“The Dig,” the Netflix film, portrays a dynamic, true story intertwining themes of history and modern existential longing with dramatic scenes concerning life, death, love and family.

In a Zoom roundtable interview, Judd Apatow spoke about his upcoming movie, “The King of Staten Island,” which will be released Friday through video on demand. The film is a semi-autobiographical story of comedian Pete Davidson, highlighting his struggle with mental illness and grief.

When a film claims that it is “based on a true story,” it’s rare that it will particularly test the average viewer’s suspension of disbelief. But when the true story of a film is based is...