grist for the mill

FilmForce: Interview: Don Cheadle and Paul Rusesabagina: "History-based tales from Hollywood are often notorious for taking the reality out of the story, glamorizing and fictionalizing events until they are almost unrecognizable when compared to what actually happened. Hotel Rwanda achieves the rare feet of not only sticking to the basic story, but also in creating an almost exact replication of what went on in Rusesabagina's life during this period. 'Well, you can say that 90 percent of the movie is the reality of what took place at the Milles Collines hotel in 1994. Let's say 10 percent is just in hints of the film? There are places, for instance, romantic times when you see Paul and his wife on the roof, enjoying wine. That good time, I didn't have it. I could go and see my wife and children late in the night, around two, around one, around four in the night, but that good time I didn't have it.'"