On the eve of the glittering premiere of the feature film release for - " The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - the producers trotted out Brad Pitt on the red carpet to promote the intriguing F. Scott Fitzgerald story adapted for the screen, newspapers around the country were blitzed with eye-catching ads heralding a Benjamin Button "industry buzz" touting potential Oscar nods, and so forth and so on.
Pity they spent so much money on promotion and patting themselves on the back!
After all, into the first few minutes of the film, an obvious "blooper" indicated to me that some very sloppy filmmaking threatened to keep the Oscar at least an arm's length away.
Insiders - who have taken in the big-budget feature from Paramount & Warner Brothers - undoubtedly spotted the glaring gaff onscreen right away.
What exactly is a blooper?
Many familiar with the process of shooting a movie are undoubtedly aware that scenes are put together "piecemeal".
Generally, a director from the old school sets up the camera for an establishing shot, which is also known as the "master".
For example, if a scene takes place in a trendy cafe, the audience is first treated to a bit of footage that establishes the location of the characters in the storyline.
Then, the camera may zoom in for a close-up of the lead actors.
Usually, a two-shot is filmed showing the characters engaging in conversation - at which point - the director sets up the camera to capture each actor individually.
Later, in the production studio, an editor will "seamlessly" piece the clips together to give the appearance of an on-going chat between the characters.
As the scenes are being put in the can - a script supervisor and a staffer in the "continuity" department - take note of the clips that have been shot, what footage needs to be filmed to ensure the segment makes logical sense when edits are conducted later in the production studio, and so forth and so on.
On occasion, there are slip-ups.
For instance, when one segment is shot for a bar scene, there may have been a beer bottle on the counter.
During the course of the "set-ups" (when cameras are placed in position, lighting is established for the shot, etc.) the lowly bottle of ale may have been innocently moved by a crew member.
The end result?
As a filmgoer is watching the film, a beer bottle vividly appears on screen one moment, then vanishes the next.
This is a called a "blooper".
The one in "Benjamin Button" was quite glaring to me!
Anyone who took in a screening this past week may recall - that in the opening scenes of "Button" - a baby is left on the doorstep of an institution.
When a resident of the facility spies the child, she swoops it up into her arms, and sneaks it into her private quarters.
As she is coddling the child, there is a knock at the door.
Without much thought, she opens the top drawer of a dresser nearby - tucks the child lovingly inside - then slides it closed.
"Queenie" proceeds to open the door a crack and chat with an elderly woman.
At this juncture, she is inclined to get back to her duties tending the residents.
Now, Queenie half-turns toward camera at the door - glances at the child in the open drawer for a second - then exits.
Now wait a minute.
Did you catch that?
Before Queenie answered the door, she closed the drawer with the baby hidden inside the cozy little space.
But, when she turned back to gaze toward the dresser, the drawer was open revealing the child contentedly laying inside.
Did the drawer magically open by itself?
Obviously, someone on the set made a big boo-boo!
Or, there was a problem with footage back at the studio, so producers opted to edit the two scenes together in spite of the fact they did not "match".
I expect the filmmakers thought no one would notice?
Now that the Oscar ballots have been mailed out, and nominations are being considered by the Academy, I have to seriously wonder about one thing.
Can the powers-that-be give an Oscar nod to "Benjamin Button" in spite of the fact the director, the film editors, and producers screwed up so miserably in respect to a basic fundamental aspect of filmmaking?
Only Oscar knows for sure.
The envelope, please!
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