Questions tagged [film-industry]

General questions about the film industry and its workings.

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4 votes
1 answer
137 views

What was the first film project to have double directors?

I was recently watching the latest season of Star Trek: Discovery. While watching the opening credits, I noticed that two episodes of season 4 had two directors listed for those two episodes: ...
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2 votes
3 answers
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Do crew members require a special contract to appear on screen? (are they actors?)

Shows like the old Amanda show, more recently Late Night with Seth Meyers have segments where the camera/cue/etc crew members interact on screen. Do these members likely have special contracts/...
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2 votes
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What is a "censorship visa"?

While perusing the trivia notes of movies on IMDB, I occasionally see something like the following (from Sabrina (1995)): Italian censorship visa # 90717 delivered on 29 February 1996. Most of the ...
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4 votes
1 answer
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Name of Episodic Style where the opening for next week is the ending of this week

Is there a name for the TV Serial style where the end of each episode is the pre-opening credit intro for the next one? This style was used on shows such as Quantum Leap. I seem to remember it being ...
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0 answers
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Has there ever been a leak of a movie or TV show's entire project data?

There have been and will be leaks of movies and TV shows, but I'm interested in whether there has ever been a leak of an entire project. By this, I mean the leaking of a folder with terabytes of data, ...
-3 votes
1 answer
204 views

What is the usual interval between filming and releasing a movie [closed]

I know that at the preseent time it is normal for movies to have weeks or months of post production work such as editing and sound track and often special effects, and after they are completed they ...
3 votes
1 answer
254 views

Rob Lowe said "I won't work for (Orion Pictures) again for all the money in the world" in 1984. Is that what happened?

Wikipedia's The Hotel New Hampshire (film); Box office section says: [...] Based on an estimated $7.5 million budget2, this can be considered a box office bomb. Rob Lowe later said "When some ...
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1 answer
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Has a streaming service original program ever reached 100 episodes?

American TV series often want to reach 100 episodes so they can be sold into syndication. Streaming services, however, seem less motivated to reach this goal; Netflix series typically have 8-10 ...
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15 votes
3 answers
7k views

Why are some scenes of a movie shot in public places?

Tetsujin pointed out in his/her answer (towards the end) about a Batman spoiler that had been leaked by public. It is one of the underlying points that fuel the question. What is the need/requirement ...
39 votes
2 answers
9k views

How is secrecy maintained in movie production?

In movies such as those of MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) or those that have thrilling, suspenseful elements, how is secrecy ensured in the internal team. I have assumed till now that internal team ...
0 votes
3 answers
259 views

Why are production values on 70's US shows so low? [closed]

Television shows aired in the United States during the broadcast network pre-cable area often had huge audiences, by today's standards. Throughout the 1970's, one ratings point in prime time often ...
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68 votes
3 answers
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How do they get very young child actors to cooperate?

In films and TV episodes where the script calls for very young (toddler/pre-school aged) child actors in various scenes (doesn't matter the genre, I'm just asking generically), how do the studios or ...
8 votes
1 answer
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Do actors get paid if their digital image is used in a movie?

These day we more often see actors in their younger ages. Do they get paid for that or can companies just model whatever they want with no need to pay to the model's prototype?
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2 votes
2 answers
379 views

Does a theater company pays the Film Exhibition cost upfront?

Looking at AMC's expense report for each quarter they are paying about 400 millions each quarter for "Film Exhibition Costs". What is this expense relate to? Cost of licensing to show the a specific ...
4 votes
1 answer
886 views

Why do so many movie advertisements mention "Only in Theaters"?

I've noticed that advertisements for films and film-related merchandise in the USA that relate to films that are in theaters will almost always include the phrase "Only in Theaters" somewhere, often ...
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0 answers
109 views

Why are some of Kids' awards rewarded to non-kids' movies?

For example, one of Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, entitled Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Male Buttkicker has been rewarded to Liam Hemsworth for his role in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. ...
1 vote
1 answer
726 views

Is Netflix Considered a Movie Studio or a Movie Distributor?

I am wondering if Netflix is considered a movie studio or a movie distributor. I've done my research defining the two within the context of the film industry. The reason why I'm asking this question ...
24 votes
5 answers
10k views

How does Hallmark guarantee such consistency between their Christmas movies?

I've seen a few Hallmark Christmas movies, specifically the kind that come in those 4-for-1 boxes that get sold around the holidays. What shocks me every year is how consistent the movies are despite ...
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4 votes
0 answers
107 views

How much is a director responsible for? [closed]

I have heard lots of complaints about the recent Star Wars trilogy focusing on the directors. The first that it was a retread. The second that it tried too hard to subvert expectations. The third that ...
6 votes
0 answers
1k views

Why are many movies still filmed using the "scope" aspect ratio (2.39:1) despite film no longer being widely-used?

Question: Today, in the cinema industry, pretty much all theaters use digital projectors for exhibition. D-Cinema standard calls for the 2K chips (most widely-used) to have 2048x1080 resolution; ...
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7 votes
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Is Hamilton the biggest film acquisition in history?

Coming from an article at Deadline with the headline, Disney Paid $75 Million For Worldwide Movie Rights To Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘Hamilton’; Biggest Film Acquisition Deal Ever? and then goes onto to ...
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1 answer
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Why are there no 3D animated films for adults? [closed]

Many modern films make heavy use of digital processing and special effects. Some even include entire characters created using digital animation, such as Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy and ...
4 votes
2 answers
939 views

Why are superhero animated movies not made with the same level of graphics as pre-rendered videogame cutscenes?

I've played some superhero games like the Batman: Arkham series and I've noticed that the pre-rendered cutscenes (to be distinguished from real-time cutscenes) are really good. So much good that I've ...
4 votes
1 answer
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If there is nudity in a movie, do actors have to show their bodies in casting too?

If there is nudity in a show or movie, will the producers/casting directors want to see the actors nude in casting? I guess to "see the merchandise", so to speak?
4 votes
1 answer
731 views

Has an actor ever been uncredited to keep their face secret?

In the 2019 show The Mandalorian, it is a recurring theme that the protagonist never takes his helmet off in front of others. But since we know who the actor is, anyone can just google his name and ...
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1 answer
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When was the first adult film ever made?

I was curious if anyone happens to maybe know when the first adult porno video was made on record? I was wondering how that might come about and what was the idea backing it versus how it is now?
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12 votes
1 answer
7k views

Is it common for an author to get an executive producer credit when they are deceased?

I was watching the Amazon Prime show Jack Ryan and noticed that Tom Clancy is listed as an executive producer on the show. Tom Clancy passed away in 2013, at least two years before it was announced ...
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19 votes
3 answers
12k views

Are actors contractually obligated to certain things like going nude/ Sensual Scenes/ Gory Scenes?

When an actor is signed for a movie/show/series, they sign contracts for the working relationship of that certain movie/show/series. There is always going to be different scenes/scenarios to be shot ...
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6 votes
0 answers
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Which people get paid in Million Dollar Listing?

The reality TV series Million Dollar Listing shows a lot of people: the main real estate agents agents that they negotiate with agents who come to their open houses real estate developers clients and ...
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4 votes
1 answer
184 views

TIFF has existed since 1976 and has premiered 11 films that went on to get Oscars, but all of them were after 1998. Why is that?

It is acknowledged that the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) used to be called "Festival of Festivals" before it became called TIFF in 1994. But it existed with the previous name since 1976. ...
3 votes
1 answer
185 views

Do production companies ever "choose" their test audience?

I was recently looking up information on a Joe Wright film I was interested in, The Woman in the Window, as I was wondering why there hasn't been a trailer, and I swore I once read that the film was ...
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9 votes
1 answer
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What does "vrit' mean with reference to documentaries?

Over on EL&U, we are mystified by a usage of an unknown word: vrit ...as in The Interventionists is a half-hour vrit documentary that follows the days and nights of a unique mental-health ...
7 votes
1 answer
241 views

Who was the youngest Executive Producer?

I was reading an article from Deadline stating that the teenage Stranger Things actor, Gaten Matarazzo will executive produce a new 'hidden-camera prank' TV series for Netflix. Gaten Matarazzo is 16 ...
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61 votes
5 answers
19k views

Does Disney no longer produce hand-drawn cartoon films?

Over the past few years Disney has remade a lot of their hand-drawn films with either live-action or [modern] computer animation. Examples that immediately come to mind include: The Jungle Book, ...
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1 vote
1 answer
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Actor-director partnership

Which is the longest actor-director partnership? I'm talking about movies where a given director works with the same actor/actress in a leading role. Johnny Depp & Tim Burton is one of the first ...
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

What is the name for a film that sets up another film?

TL;DR - is there any specific, one-word, film-specific name for films that are feature-length but don't have a specific ending? Traditionally, films are said to have three parts- a beginning, a ...
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4 votes
1 answer
377 views

Copyrighted Filming Techniques

The first Matrix film had the bullet time sequence, and people will most likely associate that technique with the movie. Research into bullet time shows that it was used long before The Matrix (...
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10 votes
4 answers
433 views

Why isn't it standard practice to hire pros to look at a script in the industry?

In the movie and TV industry, pretty much everyone agrees that science and technology are not depicted accurately most of the time. The problem is so big that it is a huge selling point nowadays when ...
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3 votes
1 answer
820 views

Why is Atlanta Georgia becoming the new Hollywood?

I have been noticing more and more that a lot of movies have been filmed in Atlanta Georgia and that many still continue to be filmed there. Is the city just becoming even more popular than usual or ...
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1 vote
1 answer
196 views

Have the producers/directors of Sanju addressed the glaring conflict of interest?

Sanju (title character played by Ranbir Kapoor) is a biopic of Sanjay Dutt, a controversially popular Indian Bollywood actor. He was involved in aiding the terrorists to conduct the most horrific bomb ...
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3 votes
0 answers
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What is the process for screening a movie today? [duplicate]

Perhaps a bit of an odd question, but I've always been intrigued by all aspects of the entertainment industry. After the post-production process, what is the process for a typical screening of a ...
8 votes
1 answer
305 views

Signifincance of trailer of the trailer?

There's a trend nowadays to make a trailer of the trailer. At least for media like youtube. Why are the studios doing this? What's the point of adding a 5 seconds intro to the trailer I'm about to ...
1 vote
0 answers
55 views

Who decides titles for dubbed versions? [duplicate]

As we know, many Hollywood movies are dubbed into non English versions. For example, titles of Star Wars: The Last Jedi are given in different languages. In majority cases, the original title in ...
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33 votes
10 answers
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How do streaming services earn money?

Netflix and Prime are (I think) the two leading competitors in streaming services. Both services are releasing original movies and shows which are exclusively available in their platform. But what's ...
6 votes
1 answer
596 views

Why do some trailers contain scenes that aren't in the movie? [duplicate]

I'm an avid watcher of trailers. I watch trailers over and over again. I even watch trailers of movies that I don't plan on watching. But sometimes, I notice that some trailers contain some ...
5 votes
1 answer
21k views

Series vs. serial

As I learned from Wikipedia and some other sites/forums, there is a difference between series and serials: A series contains the same characters throughout, but each episode is a different story. So, ...
48 votes
2 answers
23k views

How were Opening Titles and End Credits created before Computers?

I've always wondered how Opening Titles and End Credits in the movies were created before Computers existed?
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14 votes
2 answers
8k views

Why do so many cinema industries have "wood" in their name? [duplicate]

A lot of cinema industry names end with "wood". For example, Kollywood, Bollywood, Tollywood, Hollywood, etc. Is there any reason for this?
2 votes
0 answers
127 views

What role does the Screen Actors Guild play in controlling credits?

In this article about Airplane!, the author states: The Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams had a tough time with the Screen Actors Guild in trying to get their proper three director billing when the ...
5 votes
1 answer
423 views

What does the new PGA guidelines on sexual harassment state?

I just saw this tweet from Rebbeca Keegan... What is this new policy and what does it state? I mean sexual harassment was never allowed in Hollywood in the first place (... because its illegal) ...
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