8 Things You Need To Know About The Real Story Behind "Foxcatcher"

How much of the chilling movie about an heir to one of the wealthiest families in America and the wrestler brothers he took under his wing is based in reality? Warning: ALL OF THE SPOILERS AHEAD!

Scott Garfield/Sony Classics

Foxcatcher tells the story of Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum). In the midst of his training for the next Olympics, Mark is approached by a member of one of the wealthiest families in America, John du Pont (Steve Carell). Du Pont, a middle-aged man still living at home (read: a massive compound) with his elderly mother (Vanessa Redgrave), is fascinated by wrestling. He lures Mark — and eventually his older and more successful brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) — to his estate by offering what seems like a lot of money and state-of-the-art facilities. Though du Pont provides Mark with everything one would need to prepare for competition, his odd behavior, which becomes increasingly more dangerous as the film progresses, begins to destroy Mark's mental and emotional state.

And while the shocking ending seems like something fabricated for the screen, Foxcatcher is actually biographical. Here is a breakdown of how the film recreated the Schultzes' story and where it rewrote history. Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD!

1. The du Pont estate was practically recreated for the movie.

Scott Garfield/Sony Classics

In 1919, Jean du Pont (nee Austin) — played by Vanessa Redgrave in the film — married William du Pont Jr., the great-grandson of E.I. du Pont, who founded the family gunpowder manufacturing business, which is worth approximately $15 billion today. As a wedding gift from the bride's father, the couple received 600 acres of land in Pennsylvania, as well as a a white house, meant to look like President James Madison's home, on the property from the groom's father. John du Pont was the youngest of the couple's four children.

When Mark Schultz first arrived in Pennsylvania, he was told the grandiose home, or "the big house," as it is referred to in the film, was off-limits unless he received an invitation. Though the actual estate was not used in the film, nearly the entire movie was shot in Pennsylvania and made to mirror the real land.

2. Jean du Pont was really obsessed with horses.

Scott Garfield/Sony Classics

In the film, Mrs. du Pont's horses are the most important thing on the family property, and in real life, the woman was as serious about the animals as the movie conveys. The real Mrs. du Pont rode competitively from the time she was a little girl, earning more than 32,000 ribbons. And bred horses on her property that she tended to daily.

Though Redgrave only appears as Jean du Pont in a few scenes, she is either grooming her horses or talking about them. There is even a trophy room — which her son tries desperately to get a wrestling ribbon into — dedicated to her success on the saddle.

3. Mark Schultz actually didn't have a job when he came to Foxcatcher Farm.

Scott Garfield/Sony Classics

In the film, the younger Schultz brother gets a phone call from a mysterious man asking when he can set up travel for him to head to the Pennsylvania compound and meet Mr. du Pont. He does so, pretty much blindly, and upon his arrival, he's informed that du Pont would like him to come train with him at his home. Schultz leaves a position working with his older brother Dave to do so.

But in actuality, Mark had just been let go from his job. Du Pont "asked [him] to head up his newly formed wrestling program at Villanova University, outside of Philadelphia, with much of it based on his nearby estate, known as Foxcatcher Farm," the real Mark Schultz told the New York Post.

4. John du Pont really did bring a gun into the wrestling gym.

Scott Garfield/Sony Classics

Du Pont was notorious for always wearing a tracksuit, and in the film, the only time he sports more formal attire is during a cocktail reception. Du Pont also asked to be called "The Eagle" by his team members and went by that nickname in the movie as well.

It also was not uncommon for him to be walking around with a gun. In one scene in the film, du Pont walks into the gym and fires off a gun into the ceiling. A similar version of this story happened in 1995 when du Pont walked into the gym during a training session and held a gun to the chest of a wrestler working out.

5. And he did write speeches for his wrestlers and wanted them to feel like he was a father figure.

Scott Garfield/Sony Classics

Toward the beginning of the film, du Pont takes Mark to a formal function where he asks his new employee to speak. The two head over in a private helicopter, with du Pont snorting cocaine en route and pressuring Schultz to follow suit. He also hands him a prewritten speech, which Schultz later reads aloud in front of a packed room, stating, "I spent my lifetime looking for a father and I found one in John du Pont." The real Mark Schultz told the Post, "[John] held awards ceremonies, where he wrote the presenters' speeches, praising him as some sort of father figure."

6. Mark and Dave Schultz never lived at the Foxcatcher estate at the same time.

Scott Garfield/Sony Classics

In the film, Mark Schultz is so affected by du Pont's unstable, hostile personality that his older brother, Dave, begrudgingly uproots his family to help his only sibling at the Foxcatcher estate.

But in actuality, the Schultz brothers never lived there at the same time. Mark left in 1988, after two years there. Dave arrived shortly thereafter in 1989 and stayed until his murder in 1996.

7. The Foxctcher gym wasn't built until after Mrs. du Pont's death.

Scott Garfield/Sony Classics

In the movie, du Pont creates Foxcatcher gym on his family property in Pennsylvania upon Mark's arrival, much to the dismay of his mother. Mrs. du Pont visits the gym only once during the entire film, and leaves in the middle of her son attempting to show her how skilled he is at a very simple trick. She later tells him wrestling isn't a respectable sport and to stop wasting his time with it.

In actuality, the gym was not opened on the estate until after Mrs. du Pont died in 1988.

8. Dave's murder played out in the movie nearly exactly as it did in reality.

Scott Garfield/Sony Classics

As is shown in the film, Dave was murdered by du Pont in front of his home while working on his car. Du Pont simply drove up to Schultz's home on the estate; asked, "Do you have a problem with me?"; shot him from his car window three times; and drove away. Schultz's wife witnessed the entire thing.

Foxcatcher will be released on Nov. 14, 2014. And Mark Schultz's autobiography of the same name hits shelves on Nov. 18, 2014.