he is one of the youngest billionaires ever, but Zuckerberg finds that his unprecedented success leads to both personal and legal complications when he ends up on the receiving end of two lawsuits, one involving his former friend. Based on the book “The Accidental Billionaires.”

4) The Wolf of Wall Street

If you want to learn about stocks, this movie is not for you, this movie doesn’t really teach you about the logistics, instead it shows the lifestyle of wall-street brokers selling penny stocks. The Wolf of Wall Street mainly highlights one person, Jordan Belfort. In 1987, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) takes an entry-level job at a Wall Street brokerage firm. By the early 1990s, while still in his 20s, Belfort founds his own firm, Stratton Oakmont.

Together with his trusted lieutenant (Jonah Hill) and a merry band of brokers, Belfort makes a huge fortune by defrauding wealthy investors out of millions. However, while Belfort and his cronies partake in a hedonistic brew of sex, drugs and thrills, the SEC and the FBI close in on his empire of excess. This is personally one of the most fun movie out of the other movies in this list of Inspirational movies based on true stories

5) Startup.com

Picking up where today’s headlines leave off, Startup.com examines the current troubled state of the Internet revolution, in which inflated ideals and dreams of instant wealth have been supplanted by harsh economic realities and broken promises.

Graced with sensitive storytelling and a dynamic, intimate cinéma-vérité style, the film also manages to personalize this crisis with intensely private views of the people involved.

Here are the Must-Watch (Inspirational movies based on true stories)

6) Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)

There’s a popular play on words that says “the geek shall inherit the Earth”. TNT’s Pirates of Silicon Valley follows perhaps the two most influential geeks that set out to do just so. The made-for-TV film chronicles the birth of Microsoft and Apple during the 70s and how they became two of the most important and influential corporations, not only in the IT field, but in the world, propelling their founders to international popularity and massive wealth. If you are an entrepreneur, you have to watch this movie, as it is one of the best inspirational movies based on true stories.

7) Moneyball (2011)

Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), general manager of the Oakland A’s, one day has an epiphany: Baseball’s conventional wisdom is all wrong. Faced with a tight budget, Beane must reinvent his team by outsmarting the richer ball clubs.

Joining forces with Ivy League graduate Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), Beane prepares to challenge old-school traditions. He recruits bargain-bin players whom the scouts have labeled as flawed, but have game-winning potential. Based on the book by Michael Lewis.

8) The Godfather

Widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, this mob drama, based on Mario Puzo’s novel of the same name, focuses on the powerful Italian-American crime family of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando).

When the don’s youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), reluctantly joins the Mafia, he becomes involved in the inevitable cycle of violence and betrayal. Although Michael tries to maintain a normal relationship with his wife, Kay (Diane Keaton), he is drawn deeper into the family business.

9) Something Ventured (2011)

SOMETHING VENTURED tells the story of the creation of an industry that went on to become the single greatest engine of innovation and economic growth in the 20th century. It is told by the visionary risk-takers who dared to make it happen…Tom Perkins, Don Valentine, Arthur Rock, Dick Kramlich and others. The film also includes some of our finest entrepreneurs sharing how they worked with these venture capitalists to grow world-class companies like Intel, Apple, Cisco, Atari, Genentech, Tandem and others.

Beginning in the late 1950′s, this small group of high rollers fostered a one-of-a-kind business culture that encouraged extraordinary risk and made possible unprecedented rewards. They laid the groundwork for America’s start-up economy, providing not just the working capital but the guidance to allow seedling companies to reach their full potential. Our lives would be dramatically different without the contributions that these venture capitalists made to the creation of PCs, the Internet and life-saving drugs.

10) The Founder

The true story of how Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), a struggling salesman from Illinois, met Mac (John Carroll Lynch) and Dick McDonald (Nick Offerman), who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California.

Kroc was impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. Kroc soon maneuvers himself into a position to be able to pull the company from the brothers and create a multi-billion dollar empire.

11) The Big Short (2015)

Four denizens in the world of high-finance predict the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s, and decide to take on the big banks for their greed and lack of foresight. The Big Short teaches you about having a broad vision, thinking different from the rest and being aware of Opportunities around you.

12) 8 Mile

A young rapper, struggling with every aspect of his life, wants to make it big but his friends and foes make this odyssey of rap, harder than it may seem. It’s a classical rags to riches type of film, if that’s what inspires you, then it is a MUST-WATCH for you.

13) Margin Call (2011)

A respected financial company is downsizing and one of the victims is the risk management division head, who was working on a major analysis just when he was let go. His protégé completes the study late into the night and then frantically calls his colleagues in about the company’s financial disaster he has discovered.

14) Blood diamond

As civil war rages through 1990s Sierra Leone, two men, a white South African mercenary (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a black Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou), become joined in a common quest to recover a rare gem that has the power to transform their lives. With the help of an American journalist (Jennifer Connelly), the men embark on a hazardous trek through rebel territory to achieve their goal. This movie teaches about power, and change which is vital for any entrepreneur to learn about.

So here were 14 Inspirational movies based on true stories, let me know down in the comments what you thought about this list and what should be added to the list of “Inspirational movies based on true stories.”

Sources: Acropreneur