Reality Frictions explores the intersection of fact and fiction on the screens of Hollywood, highlighting moments when images, people or events from the real world intrude on the cinematic one. In an age when generative AI and synthetic imaging provoke anxieties about our ability to tell the difference between real and fake, Reality Frictions demonstrates that spectators have long traversed the borders of believability, developing nuanced skills for navigating the pleasures and paradoxes that emerge when reality and fiction collide. Richly illustrated with clips from more than 100 movies and TV shows, Reality Frictions is an entertaining, but also serious, investigation of media’s role in revealing truth and making history.