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- The film, directed by Rupert Goold and starring James Franco as Longo and Jonah Hill as Finkel, is based on Finkel’s book, True Story: Memoir, Mea Culpa, recounting the case and his personal involvement with his impersonator.
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True Story. When New York Times reporter Michael Finkel meets accused killer Christian Longo — who has taken on Finkel’s identity — his investigation morphs into an unforgettable game of cat and mouse.
- Finkel Didn't Prioritize Accuracy in His Reporting
- Longo Was A Fan of Finkel's Writing
- At First, Longo Claimed That He Didn't Kill All of His Children
First of all, Finkel wasn’t always so respectful of accuracy in reporting. Though he had moved into a coveted writing position with the New York Times Magazine by his early 30s, the journalist got himself in a fix with a 2001 story about child laborers in Mali. Investigating reports of slavery on cocoa plantations in the West African nation, Finkel...
Longo, it turned out, had read and was a fan of Finkel’s writing in theTimes, National Geographic Adventure and Sports Illustrated, and that was why he chose the journalist’s identity as his own. He agreed (against the advice of his lawyers) to allow Finkel to interview him, and the two men began a communication that encompassed weekly phone calls,...
Longo didn't confess, and didn't even initially plead not guilty — he stood "mute" to the indictment. And though he was telling his life story in great detail to Finkel, he did not account for his actions surrounding the murders. Then he pled guilty to the murders of his wife and youngest child, and not guilty in the deaths of the two other childre...
Michael Finkel (born 1969) is a journalist and memoirist, who has written the books True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa (2005), The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit (2017), and The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession (2023).
Jan 1, 2005 · Michael Finkel. 3.89. 5,966 ratings627 reviews. Michael Finkel was a top New York Times Magazine journalist publicly fired and disgraced for making up a composite character for a big investigative news piece about Africa. This book is about how this brilliant, high achieving journalist found himself at that point in his life.
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MICHAEL FINKEL is the best-selling author of The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit and True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa. He lives with his family in northern Utah. Books by Michael Finkel. The Art Thief. The Stranger in the Woods. Books by Michael Finkel published by PRH Grupo Editorial.
Jun 2, 2005 · Michael Finkel discusses his new book True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa, which documents his firing from The New York Times Magazine for violating journalistic ethics and his...
