<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>"First Man" screenwriter Josh Singer is known for making "based on true story" movies - "Spotlight," "The Post" - that really do recount what happened, without too many Hollywood embellishments.</li><li>Singer told Business Insider what the challenges were of giving Neil Armstrong's story the same treatment.</li></ul><p>&#xa0;</p><p>When Hollywood needs a true story to be told on the big screen, it often turns to one guy to write the script: Josh Singer.&#xa0;</p><p>And we don't mean a movie "based on a true story." We mean a <em>real</em> true story. And there is a difference. </p><p>For as long as there have been movies, the term "true story" has been used very loosely in Hollywood. To help move forward a plot or build more drama in a story, directors and screenwriters often embellish real events, or include moments that never happened.&#xa0; </p><p>Jim Garrison's memorable closing remarks in the trial scene in Oliver Stone's "JFK?" Never happened.  Iranians chasing a plane down the runway at the end of "Argo?" Never happened. </p><p>It's extremely hard to not heighten true life stories a tad, because let's face it, we want movies to be more exciting than real life. But Singer has found a way to tell gripping true stories for the screen without adding in tons of untrue elements.&#xa0; </p><p>What's his secret? It all comes down to the story and lots of research.</p><p>Starting with "Spotlight" in 2015 - which earned a best picture Oscar, and got Singer an original screenplay Oscar with director/cowriter Tom McCarthy - Singer has given audiences a glimpse of some of the most historic events and fascinating people in American history, with an accuracy to the account that even dazzles the people who were actually there.&#xa0;</p><p>"Spotlight" set the stage, as the movie's look inside the investigative journalist unit at The Boston Globe that uncovered child sex abuse by Boston Roman Catholic priests has been viewed as a modern-day "All the President's Men." And that might have been why Singer was then pegged to write last year's "The Post" (along with Liz Hannah), which looks inside The Washington Post as it publishes The Pentagon Papers. Now Singer takes us to the moon with "First Man" (opening in theaters on Friday).&#xa0;</p><p>The movie, which is director Damien Chazelle's follow-up to 6-Oscar-winner "La La Land," gives an intimate look at the events that led to astronaut Neil Armstrong becoming the first man to ever set foot on the moon thanks to the successful Apollo 11 flight.</p><p>Starring Ryan Gosling as Armstrong, Chazelle doesn't go the route of "The Right Stuff" or "Apollo 13" in making the thrills of space travel the main focus (though there definitely is that). Instead, the focus is Armstrong himself, and how the deaths of some close to him leading up to Apollo 11 - particularly his daughter Karen, who died at age 2 - was a major burden he carried throughout the historic flight.&#xa0; </p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>"I was just knocked out by how much we don't know about Neil Armstrong," Singer told Business Insider. "The story of his daughter, I never knew that."<p>As Singer read through James R. Hansen's official biography of Armstrong, "First Man: the Life of Neil A. Armstrong," which the movie is based on, he couldn't get over how much loss Armstrong suffered in the years leading up to the Apollo 11 launch. Following Armstrong's daughter's passing in 1962 (from pneumonia, which was caused by her weakened state from a malignant tumor in her brain stem), Armstrong lost two close friends in the span of a year. Astronaut Elliot See died in a plane crash in 1966 and Armstrong's neighbor, Ed White, died in the Apollo 1 fire. Then Armstrong almost died manning Gemini 8.</p><p>With that, Singer and Chazelle had found their story for "First Man." It would be the emotional journey of a man who set out to do extraordinary things, and how much he was already dealing with. Then the challenge came of telling that personal story from the point of view of someone who gives little emotion.</p><p>"With a guy like Neil, who is so internal, how do you get under that?" Singer wondered. "How do you get inside what that feels like? It was a real challenge."</p><p>Singer would not have to shoulder the entire challenge alone. Chazelle planned to give the movie powerful imagery of space travel to coincide with Armstrong's internal struggle, including incredible visuals of the moon landing shot on Imax cameras. Then there's Gosling as Armstrong, who had already built a style of acting where he could give an emotional performance without saying much at all.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>But Singer was still tasked with building a script that would be the road map for everyone to follow. And he admitted that at a few points during writing he fell in the trap of embellishing real-life moments, and paid the price for doing so.<p>He recalled the scene when Armstrong gets a phone call about the Apollo 1 fire, which killed all the astronauts on board, including his good friend Ed White.</p><p>"Literally Damien and I talked about mimicking what was done in 'Goodfellas' where De Niro slams the phone handle on the receiver after getting word that Joe Pesci's character was killed," Singer said.</p><p>He wrote the scene with Armstrong showing De Niro-like emotion over the news of his friend's death. He then gave it to the author of the Armstrong biography, James Hansen, to read.</p><p>"He said, 'Neil would never have done that!'" Singer recalled. "So we wound up having this moment where you see Neil go dead in the eyes and you look down and he's literally broken the glass he was holding and he's bleeding. It's like you see how hard he's trying to contain himself in that moment. And with that Jim said, 'Okay, maybe I could buy that.'"</p><p>Throughout the four years of researching and writing the script, Singer had to do a balancing act of making "First Man" a thrilling story but also true to those who knew Armstrong. He spent months with people involved at NASA at the time of the space race, former astronauts, and spoke to the Armstrong family.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>"I just felt a huge responsibility to get it right," he said.<p>But he and Chazelle also wanted to show just how hard it was to get to the moon.</p><p>"The myth is that these were superheroes that got there easily," Singer said. "The truth is this is actually very hard and they were ordinary men and women who sacrificed a ton to get there."</p><p>Singer said that was one of the big things that upset him most about the controversy around the movie about <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/neil-armstrong-movie-first-man-omits-american-flag-on-moon-gosling-defends-2018-8">not having a scene where the American flag is planted on the Moon</a>. That specific shot is not needed, Singer said, because the entire movie is a look at patriotic sacrifice.</p><p>"To be perfectly honest, I can understand why people who haven't seen the film are questioning why that isn't there, but if you see the film you understand why," he said. "The film is so deeply patriotic to begin with it's not necessary. We also don't have the call to Nixon. We're trying to get under the myth."</p><p>And those who know the history of American space travel and Armstrong's story believe "First Man" has done just that.</p><p>Singer recalled the reaction of one well-known space expert, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Pearlman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robert Pearlman</a>, after seeing the movie.</p><p>"When he saw Neil crying after his daughter's death he said he realized he was going to have to totally rethink everything he knew about Neil Armstrong," Singer said.</p><p>Singer said the best feeling about doing these "based on a true story" scripts is that the attention to detail is so refined that even those close to the material get something out of it.</p><p>"To get to that level of detail and get it right, that to me is the ultimate," Singer said. "It can function as more than a movie, it becomes a contribution to how we think about something. Whether it's the Catholic Church or journalism or how we think about space."</p><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-fake-weather-is-made-tv-movies-broadway-rain-snow-wind-fog-2018-9">How fake weather is made for TV and movies</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

The screenwriter of 'First Man' spent 4 years researching Neil Armstrong to craft a true-life story even some hardcore space historians didn't know

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>These past few weeks, temperatures in the US have plummeted.</p>
<p>Some states are even living in conditions where <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ist/?next=/smart-news/this-cold-snap-is-making-it-colder-than-the-surface-of-mars-180948229/">it's colder than Mars</a>.</p>
<p>So as people bundle up in preparation for the miserable weather, we found ways for everyone to stay warm and dry despite the nastiness outside.</p>
<p>Here are 12 hacks to help you keep warm until spring.</p>
<h3>Mittens &gt; Gloves</h3>
<p>It may be easier to text in gloves, but your digits will be much warmer in mittens. When they're made of the same material, mittens offer more warmth since fingers have skin-to-skin contact with each other and can share body heat.</p>
<p>Mittens also tend to have a smaller surface area than gloves, which reduces heat loss, <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">so when in doubt, always choose mittens.</span></p>
<h3>Avoid Wearing Cotton</h3>
<p>Cotton clothes and socks are the absolute worst things you can wear during the winter, because cotton holds moisture and loses its insulating properties. If you sweat under your jacket, get wet from the snow, or if there's any moisture in the air, the cotton will quickly absorb it and keep it close to your skin, making you feel even colder.</p>
<p>Merino wool or polypropylene socks are a much better way to go since these fabrics wick moisture away from skin. Wool in particular is great because it suspends the moisture in the weave, and can absorb almost 1/3 of its own weight before making you feel cold or wet.</p>
<p>And for those who don't have wool socks (or don't want to go out in the cold to buy them), an easy hack is to put your socks on and then slip your feet into plastic bags. It looks weird, but it will keep your feet really dry and warm.</p>
<h3>Use Kitty Litter On Stuck Tires</h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_left"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div>Salt and sand can help when your car gets stuck in the snow, but kitty litter will also work in a pinch to give you traction. Shovel as much snow and ice as possible out from the path of your tires, and then put a liberal amount of cat litter around and under the tire.</p>
<p>Then just rock your car back and forth, switching from drive to reverse carefully, until you get unstuck.</p>
<h3>Bubble Wrap Your Windows</h3>
<p>A lot of heat escapes through windows, unnecessarily increasing utility costs. For an easy way to insulate your window while still letting light in, use large bubble wrap and an Exacto knife.</p>
<p>You don't even need tape or glue - just mist water onto your window with a spray bottle, push the flat side of the wrap against the window and it will stay put and keep your room insulated for months.</p>
<p>Another pro-tip is to call around to furniture and/or department stores to see if they have any large bubble wrap that they're going to throw out or that you can buy on the cheap. They're usually swimming in the stuff.</p>
<h3>Learn Your Ceiling Fan Settings</h3>
<p>Ceiling fans are not just there to cool you off in the summer - most fans have a setting that allows them to spin clockwise on low to recirculate warmer air trapped near the ceiling towards the floor.</p>
<p>You'll be shocked at how much warmer the room will get.</p>
<h3>Dry Your Shoes Quickly With Newspaper</h3>
<p>Once the snow starts to melt, shoes quickly become wet and are hard to dry. Most people think to put them near a heat source, but this can have the unwanted effect of shrinking your shoes.</p>
<p>Instead, stuff wet shoes with newspaper. It will absorb the moisture quickly, though you might have to replace the newspaper a few times depending on how drenched your shoes are. You can also wrap the outside with the newspaper and secure with a few rubber bands.</p>
<h3>Ice-Proof Your Car And Stairs With Household Ingredients</h3>
<p>Coming outside to a frozen windshield or ice on your stairs is one of the worst ways to start the day. But there are homemade solutions that can help prevent this from happening.</p>
<p>For car windows and windshields, mist a 3:1 mixture of distilled vinegar and water onto the glass before a storm or icy weather hits. It will keep ice from forming on your windows, and you can also spray the mixture on already ice-covered windows to melt it quickly.</p>
<p>To keep your stoop or sidewalk from becoming icy, make a brine treatment 24-hours ahead of a winter storm with salt dissolved in hot water. Pour a thin layer onto steps and sidewalk to make snow easy to remove, and keep an ice layer from forming.</p>
<h3>Prep Your Shovel With Cooking Spray</h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div>Shoveling snow is one of the worst winter tasks, so don't make it harder on yourself by not properly preparing. Rubbing vegetable oil, paraffin wax, or cooking spray onto your shovel ahead of time will keep the snow from sticking, and allow you to shovel faster and easier.</p>
<h3>Stock Up On Cheap Razors</h3>
<p>It's super easy to fix sweatshirt or sweater pilling with a cheap razor.</p>
<p>Just lightly run the razor against the fabric where pilling occurs, and the razor will shave off the small balls of fiber without harming the material so your warmest clothes will be ready to wear in public again.</p>
<h3>Warm Blankets With A Hot Water Bottle</h3>
<p>Before climbing into bed, fill a water bottle with hot water and stick it under your covers. It'll warm the sheets, and can be left safely in bed all night long for added warmth.</p>
<p>Take this hack to the next level by wrapping your pajamas around the bottle and sticking them under the covers before putting them on.</p>
<h3>Winterize Your Bike</h3>
<p>You could buy winter tires for your bike, but those are expensive. Instead, take zip ties and stagger them around your current wheels roughly a half an inch apart and snip off the excess with scissors.</p>
<p>They'll give you extra traction when biking around slippery roads and are easy to remove come spring.</p>
<h3>Buy Some Hand Warmers</h3>
<p>A friend of mine with poor circulation swears by these during the winter. The air-activated heat packs are safe, odorless, and can provide heat for 10 hours if you're jogging, tailgating, hiking, or just commuting to work.</p>
<p>You can also make your own by sewing together a fabric pouch filled with rice, and warming it up in the microwave before leaving the house.</p>
<h3><strong>NOW WATCH: Here Are The 3 Things Every Dog Needs This Winter</strong></h3>

<div id="ooyalaplayer" style="width: 800px; height: 450px;"></div>


<p>  </p>

12 Hacks For Surviving This Freezing, Icy Weather

20 Handyman Skills That Everyone Should Have

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Brian Snyder</span></p></div><p></p></div>In case you haven't heard, temperatures in America are insanely cold right now.</p>
<p>And it's about to get even worse with a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/atmospheric-pressue-entered-bomb-territory-and-now-its-about-to-get-insanely-cold-2014-1">mass of Arctic air set to hit the Upper Midwest and Northeast</a> next week, courtesy of cold air sweeping down from the North Pole.</p>
<p>So as people bundle up in preparation for the sub-zero weather, we found ways for everyone to stay warm and dry despite the nastiness outside.</p>
<p>Here are 12 hacks to help you keep warm until spring.</p>
<h3>Mittens &gt; Gloves</h3>
<p>It may be easier to text in gloves, but your digits will be much warmer in mittens. When they're made of the same material, mittens offer more warmth since fingers have skin-to-skin contact with each other and can share body heat.</p>
<p>Mittens also tend to have a smaller surface area than gloves, which reduces heat loss, <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">so when in doubt, always choose mittens.</span></p>
<h3>Avoid Wearing Cotton</h3>
<p>Cotton clothes and socks are the absolute worst things you can wear during the winter, because cotton holds moisture and loses its insulating properties. If you sweat under your jacket, get wet from the snow, or if there's any moisture in the air, the cotton will quickly absorb it and keep it close to your skin, making you feel even colder.</p>
<p>Merino wool or polypropylene socks are a much better way to go since these fabrics wick moisture away from skin. Wool in particular is great because it suspends the moisture in the weave, and can absorb almost 1/3 of its own weight before making you feel cold or wet.</p>
<p>And for those who don't have wool socks (or don't want to go out in the cold to buy them), an easy hack is to put your socks on and then slip your feet into plastic bags. It looks weird, but it will keep your feet really dry and warm.</p>
<h3>Use Kitty Litter On Stuck Tires</h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_left"><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/beigephotos/3663145/">Flickr/Beige Albert</a></span></p></div><p></p></div>Salt and sand can help when your car gets stuck in the snow, but kitty litter will also work in a pinch to give you traction. Shovel as much snow and ice as possible out from the path of your tires, and then put a liberal amount of cat litter around and under the tire.</p>
<p>Then just rock your car back and forth, switching from drive to reverse carefully, until you get unstuck.</p>
<h3>Bubble Wrap Your Windows</h3>
<p>A lot of heat escapes through windows, unnecessarily increasing utility costs. For an easy way to insulate your window while still letting light in, use large bubble wrap and an Exacto knife.</p>
<p>You don't even need tape or glue - just mist water onto your window with a spray bottle, push the flat side of the wrap against the window and it will stay put and keep your room insulated for months.</p>
<p>Another pro-tip is to call around to furniture and/or department stores to see if they have any large bubble wrap that they're going to throw out or that you can buy on the cheap. They're usually swimming in the stuff.</p>
<h3>Learn Your Ceiling Fan Settings</h3>
<p>Ceiling fans are not just there to cool you off in the summer - most fans have a setting that allows them to spin clockwise on low to recirculate warmer air trapped near the ceiling towards the floor.</p>
<p>You'll be shocked at how much warmer the room will get.</p>
<h3>Dry Your Shoes Quickly With Newspaper</h3>
<p>Once the snow starts to melt, shoes quickly become wet and are hard to dry. Most people think to put them near a heat source, but this can have the unwanted effect of shrinking your shoes.</p>
<p>Instead, stuff wet shoes with newspaper. It will absorb the moisture quickly, though you might have to replace the newspaper a few times depending on how drenched your shoes are. You can also wrap the outside with the newspaper and secure with a few rubber bands.</p>
<h3>Ice-Proof Your Car And Stairs With Household Ingredients</h3>
<p>Coming outside to a frozen windshield or ice on your stairs is one of the worst ways to start the day. But there are homemade solutions that can help prevent this from happening.</p>
<p>For car windows and windshields, mist a 3:1 mixture of distilled vinegar and water onto the glass before a storm or icy weather hits. It will keep ice from forming on your windows, and you can also spray the mixture on already ice-covered windows to melt it quickly.</p>
<p>To keep your stoop or sidewalk from becoming icy, make a brine treatment 24-hours ahead of a winter storm with salt dissolved in hot water. Pour a thin layer onto steps and sidewalk to make snow easy to remove, and keep an ice layer from forming.</p>
<h3>Prep Your Shovel With Cooking Spray</h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p></div><p></p></div>Shoveling snow is one of the worst winter tasks, so don't make it harder on yourself by not properly preparing. Rubbing vegetable oil, paraffin wax, or cooking spray onto your shovel ahead of time will keep the snow from sticking, and allow you to shovel faster and easier.</p>
<h3>Stock Up On Cheap Razors</h3>
<p>It's super easy to fix sweatshirt or sweater pilling with a cheap razor.</p>
<p>Just lightly run the razor against the fabric where pilling occurs, and the razor will shave off the small balls of fiber without harming the material so your warmest clothes will be ready to wear in public again.</p>
<h3>Warm Blankets With A Hot Water Bottle</h3>
<p>Before climbing into bed, fill a water bottle with hot water and stick it under your covers. It'll warm the sheets, and can be left safely in bed all night long for added warmth.</p>
<p>Take this hack to the next level by wrapping your pajamas around the bottle and sticking them under the covers before putting them on.</p>
<h3>Winterize Your Bike</h3>
<p>You could buy winter tires for your bike, but those are expensive. Instead, take zip ties and stagger them around your current wheels roughly a half an inch apart and snip off the excess with scissors.</p>
<p>They'll give you extra traction when biking around slippery roads and are easy to remove come spring.</p>
<h3>Buy Some Hand Warmers</h3>
<p>A friend of mine with poor circulation swears by these during the winter. The air-activated heat packs are safe, odorless, and can provide heat for 10 hours if you're jogging, tailgating, hiking, or just commuting to work.</p>
<p>You can also make your own by sewing together a fabric pouch filled with rice, and warming it up in the microwave before leaving the house.</p>

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