HOLLYWOOD Q&A

Q: The new movie “15:17 to Paris,” directed by Clint Eastwood, uses the actual heroes in the lead roles. Has there ever been another film with real people recreating their real live events?

A: There have been a few, actually.

The most famous example is 1955’s “To Hell and Back,” the true story of decorated war hero Audie Murphy, in which Murphy stars as himself. The movie was a huge hit, and Murphy translated that opportunity into sustained film stardom. The extent to which either will be true of Eastwood’s new movie, however, remains to be seen.

“15:17 to Paris” (2018) features three heroes — Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos — recreating their moment of heroism and their lives leading up to it. The first known example of this type of filmmaking did the opposite, time-wise: 1946’s “The Best Years of Our Lives” featured real-life doubleamputee Harold Russell, who lost both of his arms in an accident during the war, playing a version of himself (though the name was changed to Homer Parrish), dramatizing the challenges of reintegrating into society after losing limbs.

There’s also a different kind of hero who makes up a sort of subgenre within these films: the sports hero. Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali both played themselves in their own biopics, “The Jackie Robinson Story” (1950) and “The Greatest”

(1977), respectively.

On that note, the Rocky movies are a rich mine for this sort of thing: Producer/writer/creator/ star Sylvester Stallone frequently casts real professional boxers for acting parts in the film series. The most recent entry, “Creed” (2015), featured real fighters Andre Ward and Tony Bellew, as well as real-life cornermen/ trainers Ricardo “Padman” McGill and Jacob “Stitch” Duran.

“15:17 to Paris” makes a selling feature of its real-life casting, but sometimes directors try to sneak it under the radar (which is a pun you’ll get in a minute). That was the case in 2006’s “United 93,” which dramatized the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and featured real-life Federal Aviation Administration manager Ben Sliney playing himself as he made the dramatic decision to ground all flights on the day.

Q: Where does the phrase “in the limelight” come from?

A: As is so often the case with showbiz terminology, this one comes from the pre-film theater days.

The first theatrical spotlights were made from cylinders containing calcium oxide, also known as lime. Burning calcium oxide produces a bright white light, and placing that controlled fire in a cylinder allowed early AV nerds to target it to a particular spot on the stage.