Is Freaky Tales based on true story? Details explored

Freaky Tales is an action fantasy movie by acclaimed filmmaking duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who directed the blockbuster MCU movie Captain Marvel. The film follows four stories in Oakland, interconnected by the involvement of a sad and reluctant henchman named Clint, portrayed by Pedro Pascal.

Boden and Fleck's longtime collaborator Ben Mendelsohn plays the role of a corrupt police officer. Jay Ellis, Normani, Dominique Thorne, and late Angus Cloud are also part of the ensemble cast.

While the movie is fictional, it is inspired by and based on actual events in Oakland in the 1980s. The makers have taken certain creative liberties to help with the narrative. The first story sees punkheads rebelling against the neo-N*zi skinheads, while the second one witnesses two teenage girls taking down a legendary rapper known for objectifying women in a rap battle.

The third story is based on the story of how a basketball point guard helped his team have a historic win. The final story revolves around a debt collector who has a change of heart.

The movie was released exclusively in theatres on April 4 and is yet to be available on streaming platforms like Netflix or Lionsgate.

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Freaky Tales features the true story of a conflict between neo-N*zi skinheads and punks

According to an article by SFGATE published on April 1, 2025, George Stephens, former singer of the Hated, was present outside 924 Gilman, a legendary Berkeley punk venue. In the movie, the character of Greg played by LeQuan Antonio Bennett is based on Stephens.

It was an expected attack after rumors had spread that the neo-N*zis were mad about the anti-racist song, Skinhead by the band MDC, and wanted to cause genuine harm to the club as well as MDC singer, Dave Dictor. Although there was no discussion of a battle strategy, the punks had come armed that night.

The place has been volunteer-run since its existence, so the bouncers were not trained to fight against the violent mob. Luckily, Stephens, an ex-Marine, was alert and had an inkling that the rebels, maybe roaming around in packs, could cause a problem.

So, when Stephens heard a commotion outside, he rushed out to find three N*zis standing over the club's head of security. According to the article, he three-stooged them. Seconds later, dozens of punks joined him in his fight.

It was only a matter of time before the wrongdoers realized they were outnumbered. So, they piled back into their battered trucks and headed back where they came from. There was no telling whether or not they would come back with more people, but the punks stood their ground. Consequently, the neo-N*zis disappeared from the punk rock scene for the next several years.

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Freaky Tales depicts a little-known real-life female rap duo that went against famous Oakland rapper Too $hort

Too $hort was famous for the explicit and often misogynistic subject material of his music. Going against him in a rap battle could have gone either way, but real-life rap duo Danger Zone, namely Bailey Brown and Tamra Goins, took the risk. Luckily, it worked out, and the brutal shakedown was immortalized in the song, Don't Fight the Feelin'.

In reality, the rap battle occurred in the studio, but in the movie, it is depicted on the stage. In an interview with Stay Macro, dated March 4, 2024, Anna Boden opened up about the depiction of Danger Zone:

"That got me excited about this version of Freaky Tales: What if we tackle Too $hort from the point of view of Danger Zone, a real female hip-hop duo with a song on Two $hort’s album called 'Don't Fight the Feelin,' where they brilliantly kind of take him down a notch."

She continued:

"It fascinated both of us that he had the confidence in his 20s to put this song on his album. We thought that was awesome. So we created our own fantasy around how this song came to be and told that story."

Rapper Too $hort serves as the film's narrator and an executive producer. He also has a cameo as a cop. His manager, David Weintraub, is also an executive producer on Freaky Tales. Normani and Dominique Thorne star as the rapper duo, while DeMario Symba Driver plays Too $hort.

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Freaky Tales puts a dramatic twist on Sleepy Floyd's historic NBA win

NBA star Eric Augustus Floyd, better known as Sleepy Floyd, has long since retired as a basketball player and works in real estate in Charlotte. However, his life was pleasantly interrupted when Fleck and Boden reached out to ask him, expressing their desire to use his most famous game in their movie.

According to an article published by the San Francisco Chronicle on April 1, 2025, on May 10, 1987, Golden State Warrior Floyd scored 51 points in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Oakland Arena.

Speaking about it to the San Francisco Chronicle, Floyd said:

"That game I had in 1987 still lives with people who were around at that time in the Bay Area and even really across the country. Wherever I go, people come up to me and still speak to me about that game."

Boden and Fleck dramatised Floyd's story to turn the basketball player into a martial arts star. While the real-life legend appears briefly in Freaky Tales, Jay Ellis portrays his character.

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Freaky Tales is now in theaters.