IMRICKJAMES

How come when film makers are being interviewed on TV or doing commentary about a film on the DVD whenever they talk about scenes where they only had one shot or had to get it right on this take they never mess up?

You'd think even though I'm talking about the best of the best they would mess up every now and then. For once Id like to hear something like "Well, we spent 10 million dollars on pyrotechnics, 15 million dollars on CGI special effects and 20 million dollars for Tom Hanks to be in the movie but then he sneezed and ruined everything!"

FinkPish

That did happen on Saving Private Ryan; I think it was Ed Burns who says he completely messed up the shot where Tom Sizemore tosses him a grenade to throw into a bunker at the beginning of the movie, and he dropped it, so they had to reset hundreds of squibs and bullet hits to redo it.

Edit: I might suggest changing your thread title to something a bit more descriptive.

CKMorpheus

As a film student, I can tell you assuredly the reason most films go off without a hitch for the majority of the time, is planning. Keep in mind people don't just say, let's make a movie! They say that, then could spend about half a year in pre-production, or even longer, rehearsing, rewriting, planning big stunts, etc. Big stunts are planned for weeks/months in advanced, even on the day of the shoot. The reason most professional filmmakers don't fuck up is because they've been doing this for years and know the business. You want to see examples of good planning on a set? Check out Peter Jacksons King Kong 2 disc documentary set. You wanna see poor planning and directing, see any Project Greenlight series.

kitkat

When something really does go very wrong they don't put it in the movie. That's why you always hear them talking about the ones that went right - those shots are in the movie.

devilshalo

Look at the outtakes on the Lethal Weapon 4 dvd. The scene with the car exiting the window. It clearly clips the stuntman that didn't get out of the way in time. Donner is one that has multiple cameras shooting coverage at the same time, but I'm sure they had to film the scene again because the finished cut, the window-washers (stuntmen are already out of the way when the car exits the window.

devilshalo

Oh.. as for major fuck ups.. I would listen to the full JAWS documentary with Spielberg.

PopcornTreeCt

I remember listening to the Fight Club commentary and the part where Brad Pitt throws Ed Norton down the stairs, Fincher said the stunt man fell down those stairs like 10 times and he said they ended up using the first take.

IMRICKJAMES

I know, but it would still be funny to hear about the huge mistakes more often

mdc3000

Planning is a big issue...I know when I was shooting my student films, it all came down to planning and contingency plans...but sometimes onset incidents do occur... like you DOP accidentally sets the camera to 14FPS while on a location shoot, you shoot 2 rolls of 16mm, pack up all the shit and actors, are about to pull away and he says "Oh shit... I MIGHT have shot this at the wrong speed" So you have to do it all again adding more $$$ to the budget.

Of course, on hollywood flicks, if a lot of money is at stake in the shot, they rehearse and check everything... a luxury I wasn't really afforded on my student productions (which are available to watch online at www.killernewt.com) Anyhow, live and learn

MATT

Jay G.

Right before the Oscars I saw a TV interview with Mimi Leder where she talked about a stunt in the Peacemaker that went wrong. A car was supposed to crash completely through the top of another car, but got stuck on top of the other car when the stunt was shot. However, due to the coverage that was shot and careful editing, she was able to make it look like the stunt was successful.