With virtually every recent film based on real characters and/or events coming under attack for allegedly playing loose with the facts, a disclaimer appearing at the beginning of HBO's Phil Spector is raising eyebrows, if not sneers. This is a work of fiction, it says. It's not 'based on a true story. So how can a film titled Phil Spector, in which the lead character, played by Al Pacino, is named Phil Spector and Lana Clarkson, his alleged victim, played by Meghan Marx, is named Lana Clarkson not be based on a true story? Well, in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, David Mamet, who wrote and directed the movie, explained: I think that someone in the legal hierarchy at HBO wanted some sort of disclaimer, and I kind of thought that was a good idea. Mamet, who has said that he believes Spector should not have been found guilty of killing Clarkson, was then asked how he can expect a film that uses the real names of real characters to be regarded as fiction. He replied, No, you can't expect that.