We really should stop making pets of peeves--it just encourages them. Anyway...
I can't stand what TV has done to the movie credits. After spending two hours watching a movie and commercials, they now shrink the size of the credits so that you would need the Hubble telescope to read them. Well, maybe just binoculars. If that isn't bad enough, they speed them up too. TV wants to get every little extra second of time and in the mean time, credit is not being given to where credit it due.
I think it's great that credits (when you can actually read them) often mention everyone from the grips to hairdressers to caterers to clean up crew to stunt men to anyone you can think of--including the author. Everyone should get the credit. I would be disheartened if my name ever appeared on one of those lists and my friends and family would have to take my word for it because they could never read it.
I hate it when we are watching a movie and my husband asks if that actor is "so and so" and I don't agree. We wait for the credits to see who is right and if they are not too small, they go by like the speed of light. Why bother?
I am grateful for the computer age and the wonderful website, Independent Movie Data Base (IMDB). It will solve any argument about any movie. Not only the credits, but trivia, goofs and pretty much anything you want to know about a movie. Sometimes I look up a movie before I watch it to be able to watch for the goofs or to share the inside info about trivia. You can even write your own review on the website.
So, that website is my only consolation to my pet peeve of untamed credits...credits that are unruly--fast and small. I'm sure there is no chance that TV will go back to the slow scroll, normal print credits, if there were, I'd lead a protest. But alas, I've found my way to tolerate it.
Credits for this article:
Writer....Debbie
Typist....Debbie
Music.....none (unless you were humming)
Hairstyles....Debbie
Costumes...Debbie
Etc....
Guess it's all about me
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Showing posts with label imdb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label imdb. Show all posts
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sunday, June 8, 2008
"Stand By Me" by Stephen King
On this hot evening I watched one of my favorite channels--American Movie Classics. Tonight it was "Stand By Me". Occasionally they do this thing on this channel, where they put all kind of trivia things on the bottom of the screen. I was quite interested in many of the facts and have chosen to share some of them with you.
First, don't know if you've seen the movie but it has River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Keifer Suderland, Wil Wheaton, Jerry O'Connell and narrated by Richard Dreyfuss. They are all so much younger, so it was fun seeing that. (Side note: My husband, George, has been told several times that he looks like Richard Dreyfuss.)
If you haven't seen this movie, it is about four 12 year old friends who overhear that a boy has died and they go on a trek to find the body (in a very small nutshell). I was quite surprised that this is another story by Stephen King.
I was shocked to learn a few years ago that he wrote "Shawshank Redemption"--that is my husband and son's favorite movie. I am happy to see that he doesn't write just horror. The only book by Stephen King that I have read is his memoir, "On Writing". It was very good.
Anyway, if you've seen "Stand By Me", I thought you'd be interested in knowing...
The scene where the boys are on the bridge trying to outrun the train was inspired by an incident that happened to Stephen King. He was only 4 when he saw a child get hit and killed by a train. Some people thought that was the reason for his dark books, but he says no.
Also the scene where the boys were swimming and found themselves covered with leaches also happened to him and his friends. Yuk! No wonder he's like he is!
Now "Shawshank" and "Stand by Me" were originally short stories or novellas. In fact the footnotes said that short stories are often easier to turn into screen plays.
Not being a Stephen King fan, I'm sorry that I cannot be specific, but I also found it interesting that several of the characters that were in "Stand By Me" were in his other stories as the same character--kind of like a sequel. One was in "Christine"--I think he was a bad character in "Stand by Me" and he finally got his punishment in the next story. He continued other character's lives in other stories. Most of them were influenced by his childhood friends. He did say that he just loves to scare the you-know-what out of people. He finds it great fun.
They did a major change from King's version as to which character took action in the climax--they chose a different character. They said when Stephen King saw the screening, he didn't know. He was so shocked that he left the room. When he finally came back about 1/2 hour later, he told them how much better that made his story.
Well, that's all I remember. For those of you who love trivia stuff like this or want to know what year a movie came out, who's in it, goofs, and so much more info, look up www.imdb.com for any movie you want, or search by actor, director, whatever. It is a fantastic site. Now when we watch a movie, I log on to see the errors so that I can watch for them and whatever other trivia that is mentioned.
First, don't know if you've seen the movie but it has River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Keifer Suderland, Wil Wheaton, Jerry O'Connell and narrated by Richard Dreyfuss. They are all so much younger, so it was fun seeing that. (Side note: My husband, George, has been told several times that he looks like Richard Dreyfuss.)
If you haven't seen this movie, it is about four 12 year old friends who overhear that a boy has died and they go on a trek to find the body (in a very small nutshell). I was quite surprised that this is another story by Stephen King.
I was shocked to learn a few years ago that he wrote "Shawshank Redemption"--that is my husband and son's favorite movie. I am happy to see that he doesn't write just horror. The only book by Stephen King that I have read is his memoir, "On Writing". It was very good.
Anyway, if you've seen "Stand By Me", I thought you'd be interested in knowing...
The scene where the boys are on the bridge trying to outrun the train was inspired by an incident that happened to Stephen King. He was only 4 when he saw a child get hit and killed by a train. Some people thought that was the reason for his dark books, but he says no.
Also the scene where the boys were swimming and found themselves covered with leaches also happened to him and his friends. Yuk! No wonder he's like he is!
Now "Shawshank" and "Stand by Me" were originally short stories or novellas. In fact the footnotes said that short stories are often easier to turn into screen plays.
Not being a Stephen King fan, I'm sorry that I cannot be specific, but I also found it interesting that several of the characters that were in "Stand By Me" were in his other stories as the same character--kind of like a sequel. One was in "Christine"--I think he was a bad character in "Stand by Me" and he finally got his punishment in the next story. He continued other character's lives in other stories. Most of them were influenced by his childhood friends. He did say that he just loves to scare the you-know-what out of people. He finds it great fun.
They did a major change from King's version as to which character took action in the climax--they chose a different character. They said when Stephen King saw the screening, he didn't know. He was so shocked that he left the room. When he finally came back about 1/2 hour later, he told them how much better that made his story.
Well, that's all I remember. For those of you who love trivia stuff like this or want to know what year a movie came out, who's in it, goofs, and so much more info, look up www.imdb.com for any movie you want, or search by actor, director, whatever. It is a fantastic site. Now when we watch a movie, I log on to see the errors so that I can watch for them and whatever other trivia that is mentioned.
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