Categories & segments

Apollo 13 poster
Apollo 13

Half-Assed Internet Research

Apollo 13 The Rewatchables

Zero-gravity filming, practical sets and the origins of Failure Is Not an Option

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:17Read transcript
  • Spielberg is credited with suggesting parabolic-flight filming
  • The actors filmed in brief zero-gravity intervals during long flights
  • Full-size modules and a chilled set are reported
  • The splashdown was reportedly filmed in a Universal lot lake
  • The USS New Orleans substituted for the unavailable Iwo Jima
  • Bacon praises Hanks’s intensive astronaut training
  • Failure Is Not an Option is reported as wording created for the movie, later used by Kranz as a book title
  • Mission-control leadership is said to have been consolidated, leaving Glynn Lunney out; the transcript renders the name imperfectly
  • Marilyn’s lost ring is said to have been recovered in real life
  • Bacon’s repeated Jack/Jackie character names are listed across seven productions
Apollo 13 poster
Apollo 13

Apex Mountain

Apollo 13 The Rewatchables

Hanks’s mid-1990s summit, Quinlan’s nomination and Houston’s championship era

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:30:37Read transcript
  • Hanks’s Forrest Gump–Apollo 13–Toy Story period is a leading choice
  • Later freedom to direct or take unusual roles is offered as another measure of Hanks’s power
  • Howard’s A Beautiful Mind acclaim is preferred
  • Sinise’s Forrest Gump–Apollo 13 period is accepted
  • Bacon’s Footloose breakthrough is preferred
  • Houston’s back-to-back Rockets titles alongside the film are favored over the Beyoncé-birth alternative
  • Harris’s peak is placed somewhere between this and The Truman Show
  • Quinlan’s Oscar nomination supports her apex
  • Grazer is considered without a firm conclusion
  • Space movies are rejected because of Star Wars and 2001
  • American idealism and ingenuity are debated in relation to 1970 versus 1995
Apollo 13 poster
Apollo 13

Picking Nits

Apollo 13 The Rewatchables

Not enough smoking, children watching reentry and floor salad

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:36:40Read transcript
  • The panel thinks a 1970 control room and home would have contained more smoking
  • Changed dialogue and astronauts arguing are acknowledged as dramatic liberties
  • Allowing very young children to watch potentially fatal reentry is questioned
  • Mary Haise is given little to do
  • Women are seen putting spilled salad back into its bowl
Apollo 13 poster
Apollo 13

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Apollo 13 The Rewatchables

Would Mattingly’s presence change the accident, and would Cameron make a better film?

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:50Read transcript
  • Does this have an unusually high number of white speaking roles?
  • Would the malfunction still happen with Mattingly instead of Swigert?
  • Would Mattingly have noticed a warning before stirring the tanks?
  • Which astronaut is best at the job?
  • James Cameron directing would change the spacecraft emphasis, exposition and mission-control balance
  • The panel concludes Howard was well suited to the historical and ensemble requirements
Displaying discussions 61 - 72 of 2445 in total