General questions about movies, TV and more

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What was the name of this music video I saw on MTV in 1998 or 99? A young man works in a hellish office, where everyone is unhappy and miserable. He dies, suddenly in the parking lot and the afterlife is yet another office, only this one is wonderful and heavenly. He works there as a suicide hotline operator who is talking to a living woman. The video was shot chronologically backward, starting with him in heaven and going backwards through his day.

Brian Katcher

My husband watched an episode of a new series in 2021 or 2022. Humans are living on a large, multi-level space ship, maybe more of a "space station." The ship has realistic, Earth-like places, such as a beach room. They have been living there for several years, so the youngest children have never touched real grass, beach sand, etc.

Answer: Answering my own question since I stumbled across a page on IMDB. It's "Ascension", a mini-series from 2014. Only three episodes were made. Stars Tricia Helfer, Gil Bellows, and Brian Van Holt. Humans are living on a ship that was launched in the 1960s. A hundred-year voyage will take them to a new planet, which they are supposed to populate.

Answer: The TV show "The Orville" has an episode similar to this. In s01e04, "If the Stars Should Appear", is about a 2,000 year old bio-generational ship with an Earth like ecosystem and land features. The crew of The Orville find it adrift heading towards a star and after investigating find the inhabitants of the ship thinking they live on a regular planet and don't know they're on a spaceship. This episode was from 2017, but the third and final season was released by Hulu in mid-2022 (and Disney picked up the series later), so maybe it just seemed a new series.

Bishop73

Thank you for responding, but it was not "The Orville." It was definitely an entire new series. The overall tone was more dark and serious. And Seth MacFarlane was not in it. We watch "Family Guy" somewhat often, so we would have remembered him. Also, as my description says, these characters knew that they were living on a ship.

Has anyone noticed a trend of actors (especially A-listers) becoming producers on projects they're not otherwise involved in (no cameo or directing credits)? It just seemed that not too long ago, an actor would only produce a project he or she was starring in; or for TV shows, would later on become a producer. And I understand it can be a way to make money or is something they're passionate about, so why weren't they doing it before as much? Or am I just reading into too small a sample size?

Bishop73

Answer: This is not a new phenomenon. IMDb lists 28 producing credits for Michael Douglas, including many he did not star in such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Starman, and Face/Off.

I once caught a scene from either a movie or TV show in the early-to-mid 90's. A mother and daughter were driving along a cliff and having an argument. The daughter got so fed up with the mother that she grabbed the steering wheel and forced the car off the cliff. Anyone know what this was from?

Phaneron

There was a cartoon I saw in the early 80s but was probably a lot older, which opened with a roster of boxers. The shtick was they all looked like their nicknames: The Mountain was a literal mountain, The Phantom was invisible, etc. Ring any bells for anyone?

Brian Katcher

When movies or TV shows are filmed on location, how do they manage to film a scene without interference from the local public?

Answer: They will typically have areas closed off. If it is filmed in an area with heavy pedestrian traffic, there will be notices displayed that anyone in the area could end up on camera and is giving consent to be filmed by being in the area. The film crew will have security measures in place to prevent people from disrupting the production.

Phaneron

Your description is accurate, though I once wandered into a scene of the TV show, "Northern Exposure," that was filming in Seattle. I didn't realise I was in the shot. The film crew didn't notice me. When the director yelled, "Action", I just walked away. I've also driven by several movies filming on the street with traffic passing through, such as "Sleepless in Seattle." I drove by Meg Ryan who was in a car. Tom Hanks was on the beach. Was commuting to work as "Fifty Shades Freed" filmed a car chase on the now-gone Alaskan Way Viaduct. Traffic was temporarily stopped during filming.

raywest

Answer: Some big budget shows like the Law and Order franchise have recorded outside scenes with green screens to block out the public but keep natural lighting, building exteriors, sidewalks etc. They add a nondescript city background later.

This show had an episode about a dad becoming friends with a tough-guy actor, a Chuck Norris type. He was disappointed when "Chuck" wasn't exciting in real life. They mostly talked about their kids and parenting advice. I probably saw it in the late 2000s.

Answer: It was Chuck Norris. It's from an episode of "Yes Dear," S04E09. Chuck plays himself, who is going to play a security guard in his next movie. So he follows Burt Hummbel "Jimmy," who idolizes him. He's thrown for a loop when Chuck acts like a wimpy dad, who wants to show pictures of his kids.

Thanks. I haven't watched all of that show's episodes. Do you know if any streaming services have it?

Answer: I forgot to add that at the episode's epilogue, a bully laughs at Chuck Norris for gushing about his kids. Chuck gets mad and Kung Fu's his butt and Jimmy is dumbstruck to see his hero in action.

Are "TPS" reports a thing in the real world? It seems that ever since "Office Space", a variety of shows have employees or bosses mentioning "TPS" reports, the latest being "Titans" and "The Mandalorian." Or did Mike Judge make it up and everyone else throws it in as a joke?

Bishop73

Answer: They're real. TPS stands for test procedure specification. However, I suspect their use in other shows was inspired by "Office Space."

Ray

This 90s movie has a part where the main character talks to a group of kids, then the kids' teacher/counselor says "Children, that brings me to my next point: don't smoke crack." They all nod quickly, as if the main character seemed crazy to them.

Answer: Adam Sandler's "The Waterboy" (1998). After Bobby is done talking to the kids, football star, Lawrence Taylor delivers the line.

Bishop73

I'm looking for a '90s, maybe '80s movie about a female president having an affair, or a relationship that people didn't approve of. She and her boyfriend were photographed outdoors one night. Another woman referred to the president's behavior as "putting on a sex show." I only saw the preview on a VHS tape.

Answer: It could be The Contender from 2000. Joan Allen plays a vice-presidential candidate who is dragged through the mud by political rivals. There are rumors about orgies, prostitution, and other.

af4dable

That seems to be it. I did a search for the script, and it contains the "She was putting on a sex show" line. Thanks.

Why do some movies list the cast in order of appearance, or in alphabetical order? Most movies don't - the order seems to depend on top billing - so is there a specific reason?

Answer: Generally when the cast is listed alphabetically it's because there's an ensemble cast or no-one with top billing, despite what any movie poster or cover may show. It's a way to be as fair as possible to all cast members involved. When the cast is listed in order of appearance, it's much the same way, because no-one is getting top billing. But it's also generally done when the order of appearance plays a part in the film or to make it clear which character is which. For example, the 1990 film "Slacker", most of the characters don't have names, just a description.

Bishop73

Is there a movie/show in which a male character says "Hey, it's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation"? I've watched a couple of Instagram videos that had this quote.

Answer: It's a common trope, taking various forms. Seemingly the first occurrence of this specific type of voiceover/flashback is from Sunset Boulevard (1950), starting with someone dead in a pool, and the dead character is the one who takes us back to show us what led to that situation.

Yep. Various films start with something similar, like start of the movie Ratatouille (2007), the movie Holes (2003), The Emperor's New Groove (2000), Spiderman (2002) and most episode intros of My name is Earl (2005-2009). None actually use that exact sentence though.

lionhead

Trying to remember a movie in the 80s or 90s where a young man learned to play saxophone from a blues expert. He played twinkle twinkle little star.

Answer: It could be from an episode of "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles." It was the one episode with Harrison Ford. In 1950, Indy and a friend are being chased by henchman in the Wyoming mountains. After losing them and hiding out in a cabin, he tells the story of working in a jazz club in 1920' Chicago. While learning to play the Sax, he and his college roommate Eliot Ness investigate the murder of a local mobster.

In the 90s or early 2000s, I was watching an episode of a TV show. Apparently the characters were discussing small things that make them feel good. A twenty-something woman said "wearing bikini-style underwear backwards." It *might* have been "Two Guys, A Girl, And A Pizza Place", or a show that was airing before/after that. Sorry for not having more details; just wanted to see if anyone recognizes the scene.

Answer: There was a TV sitcom that ran for two seasons in 1999, titled, "It's like you know." A west coast version of "Seinfeld." A group of thirtysomethings sit around talking about the little things of life, while living in the lap of luxury. One is a dot-com billionaire, the other is Jennifer Grey. She plays herself and makes jokes about her nose job. In one episode her father Joel Grey makes a cameo.

In a lot of movies, whenever somebody gets into a fight and gets hit hard enough in the mouth to have blood practically spurt out, how is the effect achieved?

Answer: Blood packet in the mouth, usually a small plastic pill or bag that the actor bites into then spits out.

What is the name of this point and click video game I played in 1986 or 87? You follow your dog through a portal in your uncle's (?) lab and wind up in a world where everyone (including the dog) is super cool. It being the 80s, that meant they dressed like martians. I could never get very far, because after a couple of minutes of game time, the bad guy would feed you to a carnivorous zoo animal.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Some of this description sounds a lot like "Pepper's Adventures in Time" but that came out in the early 90s. Also the game didn't have any Martians in it.

If it came out in the 90s, I didn't play it in the 80s.

Brian Katcher

How come in many animated TV series, during the end credits, the individual voice actors aren't credited with the character (s) they voiced? Movies do, even if one person voices multiple characters. For example, Dan Castellaneta is credited in "The Simpsons", but not as "Homer." But in "The Simpsons Movie" they show all the characters he voiced. And how did viewers know who voiced whom before sites like IMDb were around? Or how did people creating and editing IMDb find the information?

Bishop73

How long does a typical half-hour sitcom episode take to make?

Answer: It depends on what you mean by "make." Are you referring to the writing of the script through filming? Or just filming the episode?

From writing throughout filming.

In that case, it can take between 7-10 days. The writers generate a script anywhere from 1-3 days. It gets reviewed and edited in roughly one day. The actors have a one day table read where more revisions are located and made and that's normally the same day. Once the script is approved, rehearsals and blocking are done over the course of the next 3-4 days until filming is done in one day. Hope this helps.

How can I get better at spotting movie mistakes on my own? Especially the revealing mistakes and visible camera crew and equipment type ones?

TerrenHurley

Answer: Honestly, what made me start to notice revealing mistakes/visible crew was just learning about those types of mistakes on this very website and figuring out what to look for. Watching behind-the-scenes materials and learning how movies are made also helps. If I'm specifically going through a movie or show looking for mistakes, which I do sometimes for fun, I usually load up a Blu-Ray copy or the streaming service I'm using, and just scan through every shot, frequently rewinding and looking at all the little details. It can be subtle, so you may have to watch the same few shots 3, 4, 5+ times before you notice things. And even then, I'm sure I miss a lot of them.

TedStixon

Answer: First, it's imperative you watch a film or show with the ability to rewind (DVD, On Demand, Streaming, etc). Second, you should be familiar with the different types of filming techniques and procedures so you can visualize how the scene is being shot and where equipment and crew might be that could accidentally get in the shot. A lot of wide shots are going to expose revealing mistake, often time just briefly. While a continuous shot (where the camera doesn't cut) isn't going to have continuity issues. When the camera angle changes, that's when you can pick up mistakes. Finally, you can't be a passive viewer, if you're texting or looking at your phone, you're going to miss mistakes. And if you're really out to find mistakes, you'll probably miss the show (so it's best to look for mistake on your 2nd or 3rd viewing).

Bishop73

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