that movie "Infernal Affairs" actually took my audio fever to another level...one message that hit me hard was that once entered into the heaven of music, a person seizes to suffer for that brief moment, and it is no longer relevant whether he is a good guy or a bad guy...
No Audiophiles in Hollywood
A thought just came to me that a lot of movies show us the lives of fictional people doing the everyday things that real people do. However, we never see anyone sitting down and listening to a high end system.
The only thing that I can remember is when the billionaire played by Robert Redford put on an LP on what appeared to be a high end turntable in the movie "Indecent Proposal".
I have never seen exposed tubes on-screen, or an amp of any type for that matter. Big speakers, fuggedaboudit...it seems hifi does not fit the decor scheme of movie sets, or more realistically, audiophiles are rarer on earth than Klingons and Romulans and hollywood does not know of their existence.
It would seem that some of the well heeled actors, directors and producers would own a killer 2 channel system and periodically include one in a scene when the character has discretionary income.
We've all seen scenes with the wife complaining about the husband always watching sports, but never complaining about him pampering his hi-fi rig.
We've all seen characters with automobiles and other toys that we've envied, but never a stereo system to make you salivate.
Anyone ever see a hi-fi system onscreen worth mentioning?
Just a thought.
The only thing that I can remember is when the billionaire played by Robert Redford put on an LP on what appeared to be a high end turntable in the movie "Indecent Proposal".
I have never seen exposed tubes on-screen, or an amp of any type for that matter. Big speakers, fuggedaboudit...it seems hifi does not fit the decor scheme of movie sets, or more realistically, audiophiles are rarer on earth than Klingons and Romulans and hollywood does not know of their existence.
It would seem that some of the well heeled actors, directors and producers would own a killer 2 channel system and periodically include one in a scene when the character has discretionary income.
We've all seen scenes with the wife complaining about the husband always watching sports, but never complaining about him pampering his hi-fi rig.
We've all seen characters with automobiles and other toys that we've envied, but never a stereo system to make you salivate.
Anyone ever see a hi-fi system onscreen worth mentioning?
Just a thought.
187 responses Add your response
I also remember Robert Redford putting the stylus down on the record in "Indecent Proposal". The other movie that comes to mind was "Love Potion No. 9" when we see Tate Donovan's apartment full of Krell KSA series equipment; later he is loading all the equipment into the truck of his car to give it to some person he has fallen in love with (can't rememember but it might be Sandra Bullock). |
I thought those speakers on Entourage were Piegas, but Paradigm makes more sense.The speakers on "Entourage" (fun show, by the way) are the Lumenwhite |
"Buffalo 66" or "Brown Bunny" defnitely do not qualify as Hollywood films, but one of the residences of one of the biggest "entertainment-world" audiophiles is in Los Angeles. I am speaking, naturally, of Vincent Gallo, who: 1.) owns a large amount of original Western Electric equipment--if that does not qualify as hardcore audiophilia, I don't what else can 2.) has written articles on high-end audio, passionately espousing the superiorities of monophonic hifi and Mark Levinson CD players (see following article "Mono Mia" for intro, but more articles can be downloaded from the "Appreciation" website, and from the "Drowning in Brown" website): http://www.drowninginbrown.com/dib_sp.htm 3.) owns and operates a supremely obsessional recording studio, where even the patch cables are strictly color coordinated, called „The University for the Development and Theory of Magnetic Tape Recorded Music Studio” For picture: http://www.drowninginbrown.com/dib_studio.htm 4.) is constantly searching for obscure pieces of Western Electric equipment and old German studio equipment, along with especially rare pieces of clothing. (See his personal website). Any reaction to Gallo's particular brand of audiophilia? |
Watch "House MD" on Fox. Almost every week the main character (Hugh Laurie) spins vinyl on what appears to be a high-end table. I don't know what kind it is, but it has a clamp, and an arm that appears to be an RB-300 or something similar, and a wood-bodied phono cartridge. Looks like a grado. anyone id this table? |
Although we don't get to see the system, (at least I don't recall seeing it in any way) in a scene from the recent movie 'Constantine,' Keanu Reeves' character is listening to Dave Brubeck. I feel this several seconds piece of music gave me alot more insight to the character. I wonder....was this an addition to the scene by a music lover/audiophile who purposely left their mark, or was it scripted in accidentaly? It just seemed so un-Hollywood. |
just an add-on to Rottenclam post : the exact title is "InFernal Affairs". And incidentally, the "dealer" promotes Esat Asian production as being as good as the "occidental" one, then refers the buyer to another shop where the item's cheaper. Beside this small variation (but it has its self-explanation in the movie drama), it is indeed very true-to-life... |
A couple of additions to this thread: 1. In Sixteen Candles, when panning over Jake's house after the big party has occured, you can see a Nakimichi Dragon malfunctioning. 2. In the first Punisher movie (with Dolph Lungren) you can see, once again, a Nakimichi Dragon in the house of the mobster that the Punisher kills. 3. In a Chinese cop thriller called Internal Affairs, there is a scene near the beginning of the film that takes place in an audio store. Two characters (one being a salesman and the other being a customer) actually sit down and listen to some hi-fi. There is tube gear, Thiels, B&Ws, etc. They listen to some female vocals and the sales guy talks about "letting the sound wash over you". Internal Affairs is actually a good movie, and as far as I know, it is the only example of true-to-life audiophilia ever making it to the big screen. |
It's an image thing. The studio will pay for what the the producer thinks the audience will notice or want to see. I worked in a store that sold telescopes, and quite often studios would rent a huge telescope for about 20% of it's retail value (sometimes the owner would cut the fee for a credit). The studios must not feel that the audience will notice or care about high end equipment, especially since it's a bit esoteric, and not as noticable as a huge telescope or an italian sports car. I have noticed, as in Austin Powers spoof type movies, that entertainment packages that include moving beds and automatic lighting changes get some play. I guess high end audio isn't sexy enough. |
Hi - Fidelity , the hi-end store told me at the time they didnt know the name of the movie but it had Jon Cusak in the movie and it took place in Chicago, where the speakers were shipped from. I did see some shots of speakers in the background and in one scene in the store there are some klipsh's shown, I dont know if they were mine though. |
Cool deal Slappy, you deserve a nice system like that! As long as you don't start writing boring movies with characters no one cares about, then start ruining classic movies you made in your youth that the whole world loves by inserting stupid CG/FX scenes for no good reason. Get the system, and just stay Slappy! |
Wasn't he in the "Beaty and the Beast" TV series with Linda Hamilton? In The Italian Job, Seth Green's system has many speakers next to eachother in a row. They really should have asked to borrow my old Infinities! While they won't blow a woman's clothes off, they certainly look like they could. Indeed, not much in the way of anything impressive on MTV cribs. They always spend time showing a copy of Scarface on DVD, but not that much on showing the equipment. |
Who is Fabio? "I can't believe its not butta?" Remember that commercial, the long haired blonde beefcake with the Austrian(?) accent? If you still don't know he made his bones by modeling as a cover/loverboy on many of those cheap romance novels that women gobble up at checkout counters of supermarkets. Another "famous for little to nothing" celebrity. Oh, I almost forgot, he's now an author. He also has scripted a few of those novels. |
Papa 171...I beleive that the celebs on the MTV "Cribs" show aren't cheap. I my opinion is that a lot of them don't even know about the world of HiFi audio. I manage and train salespeople for a mortgage bank. I use a projector for a lot of my training sessions. For the fun of it, I have projected the Audiogon website on the screen a few times at the start of a sales meeting. They have no idea that one can pay 5 or 10k for an amplifier...20 or 50K for a pair of speakers. I show them some these items on the screen and they are just blown away. Celebs are just ordinary folk too with a lot of money. I believe that they just don't know that the world of hifi exists. I know a lot of professional types that could easily afford high end audio.....they don't own any because they don't know that it exists. I will start a conversation with someone about audio, and the guy will start bragging about his 100 wpc reciever....the guy has no clue that separates even exists. All print advertising for audio is for the mass market stuff. When was the last time you've seen an ad in your newspaper from a high end audio store? Just ask around the people that you know and see what happens.......overwhelmingly, they don't have a clue about hi fi audio. Advertising works. Hi end audio doesn't advertise to the masses. Sears has the latest plasma screens in stock...now try to find a decent pair of speakers, or an amplifier there. The world goes to Sears because they have the bucks to advertise. Hence if the public doesen't see it at Sears, Curcuit City or Best Buy, to them, it probably doesen't exist. |
The drivers for audiophile in HW film is as follows: 1) Does the screenwriter deem it an integral part of a character's profile? If so, show it. If not, it's irrelevant, expensive, and a waste of space. 2) Does the production designer deem it an integral part of the setting? If so, show it. If not, it's irrelevant, expansive, and a waste of space. 3) Does the director deem the music and image an integral part of the story? If so, show it. If not.... 4) Finally, does the producer want some free gear? |
Hi Mitch, As I recall, Fabio had a bunch of Krell gear that TWO sets of Infinity IRS Series V speakers! I presume one set was for front channels and the other set was for the rear channels. Unfortunately, the room that the system was in seemed to have very hard, reflective surfaces and no acoustic control treatment was evident. Chances are the system would not be the most "laid back" sounding in the world! Best, Barry Kohan |
This may be slightly off topic but your post makes me think of the MTV show "cribs". I've seen quite a few episodes of the camera crew going through the homes of hollywood types, sports stars, and music stars. Almost all of them had sony, pioneer, and i've seen one have denon. NO audiophile equipment that I could tell. Makes me wanna say, Cheap A@#!ses |
Someone in the John Kerry camp spent his/her 2003 tax rebate on a nice turntable, which can be seen playing in the recent Kerry campaign ad spotlighting job losses under the Bush administration. When Interviewed, the guy, who turns out to be in the $150,000+ tax bracket, said he planned to spend his 2004 tax savings on some nice new Radio Shack I/C's. Yippee. |