No, it is not based on true story. Written by Ernest Cline, whose novels are so referential to geek culture that it almost seems fair to describe them as fan fiction, Fanboys, quite simply, is about obsessive Star Wars fans.
Fanboys took about 10 years to get made. Cline started penning the story in 1998. It got heavily edited and reworked and mutilated in the process.
Fanboys is Cline's first original screenplay. In an interview with Mother Jones Cline explains: I wanted to be able to write in the voice that I talk to my friends and assume that everybody would know what I was talking about. Fanboys is about the way that a love of one facet of pop culture can bond you together with your friends, and I ended up getting it made into a movie with Princess Leia and Captain Kirk in it! That taught me that there's no geek dream that's too big.
Discover 9 Facts You Didn't Know About 2009's Fanboys, shared by Moviepilot.com.
And while movies based on real-life events could technically be considered yet another category of “recycled” content, when placed in the hands of the right director and actors, the truth can be far more compelling than fiction.
Check out Complex.com's list of the 15 Best Movies Inspired By True Events.