Reel lives: a roll call worthy of class scrutiny

A rock ‘n’ roll icon. A disgraced U.S. Figure Skating champ. A World War I hero. A populist Southern politician. “Real Lives” (some of them fictionalized) is the theme of my current Film as Literature class. Among the movies being screened: “The Buddy Holly Story,” “I, Tonya,” “Sergeant York” and “All the King’s Men.” As an adjunct professor for the Emeritus Institute of Saddleback College in South O.C., each semester I schedule a different slate. Given Hollywood’s continuing mania for biography (current examples: “Judy,” “Ford v. Ferrari”), there are lotsa lives — some well lived, some not — to choose from.