10 Sci-Fi Movies You Didn't Know Were Based On Real Life Events
6. Battle: Los Angeles
In Battle: Los Angeles, a military platoon must face off against a horde of aliens invading the city of LA. Even though battling monsters from outer space sounds fantastical, the premise was inspired by a very real and very tragic incident during World War II.
On 24th February 1942, a strange vessel was spotted in the sky right above Los Angeles. Because this was only three months after Japanese forces bombed Pearl Harbour, which was dangerously close to the west coast, the US Air Force naturally assumed the vessel they were looking at was a Japanese aircraft preparing to attack. The trigger-happy military directed all available weapons towards the unidentified object and blasted it with over a thousand rounds of ammunition. Since no aircraft fell from the sky, it was believed the 'vessel' was a weather balloon or some other harmless object.
Nevertheless, the military's pre-emptive attack caused a lot of property damage and the death of three civilians. Many elements from this incident, which is known as Battle of Los Angeles, was incorporated into the movie as well as the title.