Hollywood gun goofs

I always liked that particular Bones show. Booth didn't want her to have a gun so she went out and bought the 500 mag 0n her own. When she got knocked *** over tea kettle she then realized that her gun was too big.
 
Right after Rookie Blue came out I got a chance to correspond with 2 of the producers (David Wellington and Illiana Frank). They both willingly admitted that they had little if any experience with handguns and that they didn't always listen to their tech advisers because it sometimes made for a good story.

One of the things that I pointed out to them was that they kept having people walking around with decocked 1911s and Browning High Powers, the reason I'm convinced it was really them I was talking to is they promised to correct it in season 2 and they did. One of the producers also promised me he was going to put a CZ75B in a scene and told me beforehand that he did it.

Anyway they said that a lot of rules had been added for safety after Brandon Lee was killed. They said the standard procedure was, the armorer (they called him a gun wrangler) drew the weapon from storage and took it to the actor that was going to use in the scene if the gun was going to be aimed at anyone they also inspected the gun and insured that it was unloaded and as a safety precaution the gun was dry fired (which is were all the uncocked SAOs came in) and no one hade ever thought to cock them again.

Anyway they guy was willing to learn but he was making a TV show for entertainment not a documentary and he fudged a few things like "Cop Killer Bullets" but even on that he made it clear in the story that they weren't readily available to the public.
 
Watching Cops. They find an AK 47 with an empty 20 round magazine. The cop says its a 20 round Full Empty magazine. I even repeated it to be sure.

David

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How about in Unforgiven when Eastwoods shotgun misfired? I thought that was cool. You never see that. Then he tosses it and hits the guy. Guns are one thing but when they throw a knife I just shake my head. All the way in to the handle.
 
One thing I really find annoying is when the bad guy points a gun at someone then , just so they know he means business, racks the slide and chambers a round
 
I like in Scary Movie 3, when the guy racks the shovel.

I know, its unrealistic because 2 shells come out.
 
I saw an interview with Jimmy Cagney once in which he talked about the lack of special effects in the very early gangster films. There is a scene that he mentioned in "Public Enemy" (1931) where a rival mob shoots at Cagney & his brother. Just as they duck around a corner, the shooter sprays lead at them hitting a stone wall. Cagney said that they cut,got them out of the way, & a "marksman" shot the wall with a real machine gun!!

Public Enemy (1931) - James Cagney - YouTube
 
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Oooops

What about the biggest movie firearm prop blunder that was fatal? 'The Crow' 1993. Brandon Lee's untimely demise due to lack of attention to detail by the armorer staff. Total freak deal, but it happened.
 
I believe the reason they do this is to create a sense of "action". Ever notice that when a Thompson SMG is used in a movie the bolt always has to be racked back before it can be fired. Anyway that's my opinion.
Jim

Yep. Always racking slides on pistols, fingers on the trigger, pumping a shotgun, SMGs, rifles, pull the hammer back on pistols or revolvers, etc. In the name of action, not reality. :D
 
Movie Firearms Database

A friend posted a link on another forum that may be appropriate here, the Internet Movie Firearms Database.

Pretty cool, though it really looked to me like Nick Fury was using an M&P40 in "The Avengers" during the firefight aboard the flying "carrier", rather than the M&P9 the database reports... But hey, what's a millimeter or so?.. ;)
 
I always wanted one of those high capacity Chief's Specials like at the end of The French Connection. He must have fired 12 rounds from that thing.
 
Gun goofs

I drive my wife crazy also with my commentary on TV shows.
A recent example was on Blue Bloods , Jamie and a female officer were undercover in a jewelry store when an upset customer grabbed the store guard's gun, a 4506 , the slide mounted decocker is down . I tell Jamie in a loud voice "jump him its on safe!" but he can't hear me.:D

Jim in Iowa
 
Back in the 70's there was a very realistic private detective program called Barnaby Jones! :D

You know your in for high drama when an 80 yr old Buddy Ebsen (uncle Jed Clampett) played a detective with Lee Meriwether as his co-star.

In one episode ol' Jed ... I mean Barnaby, drew his Colt cobra and chest shot the bad guy on the SECOND story of the parking garage.

Barnaby was in the parking lot below & Bad guy was runnin'

One shot.

From the hip.

Didn't even halfta' aim. :eek:

GF
 
Well, you 'member, 'fore he lost all his money in the dot-com crash, Ol' Jed used to sit at the front door of his Beverly Hills mansion and shoot flies gatherin' on a sorghum smear, down on the front wall. That was a quarter mile off, which was really too easy for him, so he and Jethro took ricochet-shots - bouncing them off the side wall.

Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhh, ol' Jed was a tolerable good shot.
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^

Remember when they lit matches by shootin' them with flintlocks down by the cement pond!?!

GF
 
How about the richochette sound effects no matter what material the projectile allegedly hit? Kinda like squealing tires even on dirt in some shows.

Very common is the sound of a gun being cocked/racked anytime it is drawn and again as it is thrust forward for emphasis.

What about all the shootouts where both sides exchange multiple rounds from a distance but the moment they are face to face they stop shooting? If the goal was to shoot the other person why is that suddenly not the objective when you are face to face? At least the bad guy just would shoot, no?

Or when a character cannot hit their target with multiple rounds but then can shoot out a lock or hinge while running.
 
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