Don't Movie Producers Know Better?

[warren t claim]

This evening I've been forced point blank to watch Rhys Ifans playing Howard Marks in the film Mr Nice due to the fact he's from Ruthin and my significant other "might" of been intimate with his brother in a bus shelter back in 1986.... I normally don't complain about inaccuracies involving cars in films but I've never seen so many cars hopelessly misscast out of their era as this, surely there must be hundreds of classic car owners keen to see their cars on the silver screen but obviously having a Capri II cast in a scene set in 1972 is acceptable. I've read the book and yes, the Capri was used as a smugglers car but would it been so hard to of approached a mk1 owner and ask to borrow his car for a few days?

 

Are there any films worse for vehicular casting than this and please nominate your piss boiling suggestions.

[Cavcraft]

I don't know WTF you're on about, but the best thing to come out of Wales was Twin Town. It's not a fake snake, it's an Ac Fakking Cobra.

[Albert Ross]

Ice Cold in Alex. 2nd World War. North Africa. 1943 I think.... final scene shows a Land Rover parked up outside Bar Canopus. Ok, it wasn't around till 1948, but this was a 1950s model... I mean, would it have been too hard to say "you can't park that there mate" for ten minutes as they drove Otto Lutz/Capt. Van der Poel away in the truck?

 

Grr etc.

[oman5]

Ice Cold in Alex. 2nd World War. North Africa. 1943 I think.... final scene shows a Land Rover parked up outside Bar Canopus. Ok, it wasn't around till 1948, but this was a 1950s model... I mean, would it have been too hard to say "you can't park that there mate" for ten minutes as they drove Otto Lutz/Capt. Van der Poel away in the truck?

 

Grr etc.

 

yeah that film also has a morris minor in that scene

[Micrashed]

[shedvan]

Mr Nice had me going crazy with the out of continuity cars throughout. This is mainly because of the cheapo use of stock footage rather that staging lots of outdoors shots, things like a Chrysler Alpine turning up in the background in what was supposed to be 1971 or 73. I guess the producers reckon the number of people who will clock this is low and the number of people who it bothers is even lower. Maybe this is true but it strikes me as lazy.

[Negative Creep]

Something else I've noticed in historical films and tv shows is that the cars are always pristine - jher'e never any old bangers or chdo as you would see on any normal street.

 

On the subject of movie cliches:

 

car doors are bulletproof

no matter what speed you're doing you can simply change down a gear and get another burst

pedestrians never get hit in car chases

you can always park directly outside where you need to be

cars will, without expection, explode if shot in the gas tank or falling off a cliff

if the killer or monster is chasing you, the car will never start

[SambaS]

Bit OT but.. Car failing to start sound used in everything boils my piss, why cant they just make a new one each time is it really that hard? Generic tyre screech sounds that don't fit what's happening on screen. Do they all have the same Car Sound FX CD?

[worldofceri]

There's a CarFailingToStart SFX used in a radio advert at the moment. Think it might even be for Halfords. It's supposed to illustrate a flat battery, but the battery is clearly fine as the engine turns over repeatedly without firing. Gets right on my tits.

[mattblack]

'Oranges are not the only fruit'... set in the mid 60's IIRC and had a bunch of lads hooning around in an FD Ventora with an odd coloured door that would have been brand new at the time, if it had been around at all.

 

Still at least they tried, unlike Quadrophenia.

[Wilko220]

if the killer or monster is chasing you, the car will never start

 

Except in Duel, where IIRC he manages to get the car started despite the engine having boiled over and having no oil pressure!

 

Still the best film EVAR though

 

[FredTransit]

Ehem! It has to be said Producers often dont know what they are doing with cars, but thats what the action vehicle/transportation dept is supposed to be there for. Can't tell you how often I point something out just to be ignored. If it pisses you off, imagine how I feel!!

Oh and does nobody remember the Mk2 minibus with no engine in Ashes to Ashes??

[Spiny Norman]

'Oranges are not the only fruit'... set in the mid 60's IIRC and had a bunch of lads hooning around in an FD Ventora with an odd coloured door...

 

Got to say that wasn't my #1 memory of that film.....

 

As a petrolhead it does annoy me when TV & films get something so obviously wrong, one of my pet hates is that on all the soaps there always seems to be someone with a scabby wee back street garage, and despite their scabby/back street-ness they seem to be working on brand new cars half the time.

[Volksy]

There's so many!

In the original Italian job, one of the guys is 'having a problem with his differential' and is looking under the back of a Mini.

More recently in 'Drive' the Impala used in the first robbery must have a 17 speed gearbox given the number of times it changed gear. Same with the Mustang used in the later chase, which manages to change gear whilst reversing...

[hennabm]

"Looking after Jo Jo" was set in Edinburgh in 1981 and featured Robert Carlyle as a drug dealer.

 

They hired my car for his mate (Danny) even though the E30 didn't hit the UK until 1983. I did point this during the negotiations with the action hire company.

 

Not too much though as I didn't want to lose the chance of a bit of cash.

[barefoot]

A bay window (67 on) ambulance in the Odessa File which was set in 1963.

[Shep Shepherd]

The early 1990s Volvo 240 GL estate with an 'X' registration which featured heavily in an episode of "Ashes To Ashes" really annoyed me. And don't get me started on that ur-quattro

[Pete-M]

If you point these facts out to most film making folks they're unlikely to be interested. Mainly as they have absolutely no interest in the opinions of a bunch of anoraks like us.

 

I think the way they look at it, if they spend the time getting car details right, then the next thing is they get letters from the paramilitary wing of the Parker Pen society complaining that the Penn used in scene 6 want made until 1957 and the film is set in 1955. Then it'll be the MK electrical plug society, etc etc etc.

 

Life is too short.

[Junkman]

Don't Movie Producers Know Better?

 

No. And the property masters, who are actullay responsible for this, know even less. They probably don't even know that most cars have four wheels,

since they are unable to count that far.

 

...surely there must be hundreds of classic car owners keen to see their cars on the silver screens...

 

No.

 

If you'd only see once how those telly and film dimwits treat cars entrusted to them, you'd make well sure they don't come near your classic.

Just imagine types on which intellectual level pursue a career in TV and film. They have no consideration or appreciation for anything.

[fordperv]

Ehem! It has to be said Producers often dont know what they are doing with cars, but thats what the action vehicle/transportation dept is supposed to be there for. Can't tell you how often I point something out just to be ignored. If it pisses you off, imagine how I feel!!

Oh and does nobody remember the Mk2 minibus with no engine in Ashes to Ashes??

 

in ashes i giggled more at the mid nineties rover shite in shot when the armoured gold carrying transit came out of the depot

[Guest]

Pete's right.

 

Having crewed on several TV and film drama shoots (one of which had a fairly exciting budget) the producers have far greater things to worry about.

 

On the other end of the scale a group of students wanted to lend my Amazon for a film supposedly set in the 50s and seemed completely oblivious to the fact it was a 1966 model. They weren't keen on me minding it during the shoot ('too many people on location' said the pissflap of a director, blah blah liability insurance and risk assessments) and seemed to think petrol was free. Couldn't be arsed in the end.

[Andrew353w]

 

...surely there must be hundreds of classic car owners keen to see their cars on the silver screens...

 

No.

 

If you'd only see once how those telly and film dimwits treat cars entrusted to them, you'd make well sure they don't come near your classic.

Just imagine types on which intellectual level pursue a career in TV and film. They have no consideration or appreciation for anything.

 

Agreed! I was "offered" £100 plus expenses to allow my 1978 Lada to appear in "The Seasoning House" which was being filmed in the west London & Uxbridge area. All I received was £20 and I had to schlep over to the film location to collect it after they'd finished with it. It was a freezing day & it took me ages! I was not a happy bunny and have learnt my lesson. It won't happen again (not least 'coz I don't own any truly odd-ball cars at the moment!)

[gtd2000]

Still at least they tried, unlike Quadrophenia.

 

Check out the InterCity 125 shot out of the window, from the scene in Jimmys bedroom.

[Junkman]

In Scotland during WWII:

 

[panhard65]

My fregate has been in 2 films now. The first was a black and white arty type thing that was awful. It was filmed in London and was supposed to be '50's paris. They used my car but couldn't be arsed to put the french plates I supplied on it for filming. The poor kid who's 2cv they used broke down and they just left him to it at 2 in the morning. It was a 1988 2cv and they left the plates on that as well. The "mechanic" didn't have a clue even though he was supposed to be a specialist. They did pay for the hotel but I am still waiting for the fuel bill to be paid. Now the second time has been much better the company reel vehicles were very good and paid £400 up front to use it for 2 days. They sent a mechanic who actually knew about cars to collect it and stay with it all the time. They quite liked the fact that it wasn't original as it was supposed to be a morrocan taxi from the early 60's. The film is out at easter starring Kirsten Duntz so hopefully with a fairly big budget they would of got it right

[hennabm]

No.

 

If you'd only see once how those telly and film dimwits treat cars entrusted to them, you'd make well sure they don't come near your classic.

Just imagine types on which intellectual level pursue a career in TV and film. They have no consideration or appreciation for anything.

 

I got to stay with mine as part of the deal. In fact during rehersals and the main shoot, I had to drive it back to the "first postion" before the actor took over again.

 

BTW I got £175 for the day plus free brekkie and lunch. It was a long day from 7am to gone 6pm and every time a new LRT bus drove past in the background, they had to reshoot.

I did get a bit of a scare when a child actor on a bike got too close to the car and caught his handlebar on the door. Thankfuly the bar had a rubber grip and it just polished out.

I was told if had been damaged they would have paid for the repair.

[Partridge]

I remember a Rover 400 (HHR) in Ashes to Ashes...

The series Homeland aired on Channel 4 recently, featured a BMW e90 morphing into an F30.

[Junkman]

I remember a Rover 400 (HHR) in Ashes to Ashes...

The series Homeland aired on Channel 4 recently, featured a BMW e90 morphing into an F30.

 

Yeah, that's even better, when cars change during a scene. The best one I've ever seen in this respect was in Department S. A Pontoon-Benz crashed in a forest and -of course - exploded with a mushroom cloud. At the same time, it had metamorphosed into a Chevy Corvair.

[Shep Shepherd]

I remember a Rover 400 (HHR) in Ashes to Ashes...

The series Homeland aired on Channel 4 recently, featured a BMW e90 morphing into an F30.

 

Yeah, that's even better, when cars change during a scene. The best one I've ever seen in this respect was in Department S. A Pontoon-Benz crashed in a forest and -of course - exploded with a mushroom cloud. At the same time, it had metamorphosed into a Chevy Corvair.

 

I remember an episode of the early-1980s US comedy-drama "The Greatest American Hero" in which a brand new Dodge Diplomat "A38" changed into an AMC Matador and a Plymouth Fury during a roll-over crash

[Station]

In the film "One Million Years BC", when the character 'Tumak' leaves the funeral scene, he drives away in what appears to be a blue 1994 Vauxhall Corsavan. Eagle eyed viewers would have noticed that the Corsavan was not first released until 1993 - a full 1,001,993 years after the period in which the film was set. To add insult to injury, he can also be seen later on in the film in the background to another scene (where a fight between Tumak's current love interest Loana and his former lover "Nupondi the Wild One"), in the same vehicle attempting to connect his mobile phone to his recently purchased Aldi 'Tevion' stereo via bluetooth, using expletives and threatening the electrical hardware with possible extermination, of which both traiditons only appeared in popular tradition over 1,000 centuries later.