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A good film can get you lost deep in the plot, so much so that the lines between reality and fictional fun can start to wear thin if paired with a big enough imagination. Thankfully, cinephiles tend to think way outside the box when it comes to box office faves.
For example, last Friday (July 12) saw many across social media commemorating the — spoiler alert! — fictional death anniversary of Ricky Baker, played by the talented Morris Chestnut in his feature film debut, from the 1991 hood classic, Boyz N The Hood.
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In addition to enjoying the playfulness that we saw on social media, from those wondering how “the late” Ricky’s athletic career at USC would’ve gone had things played out differently or the ones who pondered where he’d be today as a “50-year-old father,” it also got us thinking of other fictional dates that feel eerily close to reality.
For those who always pay attention to every detail when watching a movie, this one’s for you! Scroll though to see the exact date of classic moment in cinema, even if they didn’t actually happen in real life. Who could forget that time Forrest Gump ran for three years across America, or the grueling 15 rounds between Rocky and Apollo?
Live a little — we’re just having some fictional fun!
Take a look below at 20 fictional film dates that we won’t soon forget:
1. November 5, 1955 ( Back To The Future )
A teenager named Marty McFly mysteriously arrives in Hill Valley, California, claiming to be from “the future.” A never-before-seen vehicle he travels in and refers to as The DeLorean gives some validity to his argument.
2. March 2, 1961 ( Men in Black )
A secret organization monitoring alien activity on planet Earth makes first contact with extraterrestrials.
3. Jan. 29, 1967 ( The Truman Show )
World’s first-ever reality television series premieres to a worldwide audience, unbeknownst to its star Truman Burbank.
4. March 12, 1967 ( The Shawshank Redemption )
Convicted murderer Andy Dufresne escapes from Shawshank State Prison. Serving two consecutive life sentences, Dufresne is said to only have left behind the mud-ridden prison clothes he escaped in, a bar of soap and a worn-down rock hammer that’s assumed to be his main tool of escape. Even after questioning his main prison pal, Ellis Boyd Redding, Dufresne was never heard from again.
5. Jan. 1, 1976 ( Rocky )
Boxing rookie Robert “Rocky” Balboa fights Heavyweight Boxing World Champion Apollo Creed at the United States Bicentennial in Philadelphia. In a surprising twist following a grueling 15 rounds, Creed is declared the winner by virtue of a split decision.
6. October 31, 1978 ( Halloween )
21-year-old psychiatric patient Michael Myers, institutionalized since the age of six, escaped from Smith’s Grove Warren County Sanitarium under the care of a Dr. Samuel Loomis. It is believed that his escape was solely influenced by a blood thirst to murder his surviving sister, Laurie Strode. His hospitalization during adolescence was due to him brutally stabbing their older sister, Judith Myers.
7. Sept. 19, 1979 ( Forrest Gump )
After a miraculous three years, two months and 14 days of nonstop running across America, inspiring the nation’s jogging craze between 1978 to 1981, 35-year-old Greenbow, Alabama resident Forrest Gump completes his self-motivated marathon.
8. June 3, 1981 ( Superbad )
World renowned Clark County, NV resident Fogell, also known by his popular moniker “McLovin,” is born — well, maybe! He made his claim to fame as a “26-year-old senior” at Clark Secondary School following a massively successful end-of-year party.
9. November 2, 1982 ( E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial )
An otherworldly alien that brought much confusion to a quiet neighborhood in San Fernando Valley vanishes into the sky after visiting Earth days prior to gather plant specimens.
10. Oct. 7, 1984 ( Ghostbusters )
Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler, three parapsychology-professors-turned-ghost-catchers working together as the renowned Ghostbusters, capture their first paranormal spirit named Slimer at The Sedgewick Hotel in New York City. Their success leads to more work and the introduction of a fourth member, Winston Zeddemore.
11. Dec. 24, 1988 ( Die Hard )
With help from LAPD Sergeant Al Powell, NYPD Detective John McClane is able to successfully thwart a NYE terrorist attack on the vault under The Nakatomi Corporation Plaza.
12. February 24, 1989 ( Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me )
The murder of Twin Peaks, Washington teen prom queen Laura Palmer leads to a catastrophic, cult following of eerie events.
13. August 5, 1989 ( Do The Right Thing )
On one of the hottest days in New York City history, a Brooklyn resident known to the neighborhood as “Radio Raheem” becomes the sole fatal victim of police brutality following a dispute with local business owner Salvatore Frangione of Sal’s Famous Pizzeria . The Bed-Stuy eatery was also burned down in the racially-motivated melee.
14. December 22, 1990 ( Home Alone )
Eight-year-old Chicago boy Kevin McCallister is left home alone in an accidental series of events that even includes a home invasion and the arrest of career criminals Harry Lyme and Marv Murchins.
15. July 4, 1996 ( Independence Day )
Groups of people who converged in the Nevada desert in the aftermath of a worldwide attack by a powerful extraterrestrial race band with people across the world to launch a counterattack.
16. July 12, 1991 ( Boyz n the Hood )
A 17-year-old South Central man named Ricky Baker is shot and killed in Los Angeles, California due to ongoing gun violence and gang culture.
17. November 6, 1996 ( Set It Off )
Three Los Angeles women — former bank teller Francesca Sutton, single mother Tisean Williams and known street criminal Cleopatra Sims — are apprehended after a bank robbery spree and murder that turned fatal for all parties involved. A fourth assailant, Lida Newsome who went by the street name “Stony,” successfully escaped with $500,000 stolen from Downtown Federal Bank and was never heard from again.
18. April 18, 2015 ( Creed )
Almost 40 years after his dad, former heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, took on the renowned Rocky Balboa, Adonis Johnson steps into his footsteps to become “Hollywood Creed” in his HBO Boxing debut at Goodison Park against World Light Heavyweight Champion “Pretty” Ricky Conlan. Even though the fight ends in Conlan’s favor due to a split decision in similar fashion to Apollo’s famous bout, Creed is viewed by media outlets as the one who “won the night.”
19. October 21, 2015 – ( Back to the Future Part II )
The renowned Marty McFly, still miraculously a teenager and seemingly traveling through time in one very fly pair of Nike Air MAG sneakers, arrives once again to a very different Hill Valley, California in his trusted DeLorean and warps up the timeline even more than before.
20. November 5, 2026 ( V For Vendetta )
Inspired by the heroic history of real-life resistance leader Guy Fawkes, the valiant-yet-veiled “V” becomes a martyr for change in a dystopian future not too far off from our own. Remember, remember…
HONORABLE MENTION:
May 4 ( Star Wars )
Ever since the release of the first film, A New Hope , fans of the Star Wars franchise haven’t been able to resist the literary link between “May the fourth be with you” and the signature series tagline “ May the force be with you. ” Genius!
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