La Bamba (1987)

Based On the Life of: Ritchie Valens

Starring: Lou Diamond Phillips

Movie Budget: $6.5 million

Star Salary: $100,000

La Bamba was about the success of Ritchie Valens, played by Lou Diamond Phillips). Valens was an LA teen who became an overnight singing sensation after he wrote a love song called “Donna” for his then-girlfriend, whose parents didn’t want her—a white girl—to date a Latino boy.

The song became an instant hit, and La Bamba depicts the teen’s struggle with success, including his conflicts with his jealous brother and his nightmares about a plane crash—which would later prove to be more premonition than nightmare. Luis Valdez both directed and wrote the screenplay for the film, which was released on July 24, 1987.