Questions tagged [film-industry]
General questions about the film industry and its workings.
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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 ...
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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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What format do movie theaters now use?
I know that in earlier times, feature films were distributed on large format tape, and these were what were distributed to theaters for showing. A given feature film would have several reels. The ...
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Why are trailers called "trailers"?
Why are trailers called "trailers"? Considering the verb "to trail" means "to follow behind", why would something that is shown before the main movie be called a trailer?
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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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Was film actually “better” than digital media?
I happen, time and again, to read and hear people – among which people working in cinema – regretting the fact that film (in the sense of actual reels of plastic strip) is nowadays very rarely used ...
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What exactly is 70mm print and why does anyone care?
There has been a bit of controversy lately over the release of Tarantino's Hateful Eight movie. As I understand it, the movie was scheduled to play in a particular theater in Los Angeles that plays ...
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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 ...
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Is there any evidence of "Big Twist" movies having poor post-cinema sales?
I have watched many movies such as Sixth Sense, where there is a major twist that if known prior to watching the movie can potentially spoil the enjoyment of viewing. I tend not to watch this type of ...
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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 ...
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What's with the trend of releasing movies outside the US first?
A recent trend that I've noticed (or I'm just crazy and need to delete this question) is to release a major film outside of the U.S. first, even if it's a Hollywood film. Usually a week or so later ...
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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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Who will say "start camera action" when the director casts himself in the main role?
If the director is in front of the camera, who will say those words to start a movie shot?
Who will say "start camera action" when the director casts himself in the main role?
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When and why did the decline of Musicals in American Cinema happen?
It seems to me that musicals are much less common in the American Film Industry these days in comparison to the 30's, 40's, and 50's. Of course, I'm not saying that they never make musicals (e.g. ...
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Why are movies so different from the original books?
Recently reading both the books and watching the movies for "A Murder on the Orient Express" and "Ender's Game", I am curious as to why some of the details change when going from the book to producing ...
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Why does "Hollywood Accounting" still work?
Hollywood accounting is the practice of big studios of making successful movies into what looks like a financial failures on purpose and through questionable accounting tricks. The goal is to show no ...
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Why is child acting legal?
In most industries, in most of the countries that produce most films, child labor is illegal. Not just highly regulated, or has special laws governing payment of the children, but illegal. Thus, in ...
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Why do film studios buy domains of fictitious companies?
A few moments ago I saw an episode of 'The Blacklist' and recognized a sign with the address of an fictitious estate agent. My curiosity was to check the domain in the web browser. It seems that the ...
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Why fake (relatively) easy scenes?
I saw a movie about a year ago where there was a relatively simple shot of an SUV taking an off-ramp on a freeway. It only lasted a few seconds (5 - 10).
When they went to commercial, they had one of ...
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What factors go into determining what trailers are played before movies?
As we all know, the most exciting part of seeing a movie is the trailers of upcoming movies before the actual film (note, this is coming from an American point of view, I am uncertain if this occurs ...
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Lead actor/actress VS Supporting actor/actress
On what basis, Chris Hemsworth is considered as a Lead actor in the movie Rush?
In the movie, both characters have equal importance and both narrated the story in equal measure and occupied same ...
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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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How are digital movies sent to a movie theater?
For many years, movies were stored on rolls of film that were physically mailed to theaters. Now, most theaters project their movies digitally. But how are these digital movies sent to the theater?
...
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What is a chemistry test?
In the context of casting for a movie, what is a chemistry test and how is it performed?
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Do the film makers make the little kids cry?
I was watching Breaking Bad : End Times S4EP12 and there's this scene where Walter's family moves to Hank's house for security and the little kid Holly (probably few months old) cries while the family ...
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How do movie makers and movie theaters make money based off of a movie?
I'm curious to know how revenue stream works for:
The creator of the movie (movie production studios)
The presenter of the movie (movie theaters)
Is there a 50-50 split, or a lease agreement? This ...
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Does AMC have some kind of linkage/negotiation with the British entertainment industry?
Recently I've noticed that the original programming output from AMC seems to feature what I consider to be a disproportionate amount of British talent - a distinction that is amplified by the fact ...
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Is Lt. Hicox correct in his comparison of Joseph Goebbels with David O. Selznick?
In Inglourious Basterds when Lt. Archie Hicox is briefed by Gen. Fenech and Winston Churchill, his qualities as movie expert are put to a little test when he is asked by Churchill about Joseph ...
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What are the reasons for different Worldwide release dates of a movie?
What are the major factors that lead to different release dates worldwide for a movie?
E.g. the release dates of Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained:
25th Dec, 2012 in the US,
18th Jan, 2013 in ...
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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?
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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 ...
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How much of a film's revenue comes from its cinema release?
Very often when a film's success is being judged, its opening few weeks takings are considered. However many films and franchises also generate revenue from DVD/BluRay sales and merchandise.
What ...
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How are the best director award winners chosen?
I do not understand how the best director awards are determined each year. It seems impossible to assess the method of a movie director unless you are part of the crew.
So, how do the nominators/...
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Are more movie stars acting in TV shows nowadays (and if so, why)?
I recently saw the TV show Fargo, and the presence of Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton (both legitimately successful movie actors) made me wonder: Is doing the switch from movies to TV more ...
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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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Why doesn't Hollywood make movies related to epic stories like Mahabharata or Ramayana?
It is my deep desire to see Mahabharata or Ramayana made as movies with effects and direction like Lord of the Rings. I have read both these great epics; they are very profound.
Many movies, ...
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Movies without Film score/background music
Few years ago I saw L'enfant (2005) and I was very surprised that there's no film score throughout the movie. I think (not 100% sure) Keane (2004) also doesn't have background score.
Is there any ...
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Are there any global standards to identify a movie?
I know there exist approaches like EIDR (Entertainment Identifier Registry) and ISAN (International Standard Audiovisual Number). But I do not know how many movies are contained within those lists. Is ...
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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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Interpretation of two big jumps in movie history
I am analysing data about movies from IMDB. I counted the number of movies produced per year and need some help with the interpretation of two big jumps in the history (first is in the end of 20's and ...
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Why does the director's name always show up in the end of the credits? [duplicate]
I have noticed that during the opening credits of a movie/TV show, the name of the director(s) always shows up last, at the end of the credits. I'm not really sure if that happens in the ending ...
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When are dialect coaches brought in?
When are dialect coaches hired for actors, and who typically makes the decision?
I've seen serious movies where stars attempt to emulate an accent with grating incompetence.
And now I've seen the ...
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Why are actors addressed by real names off screen but on set?
My understanding is that Method actors should always want to address their co-actors by their character names, even when not on stage, and to be addressed by their character's name anytime they're on ...
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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 ...
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Why are box office numbers made public?
Why are all 'box office sales' made public? Is it a customary thing? A marketing ploy? Do they have a similar thing for TV (beyond ratings)? I only see profits for video games listed for publicly ...
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What role do screenwriters play, after handing in the script?
Assuming they're a pure screenwriter, and not also a producer or director, do screenwriters get to do anything after handing in the script? Can they be present on the set? Do they have any say in ...
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How do (famous) actors apply for a movie character?
I was wondering how (famous) actors apply for a movie character role.
I recently saw that the main character from Arrow wanted to play The Riddler in the new Batman movie. Source
He said himself:
...
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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 ...
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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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Why is the German version of Prometheus released 2 months after the world premiere?
Usually Big Blockbusters are timed to be released in major countries at roughly the same time. This even includes movies that are dubbed for localised version.
The London premiere was on 31 May 2012 ...
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