issue 27// vol 45

War of the words

 

Game of cups

» Amistake that should never
happen in film or television

Jessica Berget
Opinions Editor

 

n case you haven’t heard enough about

Game of Thrones and you aren't sick of
hearing about that damn coffee cup again,
consider this hot take: People are right for
being outraged. I know it’s a stance that has
been done to death, but it bears necessary
repeating. The coffee cup and yes, the
water bottle from the series finale are major
mistakes that should never happen in film
or television ever again.

How many other television shows

or movies can you think of where there
have been some production mistakes, or
something left in a scene that shouldn't
have been there? Off the top of my head I
can think of a few. Small mistakes in film
are bound to happen and that’s totally cool.
However, that coffee cup in episode four
was a pretty fucking obvious mistake, and
it wasn't an isolated incident. In the series
finale, there was a water bottle left in one
of the final shots. Many people claim that
these mistakes are a testament to how little
the show’s creators care about the show.
I don't think I would go that far, but I do
agree it is a disappointing and frustrating
mistake to happen with what was once
such a great show, which is why it should
never happen again.

There is a reason most filmmakers and
producers take so much care to make sure
that there are absolutely no inconsistencies
or mistakes in the show. It takes the
audience out of the fantasy of the show
and ruins the illusion, which as a viewer
is incredibly frustrating. In the context
of a television series whose quality has
substantially degenerated with each later
season, I can understand why fans are so
upset about the cup.

There may have been some
unnoticeable hiccups or accidents in
other shows and movies but something
like a coffee cup in a scene, especially in a
medievalesque fantasy piece like Game of
Thrones, is pretty glaring. Furthermore, I
find it hard to believe that the cup made
it in, given how many eyes that scene has
gone through. Producers, directors, editors,
or anyone else who had a part in the
show—nobody noticed it.

Like I said, it is just a small mistake
that was bound to happen sooner or later.
However, it’s a mistake that happened not
once, but twice in one season, both times
with a beverage container being left in very
visibly. I could understand it happening
as a one-time thing, but I think twice in
the same season, after all the scrutiny
and backlash from the first mistake, is
inexcusable.

Rants 1n your pants

» ‘Detective Pikachu’ would have been so much better with Danny DeVito

Jessica Berget
Opinions Editor

 

n May 10, Pokémon fans all around

were either ecstatic or dreaded the
release of Pokémon Detective Pikachu.
However, I think if more fans had known
that Danny DeVito was considered for the
voice of Pikachu, the release of the film
would have much more unpleasant. Ryan
Reynolds may have done a good job with
the role but compared with DeVito I think
it’s obvious who would have played the
better Pokémon.

Indeed, DeVito was considered for the
role of the adorable Pokémon detective, in
large part because an online petition calling
for DeVito to voice the character garnered

about 50,000 signatures. In fact, test
footage with his voice was even made by
the filmmakers to see if he would be a good
fit because of the internet’s response.

Watching the film myself, I couldn't
help but think how much better the movie
would have been had DeVito voiced the
starring role. A movie about an adorable
Pokémon who solves crime with a sassy and
crude demeanor is the exact role DeVito
was born to play. I think it was a waste to
make the movie and not have him be in it.
Ifyou ask me, Ryan Reynolds’ voice was
too neutral and flat to be captivating or
humorous in this role. Experiencing the
movie with the knowledge that DeVito
could have been Pikachu instead left a
Danny DeVito-sized hole in my heart that
will never be filled.

opinions // no. 15

Coffee cups? In my
Westeros? It's more
likely than you think!

>» Expecting absolute perfection from TV
shows and movies is unrealistic

Bex Peterson
Editor-in-Chief

 

f all the internet rages I’ve witnessed

over the final season of Game of
Thrones, the one that makes the least sense
to me is the absolute frothing fury over the
infamous coffee cup left on the table in
episode four (and, yes, the water bottle in
the finale). Should they have been there?
No. Is it, as many people have described,
incontrovertible proof that the executive
producers “definitely didn’t care” about
the quality of their final season by making
some kind of easily avoidable mistake?
Absolutely not. We accept the occasional
typos in our newspapers and printed books
despite the amount of time and effort that
goes into editing them—why should film
and television be any different?

I'll admit I get a bit defensive on this
topic because as someone who used to
work in film, I know what the days are like.
I think people get this image of a film set as
some kind of glitzy, quiet workspace where
actors lounge in luxury between takes
while directors carefully craft every shot
with painstaking attention to detail and
time is no object. In reality, people should
be picturing something like a construction
site. Actors and crew need to be able to eat
and drink between takes, and snacks are
often brought around set to keep everyone’s
blood sugar up during the long hours of
shooting. One of the most oft-repeated
jokes when set-ups are running behind
schedule is “we'll fix it in post,’ meaning
that any mistakes caught on the day will
have to be rectified in post-production.
Because of tight schedules, 15 to 20-hour
days making everyone a bit loopy, and the
general chaos of film, post-production has
to deal with a lot of fixes.

A shot goes through many different
hands before a final version is delivered.

I guarantee that production and post-
production had to filter out plenty of
immersion-breaking errors along the way.

Tat least hoped that although
DeVito didn't get this role, there might
be a future Pokémon movie he could
still be in. Unfortunately, that day may
never come. Some Pokémon fans may
be disheartened to know that, at least
as of three years ago, DeVito didn’t even
know what Pokémon was, suggesting
that he will probably never voice any
adorable Pokémon in any future movies.
When asked about the possibility at an
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia special
event in 2016, he responded, “What the
fuck is Pokémon?”

With no Danny DeVito Pokémon
movies on our horizon, the only thing
we can find comfort in is the edited
Pokémon Detective Pikachu trailers with
DeVito’s voice dubbed over on YouTube.

 

The coffee cup, with its neutral colour
palette, would have blended right in with
the rest of the scene and would have been
incredibly easy to miss in the light of much
bigger concerns and fixes to focus on.

The argument people often make for
why this error is particularly egregious is
the show’s massive budget—which, given
the nature of the mistake, makes absolutely
no sense. It’s not like they spent $15 million
per episode on a designated “coffee cup
sniper” in production or post.

For some much-needed perspective,
The Lord of the Rings trilogy had a budget
of $94 million; adjusted for inflation,
this equates to about $140 million today.
They had comparatively more time and
money to produce a shorter product than
the final season of Game of Thrones, and
that fantasy trilogy is rife with mistakes:
Trucks ambling along in the background,
forgotten coloured contact lenses, “dead”
orcs sitting up after Aragorn jumps
over them, so on and so forth. Hell,
even Academy Award darling Gladiator
infamously gave us chariots flipping over
to reveal gas canisters underneath. These
things happen. It’s not a sign of laziness,
it’s what we get when fallible humans make
fallible products. Given the time and effort
that goes into the more important parts of
production—the writing, the visual effects,
the attention to detail in set and costume
design—it’s wildly unrealistic and, quite
honestly, grossly unfair to expect a flawless
product. I say let the person who’s never
made a mistake at work be the first to cast
Twitter shade on this one.

In the grand scheme of things, a
coffee cup is not a big deal. The Game of
Thrones production team handled the
gaffe with grace and good humour, and it’s
already been edited out so the coffee cup
won't appear in DVD box sets and digital
copies. It’s really your choice whether you
decide to laugh and enjoy the thought of
Daenerys Targaryen sipping on a latte or
let something so small and petty ruin the
show for you.

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