Catch Me If You Can - Inspired by Frank Abagnale Jr.

France, 1969. After fleeing authorities in Louisiana to Europe, Frank Abagnale Jr., is apprehended in France. To this point, Frank has been suspected on counts of impersonating a pilot, a lawyer, a doctor, and eventually became an undercover agent with the FBI. In 2002, Steven Spielberg directed a dreamy retelling of Frank Abagnale Jr's story, Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. But how much is actually true?

You guessed it. Catch Me If You Can, was inspired by a true story, and therefore perfect for a dive into the facts on our Inspired By A True Story podcast. Whatever you ultimately believe about Abagnale's early crimes, though, the story of how Frank Abagnale Jr. has indeed turned his life around is an impressive one to stay the least.

2002's Catch Me If You Can was based on the book by Stan Redding, which had input from Frank Abagnale Jr. The screenplay was written by Jeff Nathanson and the film was directed by Steven Spielberg. It follows the exploit of Frank Abagnale, Jr. a young man who begins forging checks before spiraling into impersonating Pan Am pilots to doctors to various other scams and cons. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Frank, with Christopher Walken portraying his father, and Tom Hanks hot on his tail as FBI agent Carl Hanratty.

Welcome to Inspired By A True Story, a podcast where every two-weeks, our award-winning hosts and film critics discuss the genuine details that have inspired some of the most memorable true crime movies around. Each episode will break down the crime or crimes that inspired a specific film, and then discuss how factual that film is, versus how much is simply Hollywood magic.

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