The "Have You Ever Wondered..." Thread

[newsmanfan]

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Interfaith families' kids get all the cool holidays...

I never recall even hearing about Jewish holidays while I was growing up. Guess my schools were pretty WASP. Sad.

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[D'Snowth]

Sometimes I watch TV shows and movies today, and look through the end titles at the hundreds, and even thousands of people it took to make them, and I wonder are a majority of these people even really all that necessary? Back in the day, credits were really short with a few necessary people working on them, but today, it's quite the opposite. I know a lot of it has to do with the advancement of filmmaking technology and such, but let's face it, who all do we really, truly need to make a good project like this? Actors aside, you would need a director to call the shots, a producer to make the project possible, an associate producer for casting and such, an executive producer to finance it, camera operators (though I've been told that cameras can be operated by remote control now), a composer to do the music score, an art department for sets and wardrobe and such, a technician for lighting and sound, and an editor to put it all together... surely something good could come out of just those people alone... I'd like to see what I could accomplish with as small a staff as possible... plus, it's that less people whining about paychecks and such.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Back in the day, credits were really short

Because it wasn't the standard to credit everybody. That doesn't mean there was only a few people working on the film.

As far as necessary, it depends on the level of film I suppose.

 

[D'Snowth]

Because it wasn't the standard to credit everybody. That doesn't mean there was only a few people working on the film.

As far as necessary, it depends on the level of film I suppose.

You do have a bit of a point there... I do remember an explanation a long time ago of back in the day, whoever wrote the pilot episode of a television series automatically was credited as the creator, whether they actually came up with the show or not; big example was that Harry Ackerman of Screen Gems basically was the who would developed Bewitched, but hired Sol Saks to write the pilot script, and as such, Saks is credited as creating the show, not Ackerman. In fact, it seems like back then, creators (or pilot writers) actually had very little, if anything to do with the writing of the rest of the series. I know Sidney Sheldon did indeed create I Dream of Jeannie, and occasionally wrote actual episodes for example, and Jay Sommers & Dick Chevilat were basically the only two writers credited on Green Acres, but aside from that. Conversely, some more modern shows are quite the reverse, like it seems like both Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld basically wrote or co-wrote every other episode of Seinfeld up until David's departure.
Another story I heard was that the company who created the uniquely customized bicycle for Pee-wee's Big Adventure were given a choice: they could either receive a movie credit and no pay, or they could receive pay and no movie credit. They took the money.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Another story I heard was that the company who created the uniquely customized bicycle for Pee-wee's Big Adventure were given a choice: they could either receive a movie credit and no pay, or they could receive pay and no movie credit. They took the money.

Good move, lol.

 

[D'Snowth]

On the subject of productions, have you ever wondered why animated series get all of the voice actors together to record the dialogue in one big group session, yet animated movies bring in one actor at a time to record the individual dialogue in a day?

 

[Sgt Floyd]

I always assumed its because of goofing off between actors.

 

[MartyMuppets]

On the subject of productions, have you ever wondered why animated series get all of the voice actors together to record the dialogue in one big group session, yet animated movies bring in one actor at a time to record the individual dialogue in a day?

Well they are probably on a much tighter schedule to finish producing their quota of episodes for a series so they get it all over with quickly.
With a movie they must prefer to take their time and relax with it over the years spent in production.

 

[Misskermie]

*Cues the Kermit the Frog SST songof the same name*

I think it's safe to say that most of us here at MC are a curious bunch, are we not? Basically, the idea of this thread is to kind of serve as a Q&A Answers kind of site (because as I've said before, Yahoo! Answers has become nothing more than a sick joke that I would spit on). Has there ever been anything that's tickled your brain to the point that makes you want to ask, have you ever wondered? Ask 'em here!

Here's two that I've wondered to get things rolling...

1. Have you ever wondered why certain holidays have a fixed date on our calendars (New Year's Day - Jan 1, Valentine's Day - Feb 14, Independence Day - July 4, Halloween - Oct 31, Christmas - Dec 25, etc), while others don't have a specific date, but rather a specific time period (Memorial Day - last Monday of May, Labor Day - first Monday of Sept, Thanksgiving - last Thursday of Nov)? I know the religious reasonings behind the observance of the Easter holiday (Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, etc), but not the reasonings behind the others so much.

2. In the spirit of Halloween... have you ever wondered what exactly is it about feeling fear that seems to make us lose our voices when we try to speak, or cry out for help? Even letting out a moan or something is impossible, because no sounds can be made... how does that happen?

1.Well, New years is the day every year starts, Feburary is national heart month, Halloween is the day after Hallow's eve, Christmas is when Jesus was born, and I don't know about independece day.

2. I really don't know, but I'd have to say that the feeling in our stomach causes us to make our voices so high, that we can't hear it.

Or something like that.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I don't know about independece day.

Well Independence Day is always July 4th because that's the date the Declaration of Independence was signed.