Things ONLY said in the Movies...

Cheesebeef

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Does anyone's father actually call them "Son" or do any fathers actually say "Hi, son."

Never in my LIFE has my father called me anything but my name or various nick-names he has for me, nor have I ever seen any friends or families father's say things like: "Hi son."

Is it just me?

OK, what else do you see/hear in movies that you NEVER hear anywhere else?
 

Mathew81

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My father has called me and my brother "son." He usually did it when one of us had screwed up and he was trying to teach us what we could learn from it.
 

MadCardDisease

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Yeah my dad uses son all the time. In fact he would use it on some of my friends.
 

DemsMyBoys

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And I've never seen a phone picked up on the first ring. 'Course the only phone left on the planet that rings is the red one I have in my kitchen that was my grandmother's. It rings and people go, "Holy crap! What was that?" But they really say, "Holy Sh--!" And they really don't say the "Holy" part they just say, "Sh--!" Or maybe, "What the F---?" But then you have to worry about your target audience and apparently Bruckheimer has a problem with saying "We're going to cut off his leg" or whatever it was, so he's really not going to like your characters saying, "What the F---?" at ten o'clock at night.

I write dialogue a lot. If you need a script doctor call me. ;)
 
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Gaddabout

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- People don't give back story when they talk. Most people usually forget that they're talking to someone who doesn't know the whole story and wait for someone to ask a question before launching into it. More importantly, real people rarely get to the point in one or two sentences.

- Cops don't usually tell total strangers (non-cops) what's happening at a crime scene.

- Journalists are usually completely stunned when anyone tells them something off the record. In fact, it's a rare occasion. And journalists are usually understated people, not crusaders who are willing to die for a story. All the journalists I know would carry dark state secrets to their grave before putting their life on the line for a story their editor would never publish, anyway.

- Lawyers don't actually get to walk around a courtroom. They stand and speak at the same podium. A lawyer walking around freely approaching the jury would get disbarred in a hurry.

Oh wait. You were talking about dialogue.

- People generally don't address people by their name. It's usually assumed two people who know each other can just launch into a conversation. The only time that's appropriate is in a letter or an e-mail.
 

dreamcastrocks

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I call my son, 'Son' at times.
 

DemsMyBoys

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- Lawyers don't actually get to walk around a courtroom. They stand and speak at the same podium. A lawyer walking around freely approaching the jury would get disbarred in a hurry.

Thank you! This always bugs me. I've been in courtrooms where the attorneys pretty much ask the judge for persmission to stand up. Though I know perfectly well that 60 minutes of "Your Honor may I approach the witness?" is not exactly a ratings builder.

Oh, and fake CPR. Hate that. Just let the actors perform the real stuff on their fellow thespians and keep the cameras rolling. And if the sound guys can get the crunching sound of their sternums breaking followed by the howls of pain from the patient/victim every nine year old boy in America would be watching.
 

Joe L

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In perilous situations, a injured person would never say...."Go ahead, go on without me". Oh, and then come back injured and save the day. lol
 

Shane

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My dad when we are speaking calls me son. I call my sons son.
 

Renz

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I can't remember my dad calling my brother or I "son", although he may have on occasion. I don't have a son, but I can say that I've never called my girls "daughter".
 

Joe L

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Does "Hijo" count? :D

In Hispanic culture, it is very common to say Hijo/Son when speaking to his or her son. And not necessarily when being scolded or spoken to in a serious manner.
 

Jersey Girl

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My dad never calls my brother "son." My grandpop called everybody "boy" or "girl" though. I think he just had too many grandkids to keep straight.
 

Duckjake

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"I'm A Cop!" Or maybe real POs do say that. Shane?
 

Pariah

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- Lawyers don't actually get to walk around a courtroom. They stand and speak at the same podium. A lawyer walking around freely approaching the jury would get disbarred in a hurry.
I just served jury duty and the lawyers both walked around and addressed the jurors (and potential jurors) just like they do on TV.

...and I call my boys "son" all the time. But, I also call them "chachi," so what do I know.
 

AZZenny

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I was just going to say -- I testify in court all the time, and lawyers absolutely are able to get up and walk around, although I have rarely seen one approach a jury closely except in opening statements or closing -- usually they sort of half-turn towards the jury and that's to remind the witness to speak to the jury, not to the lawyer. On the contrary, if it's a bench trial with just a judge, they are more likely to stay back, but still probably half will approach the witness when questioning.

As to calling someone by name in conversation, it's very individual. I have some friends who use my name in face-to-face conversation a lot, others (most) almost never. I don't much unless I'm arguing or teasing or nagging, although I do on the phone more often.

I disagree about backstory. I have some friends who always include background, and I have to remind them I already know -- while others never provide any context, just launch into a story about someone I've never heard of, and I have to say "Who the **** are you talking about and why do I care?"

So what I notice (as a psychologist) is how uniform the speech and communication styles tend to be in movies and TV. You rarely get the obsessively detailed, tangential, never gets to the point people; the vague, impressionistic types; or the always self-referential -- it's written to be efficient. To get the plot from point A to point B.
 

conraddobler

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The expendable character, if it were that way in real life if you momentarily met someone for the first time that was shallowly defined in your conversation you'd start ducking.

Also the curious people in horror movies, yeah I hear strange voices comming from the basement, sure I go down there, right.
 

Mathew81

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I disagree about backstory. I have some friends who always include background, and I have to remind them I already know -- while others never provide any context, just launch into a story about someone I've never heard of, and I have to say "Who the **** are you talking about and why do I care?"
My dad uses "son" and my mom's family uses backstory ALL THE TIME. They refer to it as the "gene of explanation." Unfortunately I have it. For instance, if someone just asks me the score of a game I'm watching, I'll will tell them score-by-score how the game has progressed.
 

Mulli

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I just served jury duty and the lawyers both walked around and addressed the jurors (and potential jurors) just like they do on TV.

...and I call my boys "son" all the time. But, I also call them "chachi," so what do I know.
The lawyers on your jury duty got within a foot and a half of the witness on the witness stand like on Law and Order, et al?

I find that hard to believe.
 

Pariah

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The lawyers on your jury duty got within a foot and a half of the witness on the witness stand like on Law and Order, et al?

I find that hard to believe.
They didn't get up in anyone's grill, but they were close enough that that could have reached out and touched the jury box.
 

Mulli

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They didn't get up in anyone's grill, but they were close enough that that could have reached out and touched the jury box.
That could happen. Many judges will keep you at the podium. Some won't.
 

DemsMyBoys

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Also the curious people in horror movies, yeah I hear strange voices comming from the basement, sure I go down there, right.

:D

I want to know where they get these cops and D.A.'s (especially on Law and Order) that remember names so well. They're at some gosh-awful death scene and the full name of a perp from 12 years ago comes to mind immediately.

And no one ever says "Ummmmm" or "you know" or the ever-poplular "like". (As in, "It's umm, like, umm, you know, like, cool, you know?") I know why it's not done. But I'd love to see Elliott interview some "scum bag" (a term I never in my life heard before Law and Order) who isn't incredibly articulate for a guy who's been up doing coke for three days.

Go on everybody. Disagree with me!
 
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