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- For the genuinely romantic depictions of sex on screen, actors and directors can face a myriad of challenges. Film sets are often packed, demanding, and tiring. It's only in the last few years that a specified role to guide and coach actors for love scenes has become mainstream. Intimacy coordinator Ita O'Brien shows how she coaches actors and uses props to make them feel comfortable performing sex scenes in films.
- Bringing characters like Spider-Man and Captain Marvel to life on screen requires some real-life superheroes off-screen. Specialized teams and experts carefully plan and carry out the stunts, costumes, and special effects that make iconic films like the Avengers the impressive spectacle audiences love. From actual bus crashes in "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (2021) to detailed makeup and training in "Black Panther" (2018), here's what Marvel movies look like behind the scenes.
- The fight scenes in "Everything Everywhere All at Once" put a fresh spin on classic kung fu movies. Insider spoke with stunt coordinator Timothy Eulich and fight choreographers Andy and Brian Le about how the movie's most impressive action sequences came together.
- Diandra Leslie-Pelecky takes a closer look at the physics of the "Fast and Furious" franchise. Here she reacts to 11 memorable scenes from the popular movie series and rates them based on their accuracy.
- Insider traces the evolution of dinosaur effects in the "Jurassic" movies, from the Tyrannosaurus Rex in the paddock scene from "Jurassic Park" to the feathered dinosaurs and Giganotosaurus introduced in "Jurassic World: Dominion."
- Garry Adelman, chief historian of the American Battlefield Trust, rates nine American Civil War battles in movies, commenting on Civil War-era artillery and rifles, explaining the use of dynamite and other explosives, breaks down the military strategy seen in the battle scenes and finally, he separates fact from fiction regarding Civil War-era surgeries.
- Former CIA intelligence officer Andrew Bustamante rates all the "Mission: Impossible" movies, starring Tom Cruise, for realism. Bustamante looks at field-operation scenes in "Mission: Impossible" (1996), and "Mission: Impossible 2" (2000). He breaks down spy gadgets and disguises in "Mission: Impossible III" (2006), and "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" (2011). He compares Cruise's physical skills to real-life CIA training in "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" (2015), "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" (2018), and "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One" (2023).
- Retired ATF agent Jay Dobyns discusses the years he worked as an undercover investigator who infiltrated the Hells Angels, an outlaw motorcycle gang, from 2001 to 2003 as part of Operation Black Biscuit. He speaks with Insider about his experience with gang and its inner workings.
- Veteran private investigator Andy Kay rates 10 private detective scenes in movies and television shows for realism. Kay has been working as a private investigator for over 25 years. He investigates infidelity, cybercrime, missing pets, and everything in between. Kay discusses the accuracy of detective scenes in films such as "Knives Out" (2019) with Daniel Craig, "Chinatown" (1974), and "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" (1994). He comments on the prowess of the iconic detectives in "Sherlock Holmes" (2009) featuring Robert Downey Jr., "Searching" (2018), "Vertigo" (1958), and "Veronica Mars" (2014) featuring Kristin Bell. He also discusses television show detectives, such as Benedict Cumberbatch in "Sherlock" (2010), Tom Selleck in "Magnum, P.I." (1980) and Matthew McConaughey in "True Detective" (2014).
- The Director of Photography of Amazon's hit comedy "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" breaks down the innovative opening shot from the show's second season. We watch Midge as she answers phones and swivels around the basement of the fictional, yet swanky department store, B. Altman.
- The second episode of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" centers on an epic storm in the Sundering Seas. Pulling it off involved a method that has become Hollywood's go-to approach for creating storms at sea: filming the sequence in a giant water tank.
- Foley artists use objects to create sounds based on a character's movements and interactions in movies and TV shows. Sometimes, they will find themselves making sounds for animals. Marko Costanzo is a veteran foley artist for c5 Sound, Inc. He has worked on movies like "Ice Age," "Life of Pi," and "True Grit." Costanzo explained how complicated it was to make the sounds of a dragonfly flapping its wings in "Men in Black," and how he captured the footsteps of a dog at different ages in "Marley and Me." Then, Insider showed him an animal clip he has never seen before and had him come up with the proper sounds on the spot.
- 2021 began with a lot of uncertainty about delayed releases and how we would be able to consume blockbuster movies. Regardless of whether you watched at the theaters or from the comfort of your home, there were many captivating movies that took filmmaking to another level. High-adrenaline flicks like "Shangi-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," "F9" and "No Time to Die" created in-camera stunts that you may have thought were CG. Young audiences got to see 2-D characters come to life like never before in "Clifford the Big Red Dog," and "Space Jam: A New Legacy." And real-life landscapes were constructed in both "Old" and "The French Dispatch" to transport viewers to another world. Here's what 16 movies of 2021 looked like behind the scenes.
- The bus fight from "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" has been praised as Marvel's best fight sequence ever. The action scene, which is set on a moving bus, took over a year to bring to life. This included reconstructing two real buses to fit cameras inside while making room for actors Simu Liu and Florian Munteanu to fight. Fight coordinator Andy Cheng, famous for his stunt work on Jackie Chan's films, explains the steps needed to stage the fight from the previsualized CGI and rehearsals used to create the action to how to fake a bus's movements.
- Sergeant 1st Class Steven Mason is a jungle-warfare instructor for the 25th Infantry "Tropic Lightning" Division in Hawaii. Here, he reacts to 10 memorable scenes from jungle-warfare movies and rates them based on their accuracy.
- Each move in a Hollywood fight scene can call for a different, specially rigged prop, custom-made to meet the purposes of safety and drama. We visited the prop truck of Josh Bramer, the prop master behind "Euphoria," "Everything Everywhere All At Once," Blonde," and "Don't Worry Darling," and the country's biggest prop house, ISS, to find out how stunt props are designed to sell fight scenes while keeping everyone safe on movie sets.
- Every Pixar movie has introduced its own technical problems, from creating the first fully computer-animated feature film with "Toy Story" to developing a stronger virtual camera for "WALL-E." Insider takes a look at how the unique worlds, characters, and practical challenges brought up by each Pixar movie pushed the studio to expand animation technology and breaks down the progress the studio has made over the years in different areas of computer technology, including shading, ray tracing, subdivision surfaces, subsurface scattering, translucency effects, cloth and fur simulation, and muscle movement on human characters. Here's how Pixar improved CG animation with every one of its films from 1995's "Toy Story" to 2011's "Cars 2."
- Pilot in command Zoya Agarwal rates eight pilot emergencies in movies and TV for realism. Agarwal breaks down the accuracy of dealing with aircraft emergencies due to technical malfunctions, dealing with the threats on board the airplanes and breaks down weather-related air emergencies and airline emergency landings and crashes.
- Professional dominatrix and certified sexologist Damiana Chi rates nine dominatrix scenes in movies and TV, such as "Euphoria," for realism. Chi breaks down the accuracy of ethics and safety procedures of BDSM scenes in "Euphoria" (2019), "Transparent" (2016), and "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013). She looks at the plausibility of BDSM sessions in "Bonding" (2019), "Pose" (2018), and "Billions" (2018). She also breaks down the realism of protocols that happen outside of BDSM sessions in "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" (2007), "Love and Leashes" (2022), and "Fifty Shades of Grey" (2015).
- Former drug trafficker Pieter Tritton rates eight trafficking scenes from movies and television for realism. He discusses the accuracy of drug-trafficking methods depicted in "Narcos" S1E1 (2015), featuring Pedro Pascal; "American Made" (2017), starring Tom Cruise; and "Breaking Bad" S3E9 (2010), with Bryan Cranston,. He also comments on drug-detection methods in "Blow" (2001), starring Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz; "Miss Bala" (2019), starring Gina Rodriguez; and "Sons of Anarchy" S4E7 (2011), with Charlie Hunnam and Ron Perlman. Tritton analyzes the human impact of drug smuggling in "Maria Full of Grace" (2004) and "El Chapo" S1E1 (2017).
- Alastair Morgan, whose brother was murdered in 1987, and Neil Woods, a former undercover police officer who now investigates police corruption, speak to Insider about how police corruption actually works.
- As tensions with China build and the US military sends more troops to the Asia-Pacific region, soldiers with the skills to fight and survive in the jungle are increasingly vital. The US Army trains soldiers for jungle warfare at the 25th Infantry Division's Lightning Academy on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Insider's chief video correspondent Graham Flanagan spent 12 days inside the Army's Jungle Operations Training Course, where a cross section of soldiers of various ranks and experience levels learn to fight, move, and survive in the jungle. Eighty students begin the course on day one, but only 51 will make it to graduation. The rest are dropped from the course by failing one of five critical tests. On day nine, students begin a three-day culminating exercise that incorporates the skills and lessons taught in the course, such as rope systems, rappelling, survival skills, small-unit tactics, and land navigation. Students who graduate from the course receive the Army's coveted jungle tab.
- Nicholas Irving, author, and former soldier, rates 11 sniper scenes for realism in movies. Irving rates the realism of classic war movies such as "Clear and Present Danger" (1994), "Enemy at the Gates" (2001) and "Saving Private Ryan" (1998). He breaks down long-range-sniping scenes featuring Will Smith in "Gemini Man" (2019) and Mark Wahlberg in "Shooter" (2007). He also looks at modern-day war movies set in Iraq and Afghanistan, such as "American Sniper" (2014), "Jarhead" (2005), "Lone Survivor" (2013), and "The Hurt Locker" (2009). Irving rates the realism of the weapons used, along with body position, stealth, and environment.
- World War II historian John Curatola rates eight battle scenes in movies and television for realism. He discusses the accuracy of World War II battle scenes from "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), starring Tom Hanks; "Dunkirk" (2017), featuring Tom Hardy; and "Band of Brothers" S1E3 (2001), with Damian Lewis. He also comments on the weaponry used in "Fury" (2014), with Brad Pitt; "Patton" (1970); and "Enemy at the Gates" (2001). Curatola analyzes the tactics displayed in "The Forgotten Battle" (2020) and "Defiance" (2008), starring Daniel Craig.
- Blacksmith Neil Kamimura rates nine forging scenes from movies and television for realism.
- Safe technician Charlie Santore, the owner of Santore and Son Lock and Safe in Los Angeles. looks at 10 safecracking scenes from popular TV shows and movies and rates them based on realism. He looks at "Army of the Dead" (2021), "Ant-Man" (2015), "The Italian Job" (2003), "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969), "Money Heist" S1E1 (2017), "Cradle 2 the Grave" (2003), "Batman Forever" (1995), "The Thieves" (2012), "King of Thieves" (2018), and "Thief" (1981).
- Garrett Reisman, a former NASA astronaut and a former director of space operations at SpaceX, reacts to 10 memorable scenes from famous space movies, rating each scenario based on its accuracy. Find out what black holes, microgravity, nitrogen jetpacks, vacuum chambers, sound waves, polycarbonate visors, centrifugal forces, the Coriolis effect, and lunar soil tell us about the accuracy of iconic space movies.
- Tyr Neilsen, the president of the Norwegian Glima Association and senior instructor at the Academy of Viking Martial Arts in Norway, analyzes 11 fight scenes featuring axes and rates them based on their accuracy.
- From Millie Bobby Brown's buzz cut in "Stranger Things" to Ana de Armas' Marilyn Monroe curls in "Blonde" (2022), movies and TV shows have had to transform character via wigs for decades. To find out how a master wigmaker designs full heads of hair for movies and TV shows, Insider visited the New York and Beverly Hills studios of Wigmaker Associates with founder Rob Pickens.
- Bomb disposal expert Lloyd Davies rates the realism of bomb-disposal scenes in popular movies and TV shows. Davies addresses land mines in the TV show "SEAL Team" (2018) and other improvised explosive devices in "The Hurt Locker" (2008), "Die Hard with a Vengeance" (1995), and "Bodyguard" (2018). He breaks down the "red wire, blue wire" movie device from "Juggernaut" (1974) and "Blown Away" (1994). Would nuclear devices have countdown timers as seen in "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" (2018)? Does sarin gas release the way it's shown in "The Rock" (1996)? And would a bathtub protect you from an explosion such as in "Lethal Weapon 2" (1989)?
- Nunchuck expert and stuntwoman Thekla Hutyrova rates 11 nunchuck scenes in movies and television for realism, such as "Enter the Dragon" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Hutyrova has been practicing nunchucks, or nunchaku, for over 18 years and is a martial arts world champion. Hutyrova discusses the accuracy of nunchuck scenes in "Enter the Dragon" (1973), starring Bruce Lee; "Kick-Ass 2" (2013); "Barry" (2019); and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (1990). She also comments on the portrayal of nunchuck showmanship in "Game of Death" (1978); "Legend of the Fist" (2010), starring Donnie Yen; and "Ip Man 4: The Finale" (2019). Hutyrova analyzes the practicality of nunchucks in "Warrior" (2020), with Andrew Koji; "Jumanji: The Next Level" (2019); "Black Dynamite" (2009), starring Michael Jai White; and "Lady Bloodfight" (2016).
- Parkour athlete and stunt performer Lorena Abreu rates nine parkour stunts in movies and TV, such as "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "Casino Royale," for realism. Abreu breaks down the fundamentals of parkour in "Casino Royale" (2006), "Tracers" (2015), and "The Bourne Ultimatum" (2007). She critiques the techniques and efficiency of parkour moves in "Alice in Borderland" (2020) and "The Book of Boba Fett" (2021). She also explores the history of parkour in "Yamakasi" (2001), "Brick Mansions" (2014), and "The Protector" (1985). She also discusses how the media has shaped the public perception of parkour in "The Office" (2009).
- Paramedic and EMS captain Randy Li evaluates nine medical emergencies in movies and TV. Li breaks down the accuracy of emergency medical service protocols and the realism of first-line treatments and procedures such as choking protocols, CPR, and defibrillation.
- Former US submarine commander L. David Marquet rated the realism of submarine scenes in popular movies, judging their technological accuracy as well as the depiction of life on board.
- Paleontologist Dave Hone examines 10 dinosaur scenes from movies and rates them based on realism. He looks at "Jurassic World" (2015), "Terra Nova" (2011), "Dinosaur" (2000), "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" (2018), "The Land Before Time" (1988), "Jurassic Park" (1993), "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (2008), "King Kong" (2005), "Jurassic Park III" (2001), and "Age of Dinosaurs" (2013).
- Ancient military historian Roel Konijnendijk rates 10 battle scenes in movies and television for realism. He discusses the accuracy of ancient-warfare battle scenes, penning enemies, and swords and buckles. He also comments on bolt artillery, bow and arrow precision, and walls of flame. Konijnendijk analyzes chariot tactics, pavises and ditches as well.
- Hollywood has many tricks to make impossible and dangerous stunts into a reality. Movies like "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," "Baby Driver," and "Elf" used a Texas switch to allow an actor and their stunt double to switch places on screen without having to cut. "Avengers: Endgame" and "Men in Black: International" used wire rigs known as ratchet pulls to make it seem like characters were being hit by a serious blow. Meanwhile, a tuning fork can make characters like Maleficent and Captain Marvel look like they're flying, and a tarp known as a magic carpet gave characters in "Underworld" superspeed.
- Neil Woods spent 14 years as an undercover police officer infiltrating some of the most dangerous organized crime groups in the UK. He rated undercover scenes in movies for realism, such as Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" and Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs." He also rated scenes in movies and shows featuring undercover surveillance work, such as "The Bourne Ultimatum," and characters going undercover in "Argo," "Lethal Weapon," and the US version of "The Office." Woods relayed anecdotes of his time as an undercover policeman and the dangers involved in the role.
- In 2022, Marvel Studios stretched technology to achieve the desired effects for a number of their films. For "Top Gun: Maverick", Tom Cruise taught to fly, act and fix their makeup. For "The Batman", frequently rode in camera cars driven by stunt drivers. For "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" (2022) and "Thor: Love and Thunder" (2022), stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chris Hemsworth, and Christian Bale were hoisted into the air thanks to wires and tuning forks. For "Bullet Train" (2022), Brad Pitt was placed into a CG-built exploding train, while "Everything Everywhere All at Once" (2022) featured specially created props like Ke Huy Quan's killer fanny pack.
- Not only do fake drugs in movies have to look accurate and be safe to ingest, they also need to act like the drugs. For example, tobacco can't be substituted for cannabis because tobacco smoke isn't as heavy as cannabis smoke and the difference is noticeable on camera.
- Pixar gets its characters to move and emote by building them rigs and filling them with controls that allow animators to give them unique expressions and movements. "Toy Story 2" gave them the ability to adapt and reuse rigs for multiple characters, allowing a wide array of characters of all shapes and sizes. In "Finding Nemo," animators learned how to make fish show emotions despite their lack of eyebrows. Major breakthroughs occurred during "The Incredibles," in which animators now had the capability to give humans muscles and skin that moved like the real thing, eventually allowing "Ratatouille" to stretch the human mouth far and control a character's loose movements. Meanwhile in "Cars," a new technology called ground locking let cars drive on a straight path, while new stretchy rigs were created for realistic octopus tentacles in "Finding Dory" and an especially dynamic dog tongue in "Coco." Thanks to new features, like the ability to add tendons onto hands and a digital piano that played by itself, Pixar was able to show complex piano playing. None of it would have been possible without the animation and rigging breakthroughs that came before it.
- Professional ice climber Will Gadd rates nine ice-climbing scenes in movies and television shows for realism. He discusses the accuracy of ice-climbing techniques and mixed climbing. He also comments on the ice axes, crampons, rope, and other climbing gear and analyzes the realism of the ice and rock climbing displayed in nine feature films and TV series.
- Former burglar Octave "Oky" Durham and art detective Arthur Brand look at nine art-theft scenes from popular TV shows and movies and rate them based on realism. They now work together to solve international art and jewelry heists. The pair examines scenes from "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1999), "The Monuments Men" (2014), "The Art of the Steal" (2013), "Topkapi" (1964), "Ocean's Twelve" (2004), "Dr. No" (1962), "Black Panther" (2018), "Hudson Hawk" (1991), and "The Blacklist" S2E14 (2015) for realism.
- Pole weapons expert Matt Easton rates nine polearm fight scenes in movies and TV, such as "Troy" and "Aquaman," for realism. Easton discusses the accuracy of polearm scenes in "Troy" (2004), featuring Brad Pitt; "Aquaman" (2018), starring Jason Momoa; and "Black Panther" (2018), with Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan. He also comments on "The Mandalorian" (2020), "Vikings: Valhalla" (2022), and "The Suicide Squad" (2021), featuring Margot Robbie. Easton analyzes "Alexander" (2004); "The Lost Bladesman" (2011), starring Donnie Yen; and "Moonfleet" (1955).
- Before the widespread use of CGI, filmmakers used surprising in-camera tricks and optical illusions to fool audiences. Early filmmakers like Georges Méliès could add a hidden cut to film a wide array of illusions. Creative composites allowed for an invisible character in 1933's "The Invisible Man" and for Moses to part the sea in "The Ten Commandments." Artists literally painted on top of shots to extend sets in "Citizen Kane" and create fantasy worlds in "The Wizard of Oz." While most of these methods are obsolete today, new technologies like the LED projection used in "The Mandalorian" and the motion-control cameras in 2020's "The Invisible Man" build off these past methods.
- Animation requires a special kind of foley sound: more heightened, and less bound by realism. Plus, when working on cartoons, foley artists start from scratch with no production sound to match, which opens up a world of creative possibilities. Foley artists Sanaa Kelley and Monique Reymond showed Insider how they created cartoony sounds for "Avatar: The Last Airbender," "SpongeBob SquarePants," "Rugrats," "Invader Zim," "Teen Titans Go!," "Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness" and others.
- Remi Adeleke, a former Navy SEAL, currently an actor and filmmaker, served in Naval Special Warfare and with SEAL Team 3 from 2002 to 2016. Adeleke breaks down the realism of SEAL Team scenes in movies and TV, from training to special operations, intelligence gathering and data collection, rescue operations, and direct combat. Movies Adeleke rates include "The Rock" (1996), "Tears of the Sun" (2003),"Captain Phillips" (2013), "Act of Valor" (2012), and "Navy SEALs" (1990). He comments on training scenes in "Lone Survivor" (2013) and "GI Jane" (1997). Adeleke also breaks down real-life raids and rescues in "Zero Dark Thirty" (2012), and "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" (2016).