OK, maybe I’m completely wrong here – but it seems to me that in the past, oh, twenty or thirty years, characters in movies rarely say “thank you” to one another. (Or “thanks” or similar – I’m not obsessing over the phrasing.) I mean, somebody hands you something – you probably say “thanks” almost reflexively. In movies, not so much. This in an epoch where movies routinely run for over two hours. Anybody else notice this?
People also never say “goodbye” on the telephone.
According to an article I read some time ago, Hollywood writers call these types of things “filler” and they try to eliminate them as much as possible. The reasons the article gave were partly for runtime (even though each one is only a second or two it adds up if you have a lot of them during the movie) and partly because, while the filler lines do make things more realistic, they don’t add to the story being told and don’t add anything to the entertainment value of the film.
The same reason no one ever eats, drinks or uses the restroom unless it’s necessary for the plot or a joke can be made from it.
We must watch completely different movies, because I see a ton of it. If fact a pet peeve of mine is watching people talk while they eat. Please, stop that in screenplays.
That drives me crazy. They just hang up abruptly without acknowledging the end of the conversation.
I just think Hollywood phones work differently, just like the laptops that immediately shut off when you close them.
Personally, what I’m really dying to see in movies is two people driving to a location, circling the block a couple of times until they find an empty spot 4 blocks away and then walking to the place they originally wanted to get to. Totally takes me out of the movie when they don’t show that.
You know what they do say and a lot? “Let’s get out of here!”
And, “Do you have a plan?”
What drives me crazy is real life. People are so afraid of hanging up on someone you get these interminable goodbyes until you’re absolutely sure the other party isn’t going to say anything else. Wish real life was like the movies in that respect.
[Short conversation]
“OK, thanks for the info”
click
It’s not “fear”, it’s a necessary part of telephone use. When you’re on phone you can’t see the other person, so you don’t get the visual cues that you’d have from an in-person communication. I’ve noticed that it’s easier to end a video call than one that’s pure audio.
Aside from that, it’s just being courteous. If you want to be abrupt and rude, good luck getting through life that way.
“I’m going to hang up the telephone now!”
“Er - indeed you are, sir.”
