The 1996 Coen Brothers movie Fargo opens with the title, "This is a true story. The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred." The film goes on to tell a tale of ransom, fake-kidnapping that becomes real-kidnapping, and a suitcase full of money buried somewhere in the Minnesota wilderness. A suitcase that's still out there, according to the beginning of the film and one Japanese woman, Takako Konishi, who travelled to the US from her home in Tokyo to look for it and died in the process in 2001. She never found it, you see, because it was never there. Upon release of the film many Minnesota journalists tried to dig up the truth of the story and were frustrated when the Coens admitted they had made the whole thing up - with the exception of a few interesting real-life nuggets they'd found, such as the murder of Helene Crafts by her husband Richard using a wood chipper - so they were the architects of their own rumour. And it was so effective that someone went halfway across the world to look for something that wasn't there. What do you think? Crazy enough for you? Or can you do better? Let us know your best insane film rumours in the comments below!
