In real life, he did fall during a tightrope walk rehearsal at the circus and was seriously injured, but that doesn't count. In Man on Wire, Petit claims he has never fallen during a stunt, which contradicts the movie's claim he once fell into a lake while walking. Likewise, the buildings' owners forgave the guy and gave him a lifetime pass to the observation deck.
As depicted in the film, he was arrested for the stunt, but the charges were dropped as long as he did a free performance at Central Park.
Director Robert Zemeckis and his team certainly did their homework, as most of the facts about the actual walk itself were true, including Petit's lack of harness/safety net, his previous walk between the towers of the Notre Dame in 1971, and the buildings' natural sway in the wind.
