I just watched the movie “Sneakers”. Twas fitting I think, considering current news about the NSA. There are some very apropos lines considering the movie is 20+ years old. At the end, when the crew are negotiating with the NSA’s own Darth Vader one of them just wants the phone number of one of the female agents. She gives him the number 415-273-9164. It surprised me that they gave a valid number and didn’t use the 555 gag. I wonder how many otherwise normal phone numbers have become unusable because of being used in a movie or song. Can anybody think of any others?
Oh. I thought you disapproved of NSA agents carrying imported submachine guns and wanted to call them up to complain, and was going to suggest you just wait until they call you, since they have your number and all.
It’s not a gag. Various governments have set aside a ton of phone numbers to be used in cinema, and a lot of them begin with 555.
You mean besides the classic 867-5309?
Bruce Almighty (although they changed it for DVD - and there was no area code)
I’ve seen others - and it surprises me that more dont use the non 555 with some sort of voicemail or something for diehard fans. Would cost like $50 a month if that - and with number portability - could probably hang on it for ever.
I remember seeing a long list somewhere before, but this is the best I can do right now.
I was gonna say, I think they carry MP5s or something…
At least they didn’t use KLondike-5-somethingsomethingsomethingsomething. Just the other day, I got a spoofed spammy call from 305-555-1212. I ignored it. Yeah, I can call “Popcorn” on my own, or just look at a clock.
Also, that movie is awesome.
I had it in my head that I had noticed many HBO shows doing this: using a number that looked real instead of an obviously fake “555” number. Looking up one example, character Saul Goodman from Breaking Bad appears to have a real looking number: (505) 503-4455. This is the right area code for Albuquerque. I haven’t called it but I’d bet AMC owns it in much the same way they own the www.bettercallsaul.com page.
It pleases me when shows do this. “555” is so well known that it is distracting, and I find it jarring to my suspension of disbelief. A real looking number (especially when I know or think that the area code is correct for the area the film is set in) makes things feel more grounded in reality. There isn’t a big reason not to do it: even if there aren’t services setup for the film industry for this in every area the cost of purchasing a phone number is negligible. Plus you can try to sell DVDs, etc to people who call!
Maybe I’m missing a sarcasm but “various governments” ?
My understanding is that the 555 area code is one that isn’t used in U.S. and so no matter what number you put behind it, it won’t go through. This keeps the movie company from getting tied up in lawsuits from innocent bystanders who start getting thousands of phone calls from people who have nothing better to do than call phone numbers they hear in movies.
Well, at least in the U.S. I don’t know about other countries or the movies made there. For any given movie the problem is much smaller on an international scale, as calling international takes dialing extra digits and usually costs extra. I can’t imagine any government giving a rat’s ass, unless there is some way for the members of the government to make money off of it.
Yes, that one did immediately come to mind, but it doesn’t contain an area code. I don’t think the problem caused by putting a random phone number in a popular place is as big a problem if it isn’t specific.
Missed the edit window… I should have said “555 prefix”, not area code.
There was an episode of “Scrubs” where Turk was excited because he finally got his Cell Phone number to be “Call-Turk” (yes the extra letter was part of the story). At the time when the show was in production, if you called the number, it rang a phone that was on the set and sometimes the cast and crew would answer and talk to people.
When that song came out, the folks who had that number in various area codes mostly had to get a new phone number. Those numbers have since been either left dormant or picked up by radio stations, since it’s so easy to get people to remember your number.
At the time Sneakers was released, that phone number gave a message promoting the movie. I don’t think it does anymore.
The Wikipedia link I shared earlier had a list of Australian numbers set aside by the Australian government. The list I recall seeing a few months ago (sorry, no link) was American numbers. I just found this list of UK numbers.
link
Why is this so hard to believe? Telephone communications are regulated by the government (at least in the US), so it would make sense that they would be the ones setting aside these numbers. Now, as for exactly why beyond the obvious “so people don’t get prank called”, I can’t specify something for you. I hope that isn’t too troubling.
In the US and Canada: I don’t believe that calling a 555 number is treated differently by the phone company. But if you request one, they won’t let you have it. Specifically, 555-0100 to 555-0199 with any non 800 area code (or 888 etc.?) is for movies and such. 555-1212 works and is directory assistance. So, not all 555s are equal.
Wikipedia also has the story about an Australian guy who tried to sue Gary Larson because one of his comics used a 555 number that worked in Australia, leading to much amusement for others.
[QUOTE=
Why is this so hard to believe? Telephone communications are regulated by the government (at least in the US), so it would make sense that they would be the ones setting aside these numbers. Now, as for exactly why beyond the obvious “so people don’t get prank called”, I can’t specify something for you. I hope that isn’t too troubling.[/QUOTE]
In looking through those links, it appears that what they are calling the “North American Numbering Plan” is not a government thing, but rather an industry standard. Granted, heavily influenced by government regulations. It is followed by a significant number of countries, no doubt by local government edict. But there doesn’t appear to be any direct order from the government that “thou shalt use these (range of) numbers in the movies”. For the UK and Australia it appears they do get much more directly involved, ostensibly to keep their people from being bothered. That doesn’t surprise me for the UK. It does surprise me for Australia. I wonder what criminal penalties are dished out, and to whom, if a number not in the correct range is used in a movie.
I learn something new every day (although I try to forget at least three things before breakfast each day). I guess I read “various” as “most” or at least “a whole lot”, and not just as a couple of (albeit significant) countries.