I would say “Contact” had some real moments in it depicting astronomers: the guys manning the radio dishes making dumb jokes to fill the time was pretty accurate compared to some observing runs I’ve done. Radio astronomers don’t use headphones though…
Astronomers are in lots of movies, but hardly ever portrayed accurately. Suprisingly, I’ve met funny ones, stodgy ones, clueless ones, attractive ones, not-so-attractive ones, egotisitical ones, self-effacing ones… pretty much like most humans. I guess most humans don’t make good characters in Hollywood movies.
Probably A Civil Action – while most of the movie focuses on the attorney played by John Travolta, the references that the movie (and the book) make to environmental engineering and investigation are pretty accurate. (i.e., it ain’t an exact science, there’s plenty of guesswork, site investigation and cleanup can be VERY expensive, and multiple iterations of work can frequently be required.)
Sampiro, you want a depiction of a hotel clerk’s life? Try Four Rooms. The first room is a beginning clerk’s fantasy. The second and third rooms capture the flavor of the job. (Okay, slightly exaggerated, but they sure feel like my life!). The fourth room is an experienced clerk’s fantasy. (He takes a hatchet and . . . . I love that movie . . . . . )
I have never, ever seen a movie that came close to a doctor’s actual life. The closest representation would be St. Elsewhere’s initial season for residency. I was watching a rerun of the premiere where a resident “loses” a patient who wanders away and thought “damn-that happened to me!”
Tellme more about this Four Rooms movie. Sounds somewhat worth checking into. I am a hotel clerk (front desk & night auditior) nd the closestmovie to me was Office Space,ESPICALLY the stuff with the Printer (PC Load Letter?? What the hell does that mean?!) and the memo (Didn’t you get that memo???) Other than that nothing else really matches it. My hotel is an espically weird case. I’d like to make a movie about it and our everyday Japanese/English expirencs
The only movie I know of that’s about videogame programmers is Tron. I’m sure there were others in the 80’s-early 90’s, but I’ll bet they weren’t any more accurate. To be fair, though, I would never ever want to watch a movie about videogame developers.
Some times I feel like I am trapped in a world that is one half *Office Space * and one half Best in Show and I am not even a computer person or dog show trainer. Throw in a little **Tommy Boy ** and I think you got it.
I’d probably have to say that **All the President’s Men**is probably the best and most accurate depiction of my profession. Dated, yes, but accurate for the time in which it was set. Obviously, there’s no typewriters in newsrooms any more.
That said, my favorite scene, from a not-so-great movie, would be in **The Paper** (with Michael Keaton, Robert Duval, Marisa Tomei, Glenn Close, etc.). It’s the scene in which the rookie photog finally makes it back to the dark room with her sheet of proofs and her loupe. She’s desperately looking for that one perfect shot, which will be her first cover shot on the paper. Finally, she’s sees a tiny corner of one shot that can be cropped to fit and she’s got it. She proclaims, to everyone and no one in particular, with all the joy and elation of a rookie who’s finally done good, “I’ve got it!!!”
I so know that feeling. Been there. Felt that. Oh yeah. I teared up the first time I saw that.