The movie industry is such a big part of our lives that it’s easy to take it for granted. Some of the most interesting aspects of our perception of this industry can be seen in the way that certain myths have grown over the years to become widely accepted.
The Best Movies and Actors Win the Top Awards
Awards ceremonies like the Academy Awards attract millions of viewers, as we all look to predict whether our favorite film, actor, or actress wins a trophy. Yet, since this is a subjective award, we can’t always say the best entrant won. Should Pulp Fiction or The Shawshank Redemption have beaten Forrest Gump in 1995, or was it fair that Shakespeare in Love won in 1995 when Fight Club wasn’t even nominated in the Best Picture Category?
Cary Grant is on this list as possibly the most famous actor to never win an Oscar. Peter O’Toole holds the record for most Best Actor nominations without a win, as he was nominated eight times without success. In the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories, Glenn Close holds the record with eight unsuccessful nominations to date.
A Huge Budget Is Needed to Get Success
We’re so used to hearing about movies eating up huge budgets that it’s easy to think that this is the only way to achieve a great film. While having the money available to hire the best talent is a solid starting point, the history of entertainment is filled with low-budget success stories.
Names like Mad Max, The Blair Witch Project, and Rocky are low-budget success stories. This list of the cheapest movies worth watching includes Eraserhead and Clerks. There’s still room in the industry for low-budget efforts to make money, but it needs to have an amazing story and offer something different that catches the public’s attention.
Everything Needs to be Incredibly Realistic
It’s easy to imagine that directors and scriptwriters put a huge amount of effort into getting all the details right. Yet, the truth is that sometimes they don’t put as much emphasis on accuracy as you might think. Pocahontas and Braveheart are examples that are historically wildly inaccurate. While Gladiator has glaring errors, it’s interesting that the real-life approach of gladiators carrying product placement advertising was left out because the creators felt it wouldn’t look believable to modern audiences.
Film-makers often simplify complex subjects so audiences understand them more easily. The climatic poker game in Casino Royale includes several mistakes in how the game is played, although it’s easy to find the full poker rules online. This guide to Texas Hold’em explains the betting rounds and overall goal of the game, which lets us see how it should have been played. For example, the rules state that River is the fifth and final community card. The movie makes the mistake of having Bond show his cards last despite making the last raise, although this is presumably done for dramatic effect.
These movie myths certainly don’t spoil our enjoyment of our favorite films. However, they’re worth bearing in mind when thinking about how the industry works.