M.Y.O.B. Hollywood

[bnsfkline]

As I was reading the June 1995 issue of Trains (See Below for Topic) I saw how Union Pacific sued MTV, Sony Recoreds and one other company for useing UP DDA40X #6915 in a Music Video that falsey portrayed Engineers. Their defense was that UP was trying to limet Censorship...but UP won because the DDA40X was a symbole of Union Pacific (Thats why they won). This brings up a question.....WHy does hollywood HAVE to mess with they railroads. I admitt there are some good Railroad Movies (End of the Line [1988], Dynamite and Gold [1993]), but others are TERRIBLE. I was thinking to myself...unless hollywood does it right...they should not even be allowed to have a RAILROAD track in any frame of their movie. The only non-railroad movie that I like that has a Train in it is "Blackdog" with Randy Travis, which has a FM at the end. Can anyone tell me why hollywood wants to mess with the railroad...wait I know why, its because "AIRLINES" are "safer" than the rail. I want to go to every hollywood producer and strangle them until they say rail is safer (I am not going to) Anyone who agrees, please add their 2 cents worth.

[JoeKoh]

what do you expect from the land of make believe(hollywood)?
stay safe
Joe

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The "Romance of the Rails" still runs strongly through American popular culture so Hollywood is going to exploit it. To wit, the movie "Benny and Joon". At the opening of the movie, one of the characters arrives in a Western town on a shortline passenger train, probably because it looks better than the reality of an intercity bus and this movie is set in the present time.
Reality is regularly disregarded when it doesn't help the plot line and railroads are not the only victims.

[tree68]

Show me a profession or other area that Hollywood hasn't screwed up and I'll probably be able to point out why you're wrong. As a firefighter I see stuff "done wrong" in that area, too.

Bottom line is: the facts will be stretched until they fit the plot line. If the facts won't fit the plot line, the heck with them. Hollywood will create their own reality.

Or they just won't bother to disguise the facts - witness no end of films set throughout the country that show that nationwide Class 1, the Sierra Railroad, providing service. (No slight of the Sierra intended - they are a great bunch of folks, from what I know of them).

Hollywood isn't the only one - I see all sorts of toys and children's literature set in the US that features overseas prototypes, or depictions of trains or fire trucks that are miles from reality. Makes one wonder if the artist has ever seen the equipment they are drawing...