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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.
128x128mitch4t
bundee1
147 posts
 
Dude check out Christian Bales system in "American Psycho".
"Do you like Phil Collins?" HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEH.

There was also a SOTA moonbeam in an episode of the "Sopranos".
peter_s
1,348 posts
 
You're right about Hollywood - I can't think of one. But if you want to see a movie that combines passion for music (opera) with high quality audio and recording (Nagra), check out "Diva". Very highly recommended cult classic!
nutella
223 posts
 
I think it was "The Italian Job" where the guy played by Seth Green wanted to get a high end system with his money from the heist. At the end of the movie, I believe it showed him in his home with a pair of Martin Logans.
isellstuff
99 posts
 
As far as movies go, you might be right.
BUT in TV shows, like Mad About You,
they ALWAYS showed the SONY ES system in the
background, and even sometimes they had the main
person, LISTENING to it.
I remember that it had 1 or 2 Sony N80ES power amps,
along with some other gear.
NOW I REMEMBER, Tom Cruise in the movie
where he plays the Bob Seger song.
Also, Ferris Buller`s Day Off, they show a
Caver system.
sean
6,231 posts
 
The folks that make the Soprano's called up Donna at SOTA and asked if they would lend them a TT for that show. They promised them that it would be shown in the show and that it would specifically be mentioned as being a SOTA. As it turns out, Kirk & Donna shipped a table out to them, but when it came time to do the show, the video was cut. They did say "Wow, is that a SOTA turntable" though without showing it. Needless to say, Kirk & Donna weren't as happy as they would have been with some visuals to go with the name mention, but they did get a few calls and greater exposure out of it.

This tells me that Hollyweird is aware of this type of gear and "audiophilia" on the whole, but whether or not it makes it into any shows on a regular basis is another story. Manufacturers would have to donate gear for the exposure and unless it is used in a high profile show and is prominently displayed in a fashion that delivers high visibility, the cost of the gear may outweigh the limited exposure received. After all, if they simply panned by a bunch of gear in a rack, what other than Mac's blue meters, etc... would you recognize at a glance ??? Sean
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