197
votes
Accepted
What's the difference between "and" and "&" in movie credits?
Found a couple of references although different countries may have different guidelines
Source A - US Rules
The ampersand (e.g. “Al Gough & Miles Millar”) means that the two writers are a team, ...
- 129k
107
votes
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Why do movies still have credits?
Summary:
Legal/contractual obligations to list all staff who've worked on film
Evidence that staff have worked on film, which can be used to help them gain future employment
Some movie-goers are ...
- 50.7k
62
votes
Early credit roll before the end of the film
Monty Python's Flying Circus did this. According to TV Tropes:
Credits Gag: In addition to many Creative Closing Credits, the placement of the credits in the show's sequence was a gag in itself.
...
- 3,792
57
votes
Accepted
Why does Peter Dinklage's name appear first in the opening credits?
From forbes by Carol Pinchefsky,
Note: I had wondered if Dinklage’s Outstanding Supporting Actor Emmy award had anything to do with the position of his name on the credits. However, Elizabeth ...
- 2,101
57
votes
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"And introducing..." used for known actors?
These are joke credits deliberately placed by the director Stephen Soderbergh.
“Introducing” Julia Roberts
Soderbergh: She was the only person we had in mind. We thought it would be fun for her to be ...
- 129k
55
votes
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Why was H.G Wells not credited in The Invisible Man (2020)?
Because it's not necessary
Whilst it would have been nice, the original novel was published in 1897 and the usual copyright / rights period is, depending on location from 50 - 70 years after the ...
- 129k
49
votes
Did Star Trek: Picard get new writers for Season 2?
Based on the per-episode crew credits found on IMDB: yes, season two has new writers.
Creators
Every episode of season one and two credits Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, Kirsten Beyer, and Alex ...
- 809
45
votes
What's the metal clinking sound at the end of credits in Avengers: Endgame?
From this question & answer at Science Fiction & Fantasy
What’s with the clanks at the end of the credits in Avengers: Endgame?
According to Vanity Fair Disney have confirmed....
There is no ...
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43
votes
Accepted
Why was Hugh Laurie credited as a Guest star in Friends?
Hugh Laurie has been well known in the UK since the 1980s, appearing in such popular TV shows as:
The Young Ones
A Bit of Fry and Laurie
Blackadder (series 2 - 4)
Jeeves and Wooster
And parts in ...
- 6,989
41
votes
Top-billed actor with the least screen time
There are a lot of films with actors/actresses who dominate the film, but actually have very little screen time. For example, Orson Welles in The Third Man had ~10 minutes of screen time. Heath Ledger ...
- 50.7k
39
votes
Accepted
Why is there a "B" in Sabrina's hand?
It's actually an initial on her letterman sweater. Sabrina attends Baxter High School.
Sabrina Spellman, a teenage half-witch who lives in the town of
Greendale with her aunts, her cousin Ambrose,...
- 21.9k
37
votes
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Top-billed actor with the least screen time
EDIT: We might have a new record. In the US historical epic One Night with the King from 2006, Peter O'Toole briefly appears in the prologue as the Prophet Samuel for "barely 30 seconds", according to ...
- 98.9k
36
votes
Early credit roll before the end of the film
I believe the notorious film Irréversible does this as part of its "reverse chronology" gimmick. The credits roll right at the very beginning, reversed so they scroll from top-to-bottom instead of ...
- 19.4k
35
votes
Why was H.G Wells not credited in The Invisible Man (2020)?
There are two reasons to include someone in the credits:
Legal obligation
Marketing
Since H.G. Wells's copyright has expired, there was no licensing contract between the studio and his estate for ...
- 855
34
votes
Accepted
How were the opening credits to Superman created?
A lot of this will be defining terms.
Animation
Prior to the advent of computer animation, animation meant taking a bunch of still photos that had slight changes from one photo to the next and then ...
- 8,969
34
votes
Why was H.G Wells not credited in The Invisible Man (2020)?
In addition to the legal reasons, let's consider two old movies with old source material
Dracula (1931)
1931's Dracula was so successful, it spawned multiple Dracula/vampire stories not written by ...
- 1,066
31
votes
Which movie/tv started showing scenes after credit?
The very-first end-credit scene was apparently from The Silencers movie which was released in the year 1966 based on this article
The first modern post-credits scene seems to be the tag at the end of ...
- 7,231
29
votes
Accepted
Why are some executive producers credited individually?
Same reason everything else about their credits is formatted as it is: their contracts said so.
In the specific case of EPs, there's really three different "kinds" of executive producer for a TV show ...
- 35.1k
27
votes
Accepted
Why was Michael Myers credited as "The Shape" in the first 2 Halloween films?
My best answer comes from an answer that was given to this same question in 2006:
Adult Myers is introduced in the screenplay as a shape jumping on the
back of Marion's car. Therefore, for script ...
- 57.1k
27
votes
Who was messaged in the post-credits scene of Avengers: Infinity War?
Yes, that was the Captain Marvel logo:
- 836
26
votes
Accepted
On the West Wing, why was Josh's assistant given so much screen time?
Because the producers saw the potential for a "will they, won't they"-relationship. Quoting Wikipedia:
The chemistry between Janel Moloney and Bradley Whitford, who
portrayed Josh Lyman, caught ...
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26
votes
Accepted
What's up with Archbishop Desmond?
I believe this is due to what TV Tropes calls a "Small Reference Pool" - pop culture's understanding of a topic only goes so far. Top Gear always uses these gag credits during its foreign specials, ...
- 19.4k
25
votes
Why aren't the songs from a TV show credited in the end credits?
Money.
In this case Time which equals money.
The vast majority of TV content is still provided by TV networks who make their income from ads. Every second not devoted to actual content is a second ...
- 129k
24
votes
Did Star Trek: Picard get new writers for Season 2?
While he also seems to have about three co-writing credits on the second season (2.01, 2.02, 2.10), one major change from season one to season two was Showrunner Michael Chabon being replaced by Terry ...
- 21.9k
23
votes
Accepted
What's the meaning of abbreviations in credits? (ASC, PGA, ...)
Generally, these abbreviations you see indicate a society or union that person is a member of. Since such societies are very distinctive and respected ones, people add it to their names in credits. ...
A J♦
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22
votes
Accepted
Why is Alan Moore's name not shown on the Watchmen credits?
He didn't want to be credited.
From a Guardian article:
Moore has a complicated relationship with money. "Pure voodoo," he
says now. "Only there as long as we believe in it." Challenged, during
...
- 50.7k
21
votes
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Thor: Ragnarok's end credits scene
It has not been officially confirmed but the inference is that it's Thanos in his quest for the Infinity Stones...which will lead into the Avengers: Infinity War movie.
As Thor and Loki (Tom ...
- 129k
20
votes
Accepted
What happened to the third post credit scene?
According to Screenrant (beware: SPOILERS for future movies):
the originally planned post-credits scene featuring Bruce Banner
a.k.a. Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) would have been shot for the film but
...
- 44.8k
20
votes
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Why did Arrival have a Horse Wrangler?
There is a horse in the movie, it's just shown out of focus or in extreme close up. This is one of Louise's memories of her daughter, when she exits the ship after deciding to take off her suit to ...
- 98.9k
20
votes
Accepted
What's the metal clinking sound at the end of credits in Avengers: Endgame?
Paulie_D answered it pretty well but here are the official wordings:
From bgr Russos said:
Q: There were some metal smashing sound when the movie ended. Was that an easter egg? or just a tribute to ...
- 115k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible