[Boogieman]

“If there is no need to be true to the reality, then why use historical figures at all? Why not just invent new characters, based on historical figures if you wish, and then take as much license as you care to?”

Well, one reason is that you can draw in the audience much easier and more quickly if you use characters they already have some familiarity with.

Sure, you could make a movie about a fictional classical composer, but nobody would have heard of him, so who cares? Plus, if he’s fictional, you’ll have to hire a composer to make up some fake music for him to have written, instead of being able to use lots of public domain classics that everyone knows Mozart wrote :)

[fr_freak]

Sure, you could make a movie about a fictional classical composer, but nobody would have heard of him, so who cares? Plus, if he’s fictional, you’ll have to hire a composer to make up some fake music for him to have written,...

That's a good point about the music, but Mozart's familiarity is part of the point. People go to the movie thinking "Hey, I've heard of Mozart, let me go see a movie about his life." But it isn't his life - it's a fictional story. People may know that in their heads when they watch it, but I guarantee that whenever they hear the name Mozart, they'll think of the events of the movie. It will influence how they see him forever.