Apple products in films and TV (1 Viewer)

[Michael*K]

Here's a snippet from Roger Ebert's Q&A column from August 24:

Q: I've noticed an interesting trend over the last few years: You can sometimes tell who the "bad guys" are in a movie or TV show by what computer they use. For instance, on "24," all the bad guys used PCs while the good guys all used Macs. The same holds true for "Austin Powers," "Legally Blonde," etc. Why do you think Apple always gets the plumb roles? I'm of the opinion that Hollywood loves the underdog and has a close relationship with Apple computer, whereas PCs seem controlled by a megalomaniac in Seattle. Are there a lot more Mac zealots like me in Hollywood? Does Apple pour sponsorship money in big-budget studio movies?

Justin Toomey, Athens, Ohio

A: Since many Windows machines look alike, Apple is one of the few manufacturers that can gain by product placement, which accounts for some of the Macs. It's true that the movie industry and creative types in general prefer the Mac. The novelist Tom Clancy sends e-mails with this signature line: "Never ask a man what computer he uses. If it's a Mac, he'll tell you. If it's not, why embarrass him?"

 

[MarkHastings]

I don't think it's exactly PC=Bad guys, Mac=Good guys. I think it's the fact that Apple probably pays a lot to have their logo (i.e. Computers) used and they probably put in the contract that they only want them used in a positive way. Since the bad guys are always using computers to do bad things, Mac may not want that. So it's not that only good guys use Macs, it's more that whenever a Mac is used, it has to be used in a good way.

I think the other thing has to do with "Trends". Macs always seem to be trend setters (i.e. the Colored iMacs and the Widescreen Titaniums) and anytime you see a trendy person, they give them a Mac to portray that trendyness. Almost like a characature. For example, If you were to give Reese Witherspoon (in Legally Blonde) a computer, would you give her a big black Dell? or a cutesy, brightly colored iMac?

 

[Darren Davis]

There was the best of both worlds in Zoolander. Apple fans got their product placement and PC fans got to see an iMac smashed onto a runway stage. "Where are all the files?"

 

[Ted Todorov]

I just think it's funny that so many characters in films and TV have macs but they are relatively scarce in reality.

Depends on which reality: Macs may be scarce in Kalamazoo, Michigan, but they are plentiful in New York and California where most movies are set (and shot). I was trying to think of which friend of mine had a PC, so I could ask how they liked the Windows version of iTunes, and I couldn't come up with a single one -- they all have Macs.

Also, movie characters are far more likely to be creative types (like the above mentioned Carrie Bradshaw) who usually have Macs, rather than say accountants, who tend towards PCs. Indeed that tends to be made explicit when both types are present in the same movie: take You've Got Mail where Meg Ryan's character has a Mac while Tom Hanks' big bad corporate guy character has an IBM.

About Buffy: it is a very Mac-centric show -- both good and bad guys tend to have Macs. Willow has always used an iBook, but she switched for the original colorful model, to the current white one.

Ted

 

[AllanN]

Does anyone also notice that they turn the logo 180 degrees on laptops so that its not upsidedown when looking at a open laptop.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Don't forget that the bad guy Dennis in Jurassic Park used a Mac to cause all the trouble.

 

[MarkHastings]

Does anyone also notice that they turn the logo 180 degrees on laptops so that its not upsidedown when looking at a open laptop.

On the titaniums, not only is it turned, but the LCD screen makes it glow.

 

[Michael*K]

On the titaniums, not only is it turned, but the LCD screen makes it glow.

I believe they've taped over this feature on Friends in order to obscure it. The early PowerBooks did not have the logo reversed.

 

[Ken Chan]

They tried that on Alias a few days ago with a big circular patch, but the apple glowed through anyway.

//Ken

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Interesting. If the logo is taped over, I'm sure Apple isn't paying them to be placed. They just use Macs anyway.

Apple does have a person whose sole job is to get Macs placed in TV and film and to get Macs in the hands of celebrities. After all, who wants to see Sarah Jessica Parker use a crappy Dell laptop?

 

[Nelson Au]

Steve Jobs is the guy who had the logo flipped when he noticed someone using a G3 Powerbook and saw the logo was upside down with the display up, so he asked it to be flipped.

And as the above poster said regarding paid or not usage on TV, the vast majority of the time I see Macs on TV, the logo is covered, so it was the doing of the art director or other production personel of the show to include the Macs. Since they didn't likely ask Apple, they cover the logo.

Regarding the good verse evil usage of computers, there's a print and TV ad for Comcast which they show the speedy internet access of Comcast on Macs, and the slow access on Windows machines.

 

[Michael Harris]

In "2010" you can see Roy Scheider typing away on an Apple IIc while on the beach. Now that 2010 is only 6+ years away its amazing how "modern" that machine still looks.

Disclaimer: The Apple IIc was my first computer.

 

[MarkHastings]

so it was the doing of the art director or other production personel of the show to include the Macs.

You may have just uncovered the key without even realizing it. Since art driectors and set designers are the ones to decide what computers a scene needs, they may get Macs because most creative people (i.e. designers) use Mac and will lean toward Apple.

 

[AllanN]

After all, who wants to see Sarah Jessica Parker use a crappy Dell laptop?

That would be impossible seeing as there is no such thing as a "crappy Dell Laptop".

 

[Patrick Larkin]

That would be impossible seeing as there is no such thing as a "crappy Dell Laptop"

Crappy looking. Face it, PCs are butt ugly.

I mean, LOOK at this thing:

 

[Charles J P]

I mean, LOOK at this thing:

Maybe you're joking but I happen to like that laptop. I guess I'll call apple when I need bright orange toy computer for my 5 year old niece.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Apple Computers actually run a real operating system (Unix) not a cobbled together piece of crap. So, Macs can run just about any robust Unix app. I choose Mac and I manage an enterprise of 16,000 people. Imagine that! (Oh, we use the unix shell to do most of our work on servers - servers that are industrial strength and secure - not accounting nonsense.)

Funny, Apple hasn't made a colored computer in years - but Dell is putting cute teal colors on theirs now (see above). But Dell is always following apple's lead since they have no R&D or design staff of their own. Apple invents, Dell buys commodity parts.

 

[MarkHastings]

they also dont mind paying twice as much for less functionality

Not to start another Apple vs. Mac war, but if you're going to argue, please get the facts straight.

The reason why Macs cost more is because they are virtually 99.99% compatible with everything related to Mac, unlike PC's which run into nightmarish problems with 3rd party software and hardware.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

not to mention apple laptops cost LESS than equivalent PC laptops (IS there an equivalent?). desktops on the other hand are more...but I'd personally rather pay more for a better user experience and NO VIRUSES.

 

[Ted Todorov]

Translation: Also, movie characters are far more likely to be creative types (like the above mentioned Carrie Bradshaw) who usually have Macs, who like macs because they are shiny and baubley, they also dont mind paying twice as much for less functionality rather than say accountants, who tend towards PCs becuase they actually have a job and need to run applications like ACL, Monarch, and documentation version control applications and other software that mac users havent ever heard of.

I should stay out of it, but since you "quoted" my post here goes:

Your statement that PC users "actually have a job" is about as absurd as it gets -- to use myself as an example: I am software developer, have been for the last 20 years and happen to work on Wall St. I think that qualifies as an "actual job". I also have owned Macs since March of 1984 and have never, ever owned a PC.

The fictional Carrie Bradshaw is journalist: since when is being a journalist not a serious profession? Or a sound engineer, graphics designer, film maker, etc, etc. -- very serious professions all. Can you share with us which jobs you consider to be "actual" and which are not?

If a Macintosh user wanted to run the programs you mention they would simply get VPC software. If a PC user wanted to run Final Cut Pro 4 or an equally functional program they would have a choice of either spending 5 to 6 figures on a full blown Avid setup or buying a Mac...

Your implication that Macs are are more expensive or less functional than Wintel PCs is simply wrong. The new Macintosh based Supercomputer at Virginia Tech, is already in the top 5 of the world's fastest Supercomputers -- it cost 10 to 100 times less than most of its competitors and was built in a fraction of the time they took to be assembled.

Computers are tools: I use Macs because with them, I can devote my time to doing my job, rather than fixing my computer due to the latest Microsoft only virus attack or DLL or what have you conflicts.

Ted