In the movie Singin’ in the Rain, a new way of making movies is shown. The lives
of black and white, silent movie actors such as Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont
are changed due to this advance in technology. The movie shows a lot of behind
the scenes information about actors and the movie business. A lot of things
that were happening behind the scenes back in 1952 in this movie are things
that are still going on today. Even
though Singin’ in the Rain is an
older movie it is still relevant to this day. Actors don’t always tell the
truth, people in charge are always looking to make money for themselves and
keep their company ahead of the game, and movies use special effects to make their
movie better.
In Singin’ in the Rain we see that the actors aren’t always telling the
truth. They make up things in order to keep fans coming in and to make their image
look the best in can. In the very beginning of the movie when Don and Lina are
walking the red carpet we see how Don doesn’t tell the truth about how he and
Lina met and their lives together. Don says that they hit it off instantly and
leads the fans to believe that they are a couple in real life when really we
see that this is not true. In the flashback of how Don and Lina really met we
see how the two stories are very different. Today in Hollywood the same thing
happens. Actors have publicists that make sure their image is always positive
and upright. They tell the public enhanced stories of themselves to look better
than they really are.
In today’s world, the people in
charge of production are always looking for ways to make money. They have big
premiers and release dates trying to make their project as successful as
possible and this is what R.F. Simpson in Singin’
in the Rain does also. He is always worried about doing new and different
things because he doesn’t want the fans to react the wrong way. When Lina
Lamont tells R.F. Simpson that she will sue if he doesn’t oblige by her he does
what it takes to keep her happy so he doesn’t lose any money. R.F. Simpson is very concerned with his
company’s image and how people will react to his movies.
In Singin’ in the Rain we see the use of different special effects and
behind the scenes work that they used in their movies to make them the best.
They realized that they could record Kathy’s voice to play over Lina’s voice in
the actual movie. This is a very big deal because it takes a lot of work to
make the voice and the movement of the mouth match up perfectly in the theater.
We see special effects like this all the time in movies today. In 1952 when
this movie was made these effects were a big deal and they still are today.
Even though the movie Singin’ in the Rain was made in 1952, we
see how it has a lot of similarities with Hollywood today. It shows the different
things that actors, producers, and special effects workers do to make movies
great and present the best image possible to the fans.
I agree with you, this film done an amazing job of showing just what goes on behind the scenes on film sets today. The relationship between Don and Lina was definitely a complicated one. The public were completely fooled and caught up in what they thought to be an incredible love story, and many times this situation is something we see in the media today. Many times when actors are making films together it is easy for them to be portrayed as having romantic relationships off set as well, and many times the buzz surrounding those relationships ends up drawing more attention to the films they are making, which is beneficial to everyone.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that many people in the film industry are constantly money hungry, and eager for more fame and success. Like Simpson, producers and directors today go to great lengths to ensure their movies success. They want the best actors to play in their roles, and they want the best representation for their films and even if it was went about in the wrong way at first, these are the things Simpson wanted as well.
I think this movie done an amazing job of showing how film has progressed over the years. We see the actors in the film go from beong silent film actors to making their first talkie which is a huge first step in what we know as film today. I also agree that the use of special effects and how much they had progresses was greatly shown in this movie. Voice overs are something very common in film today, but at this point in time when the film was made it was an amazing milestone.
This film is an amazing portrayal of how film was similar then to how it is now, as well as showing how far film has came over the last 70 years.
-CS
I completely agreed with everything that this post encompassed. One of the biggest focus points in the story is the relationship between Don and Lina. Through their relationship we are given the “behind the scenes” perspective that many times we are not given the opportunity to see. This is an interesting perspective to portray in a movie- especially during that era. It also makes us as a viewer think about all of the current relationships that we see in the media, and how factual they can really be. Many times we want to buy into that fairy tale love story, and we want to watch on screen how the actors fell in love.
ReplyDeleteThis ties into the thought of creating a type of story that will draw in a larger crowd of movie goers. We see many different publicity stunts now that makes us as an audience interested and intrigued about what a full movie will encompass. From love stories to ex’s playing counter parts, publicists will stop at no length to ensure a large profit. We see this portrayed in Singin’ in the Rain once again through the relationship of Don and Lina. They create a fictional relationship in order to gain the attention of movie goers who are all willing to buy into the type of fairytale that doesn’t happen to just regular people- but rather only to the movie stars.
I really enjoyed how relevant this movie is to the things that we still see in show business today. Singin’ in the Rain was pivotal movie for its time taking black and white, silent films to a colored talkie film. However it was also pivotal in the sense that it deals with very real, behind the scenes issues almost as if it were putting Hollywood on display for everyone to see. Singin’ in the Rain is a fantastic, lighthearted movie, that can still be related to today.
-Paola Ogadzhanova
I agree with your thoughts exactly picture making money strategies are no different then than they are in this day and age. It is true that basically the only thing that has changed in Hollywood from the 20s to now is the technology. But the ways of making money has not. Granted some of the actors and stars really are dating each other in real life. Which also happens to help producers get their monies worth on television shows and movies in publicity. But a lot of the time you see that they do it to help promote their projects. And actors of course fluff up their lives to their fans a bit to keep their fans and gain more fans. It makes sense though, not just for the producers, it’s just like back then if actors weren’t well liked by the fans. Then why continuously cast them in films and television shows. So it’s a 50/50 thought process for both management and actors. For the actors make yourself likable and you’ll have your bills paid. For the management, have actors who are liked and have your bills paid and possibly more. I like that you pointed that out and how it applies to today’s picture making world. The fact that even television shows and movies that go behind the scenes to show how Hollywood really works. Showing that these things are still going on today. But alas, that is the way of the business, always trying to make more money.
ReplyDelete