The Grand Questions and Answers Thread

[4RM3D]

You know, sometimes you have a question on your mind and you really don't know who to ask or where to look for an answer. Now I've made a thread where you can ask your question(s); anything that is bothering you. And together we can pretty much answer everything, I hope.

I'll start with a question I have been wondering for some time... When you see the credits (usually at the beginning) of a movie or series you'll see something like: starring: Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage, etc, etc. And sometimes one or two of the actors also have their character's name mentioned, e.g. Sean Connery as James Bond. I never could figure out why some actors have only their name listed, while others also have the character they are playing. It seems random to me.

Oh yes, you probably can't find a question more trivial than this. I dare you!

Anyhow, anyone knows? Is there a logic behind sometimes (not) mentioning the character name?

 

[Amethyst Wind]

You know, sometimes you have a question on your mind and you really don't know who to ask or where to look for an answer. Now I've made a thread where you can ask your question(s); anything that is bothering you. And together we can pretty much answer everything, I hope.

I'll start with a question I have been wondering for some time... When you see the credits (usually at the beginning) of a movie or series you'll see something like: starring: Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage, etc, etc. And sometimes one or two of the actors also have their character's name mentioned, e.g. Sean Connery as James Bond. I never could figure out why some actors have only their name listed, while others also have the character they are playing. It seems random to me.

Oh yes, you probably can't find a question more trivial than this. I dare you!

Anyhow, anyone knows? Is there a logic behind sometimes (not) mentioning the character name?

They ask. Also I would guess it would be because the stars are often Executive Producers too.

 

[4RM3D]

They ask. Also I would guess it would be because the stars are often Executive Producers too.

Would it be so simple as 'they asked for it'? That begets another question: why do they ask? Or more specifically: why do they care?

 

[tilmoph]

At a guess, either the actor asks because they think the role will be big for them and want to be associated with that character to help with landing future gigs. Alternatively, the studio might think it's appropriate to have the main character and actor portraying them named in the credits, which would be more of a stylistic thing (I know older 50's television always did things that way, so it might be a classic throwback kind of deal).

 

[bojac6]

There's a lot of tradition in opening credits for movies, and they have changed over time. For instance, "And Introducing" used to be more popular than it is today. I'm using actor as gender neutral here.

In short, though, it works like this. The lead actor of the film is credited first. If he's a big star, he might get his name before the title. If he's not so big, he'll go first after the title. The next biggest name in the movie will be the last actor credited, typically with an "And Actor as Character" credit. This slot is usually a place of honor for an older or more established actor in a supporting role. Sometimes, in the middle, a "With" credit is used, which is for more famous actors who have only a small part in the movie (you'll often see Bruce Campbell there in Raimi films).

There are exceptions. For instance, "Sean Connery as James Bond". There are several reasons for this. In this case, it's because the character is a big draw to the movie as well. Usually, though, you'll only see it with an "And" credit at the end of the actor portion of the opening credits. In other cases, a big actor or role will go uncredited in the opening sequence, usually because their part is a secret (like the movie "Seven").

This is changing, of course. Nolan likes to put the opening credit sequence at the end of his films, starting with the title, regardless of who is in it.

But everyone else is essentially right. The actors negotiate credit with the producers and the director. Sometimes the deal will be that Lead A gets top credit in the trailers, but Lead B gets top credit in the movie. Sometimes, the producers insist on a change. I know for "Miami Vice," they swapped Jamie Foxx to top billing because he had just won an Oscar.

 

[Frezzato]

This might answer some questions for you:

Billing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billing_(filmmaking)]. It's likely that Sean Connery got to be such a star that he eventually got his own special conditions when it came to movie credits.

My own question:
I've already searched for these symbols years ago, but maybe somebody here will know what they are.

Decades ago I was in a building in Boston and noticed some rectangles that had been wired to the cage of a non-functional elevator, one on each landing. They're steel and were so old and covered in soot that I had to scrub them clean with sandpaper and steel wool . This is what I found underneath all of the aged filth (sorry about image quality):

Spoiler: Mystery Steel Squares

[/spoiler]

The one on the left is an 'X' with two dots next to it. The other is four dots. They were punched so hard into the steel that there are clear impressions on the back sides. Unfortunately there's no correlation between which floor I found them on and the number of dots. It was just a 3-story building.

 

[4RM3D]

*snip*

Billing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billing_(filmmaking)]

That explains a lot. Well, that's one mystery solved.

 

[DanielBrown]

Something I've been pondering on today is if there's any game that has a skill system like the first Grandia game.
I haven't played it in probably ten years, but as I recall you gained skills by leveling up weapon types and magics. Like if you had level 3 whip and level 2 fire you got the Fire whip spell.

Tried a Google search, but only came up with one thread where one replier said no. Feels like there has to be some RPG out there with a simular system.

 

[EvilRoy]

This might answer some questions for you:

Billing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billing_(filmmaking)]. It's likely that Sean Connery got to be such a star that he eventually got his own special conditions when it came to movie credits.

My own question:
I've already searched for these symbols years ago, but maybe somebody here will know what they are.

Decades ago I was in a building in Boston and noticed some rectangles that had been wired to the cage of a non-functional elevator, one on each landing. They're steel and were so old and covered in soot that I had to scrub them clean with sandpaper and steel wool . This is what I found underneath all of the aged filth (sorry about image quality):

Spoiler: Mystery Steel Squares

[/spoiler]

The one on the left is an 'X' with two dots next to it. The other is four dots. They were punched so hard into the steel that there are clear impressions on the back sides. Unfortunately there's no correlation between which floor I found them on and the number of dots. It was just a 3-story building.[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately I can only give you a guess, but here goes. Something I've found out working with contractors/maintenance guys as part of my job is that a few of them keep odd little symbols or coupons (little chunks of metal) to denote what is/is not being serviced, how many times it had been serviced or what in particular was being done to it. So its possible that what you are seeing there is a record of how many times something related either to the elevator door or something else on that landing had been serviced. Like every time work is done, the guy pulls out his punch and hammer and smacks another hole in the coupon.

The more I think on it the more I question it though. What the guys I met used it for was to keep track of things like 'did Barry remember to check for water yesterday, well there are four punches and today is the sixth day so he forgot'. I'm not sure how that would apply to complex maintenance like elevator inspections.

 

[Frezzato]

Unfortunately I can only give you a guess, but here goes. Something I've found out working with contractors/maintenance guys as part of my job is that a few of them keep odd little symbols or coupons (little chunks of metal) to denote what is/is not being serviced, how many times it had been serviced or what in particular was being done to it. So its possible that what you are seeing there is a record of how many times something related either to the elevator door or something else on that landing had been serviced. Like every time work is done, the guy pulls out his punch and hammer and smacks another hole in the coupon.

The more I think on it the more I question it though. What the guys I met used it for was to keep track of things like 'did Barry remember to check for water yesterday, well there are four punches and today is the sixth day so he forgot'. I'm not sure how that would apply to complex maintenance like elevator inspections.

Thanks for the lead. This makes much more sense than some of the other theories I had received in the past (hint: witchcraft).

 

[shrekfan246]

I can give you the answer, but you won't like it.

The answer... is...

42.

[sub][sub]Seriously, how has that not come up yet?[/sub][/sub]

More OT, I have to wonder why outside of niche sections, things such as books, comics, graphic novels, or sometimes even games never get talked about in widespread terms until there's a film adaptation of some sort. If you'd told me A Game of Thrones was originally published in 1996, I wouldn't have believed you.

 

[Morsomk_v1legacy]

Where is the manga forum section on the escapist?

Nah, nah, I'm joking(though it would be nice). My question is, why does the Norse Mythology not get as much attention as lets say the Greek Mythology gets. Actually, why don't other Mythology get as much attention as the Greek mythology when it comes to popularity in media.
I honestly think we get shitload more stuff that has connection to do with Greek Mythology then any other Mythology that is out there. When was the last time we got a game that had a world that had mostly Norse Mythology in it? Or something that was focused on the time period when those mythology were a huge part of society?

I might just be me, but goddammit does it feel like the Greek time period and mythology is hogging most of the attention from creators.

Edit: Ohh yeah, I know that Thor from Marvel is from Norse Mythology and all that jazz, but other then him it barely feels like there anything else.

 

[DoPo]

Actually, why don't other Mythology get as much attention as the Greek mythology when it comes to popularity in media.

Quite a lot of Greek influence in all of Europe's culture. That's 'bout it, I guess - we have Greek influencing the language, the alphabet, the science etc. As for why it came to be...dunno - not a historian but I can make a guess - Greece used to be smart - Aristotle and the like dwelt there, so that's some of the science. Then there was the Roman empire which ripped off some of the aspects of Greece, for example, it copy/pasted the mythology. And the empire was kind of a big thing, too. But it wasn't only them - the Slavs also had their fair share of borrowing deities from their neighbours - not sure to what extent but it's there - Dionysus was directly taken, as far as I recall, and then there is the main god, Perun, who is in charge of lightning[footnote]heh, heh, "in charge"[/footnote]. Finally, there is the fact that when Christianity started to spread in...dunno 3rd-5th century or whenever it was (sorry, not big on history here), it was only available in three languages, Greek was one of these. So Greece was a big player at that point again. Europe has just had a lot of exposure and thus influence from Greece, I suppose. Not as much from the Norse.

 

[Morsomk_v1legacy]

Actually, why don't other Mythology get as much attention as the Greek mythology when it comes to popularity in media.

Quite a lot of Greek influence in all of Europe's culture. That's 'bout it, I guess - we have Greek influencing the language, the alphabet, the science etc. As for why it came to be...dunno - not a historian but I can make a guess - Greece used to be smart - Aristotle and the like dwelt there, so that's some of the science. Then there was the Roman empire which ripped off some of the aspects of Greece, for example, it copy/pasted the mythology. And the empire was kind of a big thing, too. But it wasn't only them - the Slavs also had their fair share of borrowing deities from their neighbours - not sure to what extent but it's there - Dionysus was directly taken, as far as I recall, and then there is the main god, Perun, who is in charge of lightning[footnote]heh, heh, "in charge"[/footnote]. Finally, there is the fact that when Christianity started to spread in...dunno 3rd-5th century or whenever it was (sorry, not big on history here), it was only available in three languages, Greek was one of these. So Greece was a big player at that point again. Europe has just had a lot of exposure and thus influence from Greece, I suppose. Not as much from the Norse.

Well yeah I suppose, but I still was sort of expecting a sort of definitive answer for my question. Too bad, I guess this is one of those question where I shouldn't be expecting a good and fact proven answer, thanks for answer though.

 

[Marik2]

Where is the manga forum section on the escapist?

Nah, nah, I'm joking(though it would be nice). My question is, why does the Norse Mythology not get as much attention as lets say the Greek Mythology gets. Actually, why don't other Mythology get as much attention as the Greek mythology when it comes to popularity in media.
I honestly think we get shitload more stuff that has connection to do with Greek Mythology then any other Mythology that is out there. When was the last time we got a game that had a world that had mostly Norse Mythology in it? Or something that was focused on the time period when those mythology were a huge part of society?

I might just be me, but goddammit does it feel like the Greek time period and mythology is hogging most of the attention from creators.

Edit: Ohh yeah, I know that Thor from Marvel is from Norse Mythology and all that jazz, but other then him it barely feels like there anything else.

Guess it's just easier since everyone is mostly familiar with it and people don't want to make research into different mythologies

Shame since I can see lots of mythologies and cultures working in a RPG

Oh and Odin Sphere does the Norse Mythos as a background but not really sure how much lore it uses

 

[Shadow flame master]

Can someone please help me understand this whole DRM thing? For the past year, I've heard not one definition of it besides that it sucks (and EA and Microsoft suck because of it).

Maybe it's because I usually feel neutral to pretty much every debate or controversy that pops up on the internet (it could also be that I'm tired of feeling that I have to pick a side when I don't even know what the hell is going on and why I should care, that and that there's always some sort of controversy on the internet). Seeing as Microsoft has now apparently disabled DRM from the Xbox One, this place like many others will be filled with nothing but posts about why Microsoft still doesn't deserve it's customers, is still shit, is now better than PS4, etc., I feel like I should finally come out of my hiding hole for a bit to get an honest answer to a questions before all the shit starts flying again about DRM.

So, what is DRM? Why is it bad? Can something good come from it? How does it apply to me? Am I a shit-tacularly shit filled gamer because I haven't given a damn about this whole situation?

 

[shrekfan246]

Can someone please help me understand this whole DRM thing? For the past year, I've heard not one definition of it besides that it sucks (and EA and Microsoft suck because of it).

Maybe it's because I usually feel neutral to pretty much every debate or controversy that pops up on the internet (it could also be that I'm tired of feeling that I have to pick a side when I don't even know what the hell is going on and why I should care, that and that there's always some sort of controversy on the internet). Seeing as Microsoft has now apparently disabled DRM from the Xbox One, this place like many others will be filled with nothing but posts about why Microsoft still doesn't deserve it's customers, is still shit, is now better than PS4, etc., I feel like I should finally come out of my hiding hole for a bit to get an honest answer to a questions before all the shit starts flying again about DRM.

So, what is DRM? Why is it bad? Can something good come from it? How does it apply to me? Am I a shit-tacularly shit filled gamer because I haven't given a damn about this whole situation?

Digital Rights Management.

Ideally, it's supposed to be used to protect premium content that people create from being downloaded without permission. Unfortunately, a by-product of that is often to the (sometimes extreme) detriment of legitimate customers.

If you've used Steam or Origin on a PC, those are DRM. If you've ever had to enter a passcode to unlock some function of gameplay, or even install a game, that's DRM. It also gets into more extreme and harmful situations like SecuROM, which is usually a massive security risk to any PC it's installed on, or Spore's famous five-installation limits. Ubisoft implemented a system by which Assassin's Creed II on the PC couldn't be played if you didn't have an internet connection, because it needed to constantly phone back to Ubisoft's servers or else it would stop functioning (and they used that on a good few other games as well, until reportedly abandoning it about a year ago). Diablo III uses a similar system, but unlike ACII it also (at least at first) spawned half of the actual game assets from the server-side instead of the player's client-side, meaning that essentially only half of the game was actually on your hard drive.

The Xbox One, as it had been before Microsoft's announcement today, would have--for no good reason--needed to phone back to Microsoft's servers every 24 hours or else it would lock you out of playing any and all games.

That's DRM in a nutshell.

 

[McMullen]

How did "nucular" become something you can say without getting laughed at?

 

[Heronblade]

I can give you the answer, but you won't like it.

The answer... is...

42.

[sub][sub]Seriously, how has that not come up yet?[/sub][/sub]

More OT, I have to wonder why outside of niche sections, things such as books, comics, graphic novels, or sometimes even games never get talked about in widespread terms until there's a film adaptation of some sort. If you'd told me A Game of Thrones was originally published in 1996, I wouldn't have believed you.

Well, obviously because no one knows what the Ultimate Question is in order to ask, and anyone that wants to know what the square root of 1764 happened to be probably has a calculator on hand.

As for the other bit. That is unfortunately because the number of people that read for pleasure on a regular basis are relatively quite few, and there is for some reason incomprehensible to me a mild bias against those that do. I can tell you from personal experience that outside of my fellow geeks, few give a damn when I talk about a book or video game I've enjoyed. Comic books and graphic novels are even more of a niche group.

 

[Heronblade]

How did "nucular" become something you can say without getting laughed at?

My understanding is that the term started off as semi legitimate slang for nuclear warheads, (such as in nucular power referring to countries with a nuclear weapon arsenal), and horribly spread from there by people that didn't know the difference. Once it featured in the Simpsons, it was all over.