Hollywood Science
Encyclopedia
Hollywood Science is a general term given to the phenomenon of scientific principles being misinterpreted, ignored or abused by the Hollywood film industry.
The term has given rise to a number of television programmes which endeavour to expose whether phenomena seen in films can be replicated.
TV programme
produced for the BBC
, which attempted to determine whether or not scenes in various film
s were scientifically
credible.
In the show, presenter Robert Llewellyn
, with the assistance of scientist Jonathan Hare
, look at the science behind a scene in a film. They experiment or perform calculations, to see how the scene would work in real life. The scene is then given an accuracy rating.
The approach is similar to that of the Bad Astronomer, who also uses films as a vehicle to teach science.
The presence of Robert Llewellyn means the tone of the show is fairly light-hearted.
The show started in the BBC
's Learning Zone, a section of education programming broadcast in the early morning, meant to be recorded and watched later. It was then given a higher profile programming slot on BBC2
in the early evening. The programme is currently repeated on UKTV Documentary
.
Each of these episodes concentrated on the science of a single film.
Break-Ins
Gross Out
Tricky Situations
Escapes
began broadcasting an hour long series with similar premise to the BBC series.
Classified into episodes with various themes such as Spy Gadgets, Car Chases, Amazing Vehicles and the like, the episodes combine footage from the films and television series they analyze with footage of similar real-life objects and opinions from experts on the subjects covered. The screenwriters, producers and directors (among them James Cameron
, Doug Liman
and Frank Marshall
) also offer their perspective on the realism showcased in their productions.
Unlike the BBC series, however, the shows do not feature specific tests of the scientific principles in the films or television programs, nor are they hosted (just narrated), but rather use the statements of experts as well as real life footage to prove their point. The series is also more serious than its BBC counterpart, but does have its light-hearted moments in the form of witty anecdotes from its guests.
The productions featured in the episodes include Dante's Peak
, various James Bond
films, Enemy of the State, The Conversation
, Minority Report
, I Robot, True Lies
, 10.5, Mr. & Mrs. Smith
and 24
, among many others. Security systems, tracking devices, futuristic vehicles and fictional disasters from these shows are examined.
The series was created and produced by Prometheus Entertainment
and Fox Television Studios
for National Geographic Channel
. The Executive Producer was Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Kevin Burns
.
The term has given rise to a number of television programmes which endeavour to expose whether phenomena seen in films can be replicated.
BBC series (2001–02)
Hollywood Science was an Open UniversityOpen University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
TV programme
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
produced for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, which attempted to determine whether or not scenes in various film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s were scientifically
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
credible.
In the show, presenter Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn is an English actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known as the mechanoid Kryten in the hit sitcom Red Dwarf, and for his role as presenter of Scrapheap Challenge.-Early career:...
, with the assistance of scientist Jonathan Hare
Jonathan Hare
Dr Jonathan Hare is a British physicist and television presenter. He achieved a first from the University of Surrey, and worked with Harry Kroto at the University of Sussex for his PhD....
, look at the science behind a scene in a film. They experiment or perform calculations, to see how the scene would work in real life. The scene is then given an accuracy rating.
The approach is similar to that of the Bad Astronomer, who also uses films as a vehicle to teach science.
The presence of Robert Llewellyn means the tone of the show is fairly light-hearted.
The show started in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Learning Zone, a section of education programming broadcast in the early morning, meant to be recorded and watched later. It was then given a higher profile programming slot on BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in the early evening. The programme is currently repeated on UKTV Documentary
UKTV Documentary
Eden is a digital television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel originally launched on 8 March 2004 and relaunched in it's current format on 26 January 2009...
.
First series
The first series of six ten minute episodes premiered in the Open University's Learning Zone on BBC2 at 12:30 from Thursday 10 May 2001.Each of these episodes concentrated on the science of a single film.
- Shanghai NoonShanghai NoonShanghai Noon is a 2000 American martial arts action comedy western film starring Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. The film, marking the directorial debut of Tom Dey, was written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar....
- Dante's PeakDante's PeakDante's Peak is a 1997 disaster film directed by Roger Donaldson, written by Leslie Bohem, and starring Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton and Charles Hallahan. The film portrays the effect of a volcano erupting near a small town in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The film is loosely...
- Cool Hand LukeCool Hand LukeCool Hand Luke is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Paul Newman. The screenplay was adapted by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson from Pearce's 1965 novel of the same name. The film features George Kennedy, Strother Martin, J.D...
- Ice Cold in AlexIce-Cold in AlexIce-Cold in Alex is a British film based on the novel of the same name by British author Christopher Landon. Directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring John Mills, the film was a prizewinner at the 8th Berlin International Film Festival...
- Die HardDie HardDie Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
- Speed
Second series
The second series consisted of four half-hour episodes.Break-Ins
- The ScoreThe Score (film)The Score is a 2001 crime thriller directed by Frank Oz and starring Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Angela Bassett and Marlon Brando.It was the final film performance for Brando and the only time he and De Niro appeared in a film together The Score is a 2001 crime thriller directed by Frank Oz and...
- If one fills a safe with water, will an explosion produce a more powerful door-busting effect? - Robin Hood: Prince of ThievesRobin Hood: Prince of ThievesRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a 1991 American adventure film directed by Kevin Reynolds. Kevin Costner heads the cast list as Robin Hood...
- Could a mediaeval trebuchetTrebuchetA trebuchet is a siege engine that was employed in the Middle Ages. It is sometimes called a "counterweight trebuchet" or "counterpoise trebuchet" in order to distinguish it from an earlier weapon that has come to be called the "traction trebuchet", the original version with pulling men instead of...
fire Robin Hood and Will Scarlet into a castle, and land them on target? - The Thomas Crown AffairThe Thomas Crown Affair (1999 film)The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1999 American heist film directed by John McTiernan. The film, starring Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo and Denis Leary, is a remake of the 1968 film of the same name....
- Would knocking out the air conditioning cause Infra-RedInfraredInfrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
cameras to become useless?
Gross Out
- WaterworldWaterworldWaterworld is a 1995 post-apocalyptic science fiction film. The film was directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It is based on Rader's original 1986 screenplay and stars Kevin Costner, who also produced it. It was distributed by Universal Pictures...
- Is it possible to sufficiently purify one's own urine to be able to drink it? - Fight ClubFight Club (film)Fight Club is a 1999 American film based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job...
- Can high quality soap be made from liposuction fat? - The Great OutdoorsThe Great Outdoors (1988 film)The Great Outdoors is a 1988 American comedy film starring Dan Aykroyd and John Candy. Annette Bening and Stephanie Faracy co-star. Robert Prosky and Lewis Arquette have supporting roles...
- Could someone eat a 96-ounce steak?
Tricky Situations
- Deep Blue SeaDeep Blue SeaDeep Blue Sea is a 1999 science fiction horror film that stars Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, and Samuel L Jackson. The film was directed by Renny Harlin and was released in the United States on July 28, 1999.- Plot :...
- Is it possible to be surrounded by electricity and water without being electrocuted? - The Last CastleThe Last CastleThe Last Castle is a 2001 American drama film directed by Rod Lurie, starring Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, and Mark Ruffalo.The film portrays a struggle between inmates and the warden of the prison, based on the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth. Eugene Irwin, a highly...
- How far can a water cannon fire a grappling iron? - A View to a KillA View to a KillA View to a Kill is the fourteenth spy film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", the film is the fourth Bond film after The Spy Who Loved...
- Can one survive underwater by breathing the air from a car tyre?
Escapes
- Chain ReactionChain Reaction (film)Chain Reaction is a 1996 American film starring Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz, Brian Cox, Kevin Dunn and Fred Ward. It presents a fictional account of the invention of bubble fusion using sonoluminescence and the attempts by the United States Government to prevent the spreading of this...
- Could a hydrogen gas cylinder move a concrete slab? - Escape from AlcatrazEscape from Alcatraz (film)Escape from Alcatraz is a 1979 American thriller film, directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood. It dramatizes possibly the only successful escape attempt from the maximum security prison on Alcatraz Island. The film co-stars Fred Ward, and also features Patrick McGoohan as the...
- Can one braze together a spoon and some nail clippers using a US dime, and some matches? - Hollow ManHollow ManHollow Man is a 2000 American science fiction thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Elisabeth Shue, Kevin Bacon, and Josh Brolin. The film is about a scientist who renders himself invisible, a story inspired by H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man. The film was nominated for an Academy...
- Would you be able to move a metal bolt using a hand-made electromagnet?
National Geographic series (2006)
In 2006 the National Geographic ChannelNational Geographic Channel (UK)
The National Geographic Channel is a television channel that features documentaries produced by the National Geographic Society. It features some programming similar to that on the Discovery Channel such as nature and science documentaries. The channel was launched in Europe in September 1997 and...
began broadcasting an hour long series with similar premise to the BBC series.
Classified into episodes with various themes such as Spy Gadgets, Car Chases, Amazing Vehicles and the like, the episodes combine footage from the films and television series they analyze with footage of similar real-life objects and opinions from experts on the subjects covered. The screenwriters, producers and directors (among them James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, Doug Liman
Doug Liman
Douglas Eric "Doug" Liman is an American film director and producer best known for Swingers , The Bourne Identity , Mr. & Mrs. Smith , Jumper , and Fair Game .-Early life:...
and Frank Marshall
Frank Marshall (movie producer)
Frank Wilton Marshall is an American film producer and director. Often working in collaboration with his wife, Kathleen Kennedy. With Kennedy and Steven Spielberg, he was one of the founders of Amblin Entertainment...
) also offer their perspective on the realism showcased in their productions.
Unlike the BBC series, however, the shows do not feature specific tests of the scientific principles in the films or television programs, nor are they hosted (just narrated), but rather use the statements of experts as well as real life footage to prove their point. The series is also more serious than its BBC counterpart, but does have its light-hearted moments in the form of witty anecdotes from its guests.
The productions featured in the episodes include Dante's Peak
Dante's Peak
Dante's Peak is a 1997 disaster film directed by Roger Donaldson, written by Leslie Bohem, and starring Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton and Charles Hallahan. The film portrays the effect of a volcano erupting near a small town in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The film is loosely...
, various James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films, Enemy of the State, The Conversation
The Conversation
The Conversation is a 1974 American psychological thriller film written, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman...
, Minority Report
Minority Report (film)
Minority Report is a 2002 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C...
, I Robot, True Lies
True Lies
True Lies is a 1994 American action-comedy film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Charlton Heston, and Art Malik. Eliza Dushku also appears in the film in one of her first major film roles...
, 10.5, Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005 film)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a 2005 American romantic comedy action film directed by Doug Liman and written by Simon Kinberg. The original music score was composed by John Powell...
and 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
, among many others. Security systems, tracking devices, futuristic vehicles and fictional disasters from these shows are examined.
The series was created and produced by Prometheus Entertainment
Prometheus Entertainment
Prometheus Entertainment is an American production company, created by Kevin Burns in 1999, specializing in documentary, reality, and non-fiction television programming and specials.-Series:* Ancient Aliens, 2010* Bridget's Sexiest Beaches...
and Fox Television Studios
Fox Television Studios
Fox Television Studios, Inc. is the TV production arm of the News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group, as well as being the production arm of Fox and a production arm of 20th Century Fox Television, Inc., itself a division of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation...
for National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
. The Executive Producer was Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Kevin Burns
Kevin Burns
Kevin Burns is an American television and film producer, director, and screenwriter. His work can be seen on A&E, National Geographic Channel, E!, Animal Planet, AMC, Bravo, Travel Channel, Lifetime, and The History Channel.-Early life:...
.
See also
- MythBustersMythBustersMythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
, a show from the USA, in which urban legends are scientifically tested.
External links
- BBC series website
- Robert Llewellyn's Hollywood Science
- The Bad Astronomer
- Jonathan Hare's Creative Science Center
- Jonathan Hare's work with the Vega Science Trust Freeview Science Programmes.
- Hollywood Science at National Geographic Channel's website
- "The Role of Scientific Integrity in Cinematic Science", David A. Kirby, Berfrois, 14 June 2011