Anyone know the film from which the line "gazzump the gazzumper" comes?
This is not a tongue-in-cheek response to recent stupid trivia questions
but a genuine request; sorry that the information is somewhat limited.
Ta.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David N. Butterworth
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Office of Information Technology
1R N.E.B. -- 420 Service Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6020
Internet: butte...@a1.mscf.upenn.edu "Which shoes are those?" -- f.f.
"Some girls' mothers are bigger than other girls' mothers..." -- Morrissey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anyone who has been reading the usenet rec.arts.movies group
frequently notices that there is a small group of topics that
repeatedly come up. For some reason, these are the topics that
arouse the passion of the readers. This list is designed for two
purposes. The most clear-cut purpose is to keep people from asking
the same questions, and receiving the same answers, over and over
again.
The first part of the list is a compendium of information that
has been posted to R.A.M. many times in the past. If you have
received this list through e-mail, without requesting it, this is
most likely because you posted one of the questions on the list.
The second part of the FAQ list contains a series of topics
that are repeatedly discussed, along with a bit of editorial
comment on each one. The reason for including this information is
merely to provide new readers with some background and context.
In no way do I mean for this to preclude anyone from discussing
these topics again. While the items listed in part one are
(indisputable??) facts, the topics in part two are objects of
opinion. As such, they can be discussed ad infinitum without any
resolution. Do so if you wish. Remember the first amendment...
The last part of the FAQL contains a few further bits of
information for readers of rec.arts.movies. This includes several
other lists that are kept by members of the group, trivia contests
etc.
Lastly, two filmography lists that are frequently requested,
one of the films and cameos of Alfred Hitchcock, and one of the
films of Woody Allen are available from me upon request.
(Actually, these lists are not yet complete. I will post to the
net when they are).
If you have any questions about this list, or if there is
something you think should be added, or if you're just bored and
want to say hello, you can contact me through e-mail at:
ste...@cica.cica.indiana.edu OR sc...@iumail.bacs.indiana.edu
Best wishes. Now go to the movies... -- Steve Scher
PART ONE: Frequently asked questions, and some answers (and some
of them may be right).
1) Who was the voice of the seductive Jessica Rabbit in the film
"WHO SHOT ROGER RABBIT?" This is sort of a trick question,
because there are TWO voices. Kathleen Turner provided the
speaking voice, and Amy Irving did the singing.
2) What are all of the "cute" gimmicks in the film "BACK TO THE
FUTURE?" Apparently, the makers of this film (Stephen Speilberg
& Robert Zemeckis) did all kinds of cute things, playing with the
names of some of the characters and with issues of time travel.
Some of these are:
a) The mall where Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) meets Dr. Brown
(Christopher Lloyd) for their time travel experiment is called the
Twin Pines Mall. Dr. Brown comments that ol' farmer Peabody used
to own all of the land, and he grew pines there. When Marty goes
back in time, he runs over and knocks down a pine tree. When he
comes back to the mall at the end of the film (Back to the Future)
the sign at the mall now identifies the mall as the Lone Pine Mall,
reflecting the fact that Marty had changed the present (1985) by
his trip to the past (1955).
b) Farmer Peabody's son is named Sherman. Sherman was the name of
the little boy time traveler in one segment of Jay Ward's cartoon
show, "The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show." The dog who owned his time
machine was named (suprise) Mr. Peabody.
3) Is the movie "HEAVY METAL" available on video cassette?
No, it isn't. Apparently, royalty fee squables have prevented
domestic release. It has, however, appeared on cable.
4) How can I get an address &/or a phone number for (some famous
star)?
You _can't_ get phone numbers. But you can get contact addresses
(usually an agent or publicist), by calling the Screen Artist's
Guild at 213-465-4600. They will give you a phone number &/or
address for the agent. The agent can provide you an address to
write and may send pictures on request or provide the publicist's
addresses.
PART Two: Frequent Topics and other things I just thought you might
like to know. First a few general notes... The readership of
rec.arts.movies is in the whole very knowledgeable about a wide
range of movies. However, it is my informal assessment that
science fiction and fantasy movies are discussed and analyzed far
beyond their popularity in most of the rest of the world. This is
neither good nor bad, and the reason for it seems fairly obvious
to me. The readership of this group reflects the broader
readership of USENET. This latter population is top heavy with
computer scientists and other forms of science scholars. There is
a correlation (tho' not necessarily a causal relationship) between
being in one of these professions, and an interest in science
fiction and fantasy. OK, enough of that. Now, here are some
things which come up often, and, while you are free to discuss
them, you should be forewarned that some long-time readers may get
fairly fed-up with you.
PART THREE: Frequently discussed topics:
1) WHY DID THEY ADD THE VOICE-OVERS IN THE MOVIE "BLADERUNNER?"
Some people have contended that the initial plan in this movie was
to have the plot proceed without any explanation. However,
test/preview audiences found it hard to understand (or, the makers
of the film THOUGHT audiences would find it hard to understand).
So, they added the voice-overs. I would say that the general
consensus among the net is that they don't like the voice-overs,
although occasionally a dissenting voice is heard from the woods.
2) DECKARD IS REALLY A REPLICANT? This is the classic
"over-discussed" topic. Some people say that there are clues in
the film (still BladeRunner) that Deckard is not human. What are
they? I don't care? I don't think it is true. You can ask if you
want...
3) COLORIZING -- Various legal and moral issues. As most of you
probably know, Ted Turner and a bunch of other satanists (at least
in this context -- please note the editorial content here) have
taken to inflicting a sin upon man -- the "colorizing" of old black
and white films. I put colorizing in quotes, because I think it
is questionable whether you can really call it color. Anyway,
there is, every so often, a discussion of some aspect of this.
There are a whole host of legal and moral/ethical issues involved
here. Suprisingly (to me) there really seems to be a fair mix of
opinion on this issue.
4) PRODUCT PLACEMENTS IN MOVIES. In many films, the film company
will get paid by some companies to use their products. Some
readers object to this as a fairly manipulative and distracting
presence. Others do not object, commenting that people really do
use name-brand products, so using them in films makes sense.
Other information: There are several lists revloving around film
that are kept by netters. These frequently come up. The most
frequently mentioned list is called, simply "The List." It is
maintained by << could someone send me the e-mail address of this
person >>, and is a long list of female actors and the films they
have been in. This list has been described as "Actresses I'd most
like to pork." although the list's supporters call it " << once
again, I am trying to be unbiased, so could the list's originator
or someone please send me a nice quote for here >>.
Also, I think that male actors have recently been added.
A second major project is a list of votes/ratings of a plethora of
movies. This list is maintained by Chuck Musciano, (), and it is
posted regularly, with a chance for people to vote.
Evelyn Leeper (e...@mtgzy.att.com) provides several valuable
services for the r.a.m readers (aside from her many postings),
including maintaining these lists:
-- Academy Award Nominations & Winners from 1987 on
-- Hollywood Vocabulary (such terms as chopsocky, bowed,
helmed, etc.)
-- Information on what all those people listed in film
credits do (e.g. key grip, gaffer...).
Evelyn is also the moderator of the group rec.arts.movies.reviews,
which is a collection of movie reviews written by USENET-ers. This
group is archived. << EVELYN-- How is this archive accessed? >>
Lastly, there are a series of movie trivia contests. Some of these
even offer prizes! Some of the more frequent ones are run by Oz,
Lee, & Dweeb. The initial contest postings generally include
information on how to enter. The important point is that you
should never post answers, but should send them e-mail.
--
Steve Scher Program in Measurement and Affect 744 Ballantine Hall
Indiana University Bloomington, In. 47405
sounds like something from willy wonka
Steve Mosher
Sun Microsystems smo...@big-bass.MFG.East.Sun.COM
It seemed to start as a list of actreses with nice eyes. For a while,
the subject line was "Those Eyes". Later, it was something like "THE
LIST (was Those Eyes revisited...)". And, eventually, just "THE LIST".
It now functions, in part, as a sort of trivia quiz: can you think
of a missing entry?
It also allows various people who think it's silly (or worse) to
feel politically and morally superior.
I missed the original question, but from the context I assume someone the
other side of the pond wants to know what "gazump" means. It's something
that happens under the English system of house purchase; unlike Scotland
(and the US?), an offer to buy and an acceptance of an offer are not
legally binding on either party. It often happens there that a buyer thinks
they've got a deal, then the seller reneges on the agreement and takes a
higher bid from somebody else. The seller is "gazumping" the buyer.
[ No promises on the legal accuracy of this. I'm not a lawyer and have
only bought a property once, in Scotland. ]
--
-- Jack Campin Computing Science Department, Glasgow University, 17 Lilybank
Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland 041 339 8855 x6044 work 041 556 1878 home
JANET: ja...@cs.glasgow.ac.uk BANG!net: via mcvax and ukc FAX: 041 330 4913
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>It also allows various people who think it's silly (or worse) to
>feel politically and morally superior.
Naaaah, it just keeps my "kill" file busy. ;-)
Seriously, I'm glad to see this FAQL is going to be posted monthly. There
have been times where I've been tempted to post a question that I KNOW has
been asked, but didn't because I don't want to be flamed. This monthly
posting SHOULD cut down on the incindiery responses quite nicely... ;-)
I love to leap to leap to leap... Oh boy!
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