What is involved in the process of principal photography?
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I watched this film ages ago but I have no idea what it's called. It is about a young girl who discovers she has leukemia and the only blood donor available is her brother. She goes through all sorts of complications with her Mum and at school. Does anyone know what the film is called?
Answer: I think possibly the movie you are thinking of was called "Desperate Choices." Reese Witherspoon played the girl with leukemia, and the issues with her mom were that if her brother donated the bone marrow there was no guarantee it would work. The procedure was risky and they might both die. This was a made for TV movie and I am unsure if you can get it on DVD or VHS.
I used to watch a show either on Disney (before it was free) or Nickelodeon, it was about two store mannequins that would come to life every night when the store closed and then do crazy things and have to be back before the store opened the next day. The title or any info would be great.
Chosen answer: "Today's Special" - the mannequin was Jeff, and there was a woman who set up displays. There was also a small mouse named Muffy, and a night watchman who was a puppet type figure, Sam. Jeff wore a special hat that allowed him to become human, and if it fell off he was a mannequin again.
In many films where the makers wish to show a character as having gymnastic skill, they include a shot of them doing a sequence. In many films this sequence is the same: a cartwheel, followed by a back handspring, followed by a back somersault. Is there any reason why this sequence is used so often (is it well-rehearsed by stuntmen or something)?
Chosen answer: As a gymnast I can tell you why - it's one of the first (and easiest) things to learn that still looks hard to do.
I'm looking for a TV show I watched as a kid. The show was about a group of kids/teens who found a highly intelligent super computer that helped them carry out missions to save the world etc, it was of course a secret that the kids had the super computer. It was a kind of hacker/agent crossover show. I've narrowed it down to that the show must have been from somewhere between the late eighties to mid nineties. I know this description is very vague but I'm hoping someone out there knows what I'm talking about.
Answer: Both of the current answers are wrong. I did eventually find the show and it was an Australian one called "Mission Top Secret."
Chosen answer: The show was Whiz kids, but I can't remember much more than that. It was a long time ago (1983). Stick whiz kids into IMDb, there's a bit of stuff there about it.
Answer: Whiz Kids was about a group of teens who use their computer skills to solve crimes. It wasn't really sophisticated as the computer hacking shows of today, it was more of a family friendly show. It was in the 1980's, at the beginning of the computer age.
It seems that most TV show and movie characters use Mac computers, at least a far higher ration than I see in real life. Is there a reason that Apples are so prominent on TV and movies?
Chosen answer: Apple pays a sum of money to have their products shown on screen - because of their obvious logos and often unusual designs they stand out more than most PC brands.
Does anybody know the title to this foreign film (japanese I think.) I saw it in a shop, and it's review was that it is "Sound of Music meets Dawn of the Dead", and it's tagline is "The hills are alive with the sounds of screaming!" - I've searched IMDB, but can't find the film.
Chosen answer: It's "Katakuri-ke no kôfuku" ("The Happiness if the Katakuris"). And it's "Sound of Music meets Night of the Living Dead."
What was the first movie to be shot in colour?
Chosen answer: The first feature-length color film was The World, the Flesh, and the Devil, in Kinemacolor, it premiered in London in 1914.
For all you filmsleuths - Does anyone know what this film is called? It is about a little girl who is deaf. The film is in black and white and the only bit I can remember is her being shouted at and not being able to hear. Very vague I'm afraid.
Chosen answer: In the first scene of "The Miracle Worker" (1962), Helen Keller's parents discover she's deaf and blind when they clap and shout at her in her crib. There are two other films with the same plot. Johnny Belinda (1948) starring Jane Wyman and Lew Aryes. A girl living in backwoods rural community, has everyone believing she is dumb. She grows up a wild child, Aryes plays a teacher who realises her condition and teaches her how to sign. The other is the Story of Esther Costello, a young girl is rendered deaf and mute by an accident. Joan Crawford plays a wealthy woman who takes pity on her and takes to the big city to educate her. Both are soap opera dramas.
Answer: 1952 film "Mandy"
In film production, there are different levels of producers from "producer" "co-producer," "executive producer," and even "executive co-producer." What is a producer, and what separates the different levels?
Chosen answer: A producer is the person responsible for acquiring money to make a film. They talk to investors and deal with the studios for big films, or sometimes have invested their own money on smaller films. They are basically the business end of filmmaking, while the director and on-set crew are the creative side. The executive producer is head producer; the buck stops with him. Other producers work under him just like in any company, and there are various "co-producers" or "associate producers" that sometimes have little or nothing to do with the film itself. Sometimes it's someone who just writes a check or gives money to the production. IIRC, in the film "State and Main" they offered the mayor of the town they were shooting in an Associate Producer credit if he allowed the town hall to stay open late for them, or something to that extent. So someone credited as a "producer" can be a huge part of the production, or essentially have nothing at all to do with it.
Since film preservation is required for old films, why is the film material very fragile?
Chosen answer: Film contains chemical substances which deteroriate and "bleed out" over time. When this happens, the picture is washed out; even to the point where it is unrecoverable. Preservations means transferring the picture from the old film (which in the old days were flamable) onto a new media (digital nowadays), frame by frame.
Why is it so significant that a film in the ending credits mention that animals were neither harmed or killed during production?
Chosen answer: Because people tend to care about that sort of thing. While it can be safely assumed that filmmakers aren't going to inflict actual harm on human beings during the making of their films (intentionally, anyway - James Cameron notwithstanding), it's something more of an open question as to whether the same hesitation would apply in the case of an animal. As such, the relevant organisations tend to monitor the film production process for evidence of such cruelty - the notice at the end of the film simply certifies that those organisations are satisfied that nothing along those lines occurred. As such, any animal-lovers who might be watching the film won't feel the need to phone up and complain.
I've read about the movie rating system, and how, in the mid 1980's, some movies (like Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) were released with a PG rating, and many parents were upset because they felt the material was too mature for the young children they took to see the movies (given that it was only rated PG, and the only other option was R, which these movies didn't qualify for). This brought about the creation of the PG-13 rating in the mid to late 80's. My question is this: what was the first movie to receive the PG-13 rating?
Answer: From the IMDb: The Flamingo Kid (1984) was the first film to be given a PG-13 rating. It was shelved for five months, however, making Red Dawn (1984) the first film to be *released* with a PG-13 rating.
I am aware that different aspect ratios were used by studios since the early 1950s, but why is it that dramatic or action films are usually shot in 2.35:1, while comedies are usually shot in 1.78:1?
Chosen answer: The correct ratio's actually 1.85:1 (1.78:1 is 16:9, which is what's used for home widescreen). The simple answer is that 2.35:1 (cinemascope) gives a broader picture, ie. more screen space to work with, which lends itself better to more visual presentations, be they action-packed or period dramas. Cinemascope is also more expensive, so lower-budget films will opt for the more regular format. I'd also argue that your generalisations are incorrect - just looking at the technical specifications for the first two films I thought of on the IMDb, 21 Grams was shot in 1.85:1, while Dodgeball was shot in 2.35:1.
I watched this TV series a very long time ago, and am dying to know what it's called, as it was FANTASTIC. It was about a girl who travelled back in time, using a sundial. It was historical and set in large grounds.
Chosen answer: The series you're referring to was called "Moondial", and aired in 1990. You can read more about it at http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-24751/.
This may be kind of long, so apologies in advance. I'm trying to find the title of a movie, possibly a telemovie, for my aunt. We saw it some years ago on TV, but never caught the title. It started with a struggling actress house-sitting for a wealthy friend, possible a judge or lawyer. The same day she starts house-sitting, a guy that the judge/lawyer put in jail is released (or escapes) and comes hunting for revenge. He comes to the house and asks for judge/lawyer's wife, with the plan of kidnapping and ransoming her. The actress, who has been going through the women's nice clothes, says that she is the wife (she's "practising" acting) and the guy comes in the house and ties her up and tries to get her to tell him where her husband is. The actress tries to tell him she isn't Mrs. Judge/Lawyer but the guy doesn't believe her and they go on arguing for the majority of the movie. At the end, they fall in love of all things and the very last scene we see is the criminal guy watching her on TV. This may sound kind of sketchy, but if anyone could help me, I'd be very grateful.
Answer: It's proabaly 'A House in the Hills.' Check out the plot at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107147/plotsummary.
What are "regions"? I have tried to access Easter Eggs on my DVDs only to find out they are the wrong region. Why are DVDs produced differently according to these regions and how many are there?
Answer: Regions were introduced because of different release dates - for example, many DVDs are released in the USA well before other countries, and if people can buy the DVD before it's even released in the cinema, the studios lose revenue. However, multi-region DVD players are now easily available. More info is here: hometheaterinfo.com/dvd3.htm.
I love the song 'I've Got A Name' by Jim Croce and am sure I've heard it in a movie or on a movie soundtrack. Could anyone please help me in locating said movie?
Answer: According to IMDb, that song was in the movie "The Last American Hero". (1973) Unfortunately, there is no soundtrack recording for this movie. It's also used in Invincible with Mark Wahlberg, during the opening credits.
Is it true that in all Disney movies there is a sex related slip in or reference?
Answer: There have been many cases of films such as The Little Mermaid and Lion King in which people were convinced Disney put some reference in. This site explains many of the references people claim they have heard or seen in Disney films http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/films.asp.
I saw a movie one time where a man was running through a park and being chased by birds (and it's NOT the movie The Birds), and he seeks shelter in a gazebo type structure and when he looks up he sees that there is no roof and they start pooping on him. Anyone out there have an idea what movie this is? It's at least fifteen years old.
Answer: High Anxiety by Mel Brooks. It's a spoof of the Hitchcock films.
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Chosen answer: Principal photography is simply the shooting of a film, whether on location on city streets, on an island somewhere or on set at a studio, etc., during a specific number of months - for instance beginning in the summer of 2005 carrying into the spring of 2006. Many times the production can be halted or pushed ahead because of actors' and crew's schedules or even strikes. Once principal photography is wrapped the actors go on to their next project and post-production attends to things like CG work, numerous sound effects - like foley and special effects, and if necessary (usually it is) actors come to the studio for looping/ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) or pickup shots - usually close-ups for a particular scene, which means that the actor's 'look' in the film has to be duplicated.
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