Our hearts go out to everyone in Japan and everyone affected by the residual tsunamis. The headlines and on-line videos have been heartbreaking and horrifying. And then I went to one of those Hollywood industry sites. Their big story was that production on HAWAII 5-0 did not have to shut down. They had no shots near the shore so they were able to continue filming as planned.
All I can say is "WHEW!!!"
That was a close one. I'm sure, like me, your first thought on hearing of a possible Hawaii tsunami was is this going to set HAWAII 5-0 back a day or two? Thank God, thank GOD, that didn't occur. That would have been a... well, a disaster.
That reminds me of the time there was an assassination attempt on President Reagan. The headline in one of the trade papers the next day was...
OSCARS POSTPONED
and then, in much smaller letters...
PRESIDENT REAGAN SHOT
I recall this same thing happening with LOST the last time there was a tsunami warning.
ReplyDeleteOne of the links on ABC News' home page today: "Stars Tweet for Japan Quake Victims - Charlie Sheen, Diddy & others ..."
ReplyDeleteYup, I was just hoping for Paris Hilton's deep thoughts on it.
And Ken, you know the 1940s era show biz joke - some people wouldn't have known about World War II if it hadn't been mentioned in Variety.
The KTLA reporter, brightly positioned on the sand, seemed to feel that all would be ok because Biggest Loser was still filming down the beach.
ReplyDeleteKen... It's affected not effected. And you're a writer!
ReplyDeleteThen there's the Lampoon's fake newspaper front page from the 80s: NUCLEAR WAR!! Michael Jackson, 80 million others die.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to actually defend this one a bit. There is plenty of hard news coverage of the day's events all over the web as well as on television. I wouldn't go to industry trade sites looking for that kind of coverage and it seems correct to me that they would focus on how the events impacted film and television productions.
ReplyDeleteTo give another example, I follow a couple sites that are primarily devoted to news and information related to the Disney theme parks. All day today, they have been very focused on gathering and reporting information about the status of Tokyo Disneyland. The impact was pretty minor (some water damage and guests stranded due to lack of transportation), but it is the angle of the story that fits the mission of those sites. It isn't unreasonable to expect that visitors to those sites would be looking for that kind of information.
Along the same lines, I think it is reasonable to expect that someone checking the industry trade sites today might very well be trying to find out how it impacted production of "Hawaii 5-0" or other TV and film properties shooting in the affected areas.
Andrew...go find something to do.
ReplyDeleteOuch. Kinda makes me glad I was born after 1986.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, you omitted a necessary comma after "affected."
ReplyDeleteKen... It's affected not effected. And you're a writer!
ReplyDeleteRelax, Andrew, and give writers a break. We don't go to your job and criticize every move you make, though maybe we should.
And yes, I know this blog isn't Ken's job, persay. Thank you for so diligently pointing that out.
To give another example, I follow a couple sites that are primarily devoted to news and information related to the Disney theme parks. All day today, they have been very focused on gathering and reporting information about the status of Tokyo Disneyland.
ReplyDeleteMiceAge? MousePlanet? Me too.
JeffG is right - it's all about context. It has nothing to do with not caring.
ReplyDeleteProvincialism is not solely the redundant province of "the industry."
ReplyDeleteMy National Lampoon reference goes way back to their Sunday newspaper parody. The lead story on the front page of the Dacron Republican-Democrat is headlined "LOCAL COUPLE MISSING." Then in a smaller head "Japan Destroyed by Earthquake."
Philip, rather than the importance given to 2 different stories, I'm more upset that the newspaper said Japan was 'destroyed.' Even decimated would be wrong here.
ReplyDeletecondolence to all the tsunami's victims.. Let us all pray for our safety.
ReplyDeleteI was watching a live shot this morning [last night? yesterday? I'm confused!] of a Hawaii newscast of the shoreline when the tsunami that hit them wasn't as big as it was feared to be. The indignation of the newscaster floored me, his response was "We had to have sirens going off every hour on the hour for this? Someone at the Tsunami Warning Center is going to have some explaining to do!" I guess he wouldn't have been satisfied unless it would have washed the Hawaiian Islands all the way to San Diego bay. All I could think of is "What a maroon!"
ReplyDeleteAndrew said "Ken... It's affected not effected. And you're a writer!"
ReplyDeleteCome on man, do you even read this blog? What's next, voting on jokes?
Rory, Chris, Debby, my favorite quote about this is from a Boston Bruins goalie back in the 40's. "How would you like it if every time you made a mistake at work, a red light would go off, and 20,000 people would boo you?" (And since then, they've added a ship's horn, too)
ReplyDeleteI like that, benson, although I would hate to have a horn go off in my ear whenever I miss a comma.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: The newspaper Phillip B cited is a fictional one -- it's the National Lampoon parody he mentions before that. I think it originally appeared in 1978, and so of course has nothing to do with the current story.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with JeffG on the context issue. Niche sites will cover a story from the angle that fits their niche. Variety is not the NY Times, so no one in their right mind is going to go there first for up-to-the-minute details of the big story. But if you or family members are involved in the production of HAWAII 5-0, you'll go there for an angle you're probably not going to get on CNN.
The joke newspaper people are talking about is actually 1984's "The Post New York Post," which was one of those stand-alone parodies that popped up at the newsstands in the late 1970s to mid-1980s. And the main headline, in red ink, was "KABOOM!" The Michael Jackson line was the subhead.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't a Lampoon production, but it came out of that whole incestuous New York print comedy circle, so it may as well have been.
As for Variety's treatment of the Oscars and Reagan, just be glad they didn't call for reshoots.
Phillip B., that Sunday newspaper parody has been running through my head for days. I think the headline was actually "LOCAL COUPLE'S VACATION PLANS CANCELLED," subhead: "Japan Destroyed by Earthquake." Could have been straight off the front page of the paper where I was working at the time.
ReplyDelete