10 Disturbing True Stories Behind Famous Movies

6. Brian Wells Was Tricked Into Wearing A Bomb Vest - 30 Minutes Or Less

On the surface, 2011's action-comedy 30 Minutes or Less seems like a totally wacky genre romp, following stoned pizza delivery driver Nick (Jesse Eisenberg), who upon making a delivery is strapped with a bomb vest and forced to rob a bank on the threat of detonation.

While such a premise sounds too damn ridiculous to be based on reality, it was indeed inspired by the 2003 death of a pizza delivery man named Brian Wells.

Similarly, Wells was fitted with an explosive neck collar and made to rob a bank, yet unlike the film, Wells was killed when the collar detonated.

Though the filmmakers insist they were only vaguely familiar with the Wells case, it's just too specific a scenario to believe that the screenwriters came up with a parallel plot by themselves.

While Wells' complicity in the bank robbery remains a major point of contention - as covered quite comprehensively in 2018's Netflix docuseries Evil Genius - it's certainly quite the depressing and unexpected foundation for a broad Hollywood comedy vehicle.

As such, it's not terribly surprising that 30 Minutes or Less received wildly mixed reviews upon release.