Modeling in movie

Totally forgot about Die Hard! 

Greatest Christmas movie ever made.

Random fun realization - I was born in 1979, twenty years after the release of my favorite movie, Ben-Hur. Now, to me, Ben-Hur seems like pure old Hollywood. The kind of film they just don't make anymore. 

When my son was born, I started wondering...what movies game out twenty years before he was born? Die Hard.

One, that made me feel old. Two, I wonder if Nolan will grow up looking on Die Hard as an old-timey classic the way I see Ben-Hur?

Random fun fact - Crocodile Dundee II outperformed Die Hard at the box office.

tankerbuilder

HEY ,! DOOGS ATX , is that a future modeler your holding in your avatar space . Cool! I always enjoy reading your comments .Keep it up ----- tankerbuilder

Yep, that's the kiddo. He'll be three later this month. Still not sure about the whole modeling thing, but he is VERY aware of vehicles of all kinds, so that bodes well!

HEY ,! DOOGS ATX , is that a future modeler your holding in your avatar space . Cool! I always enjoy reading your comments .Keep it up ----- tankerbuilder

Does "Spider Man" count?

We didn't see him building them, but Peter Parker ends up knocking over some of the rockets from the 1:200 "Man in Space" ( I think that was the name, forget the manufacturer ) set when practicing his webslinging in his room.

In the movie "Sunshine Cleaning" there is this one-armed man who runs a supply store and also makes amazing model airplanes.  You can see a seperate room with his workbench and a bunch of models. Pretty sweet looking room.  In seperate scene you seee him actually working on an airplane.  Very cool.

DoogsATX

Can't believe nobody's mentioned Battlestar Galactica (the new one). Several times throughout the show's run, we see Bill Adama working on an intricate sailing ship model. Only to destroy it in a drunken frustation rage...

The story goes that it was not a mere prop. Apparently it was a valuable model rented from a museum. This was unknown (at the time) to Edward James Olmos, who swept it off the table in an improvised action in the scene. Fortunately the model was insured.

I've had to endure Stuart Little several times(the joys of fatherhood eh) The basement is full of models...

In the movie Murder at 1600 Wesley Snipes had a diorama of the battle of Gettysburg in 1/72 scale in his apartment

Mac

fermis

She does pick on me and my level of dorkdom, but she's glad to know that I can be found in the basement,  rather than out in the bars.

My wife has no room to talk. We're both dorks, just in different ways. My tools are overpriced modeling crap, and hers are overpriced sewing and scrapbooking crap.

fermis

She does pick on me and my level of dorkdom, but she's glad to know that I can be found in the basement,  rather than out in the bars.

Hercmech

There was a brief apperance in the T.V. show Nat Geo has on Taboo. It was about dudes that live with life size plastic dolls. Needless to say my wife reminds me of this every time I talk models.

Too funny!!!  My wife and I saw that show, her comment was, "I bet those guys build models too"!

She does pick on me and my level of dorkdom, but she's glad to know that I can be found in the basement,  rather than out in the bars.

DoogsATX

Can't believe nobody's mentioned Battlestar Galactica (the new one). Several times throughout the show's run, we see Bill Adama working on an intricate sailing ship model. Only to destroy it in a drunken frustation rage...

Uggggh!  Maybe because it's just too painful to mention!  The destruction of a good model is almost as painful as superglueing a Trans Am to your lap! 

Eric

Can't believe nobody's mentioned Battlestar Galactica (the new one). Several times throughout the show's run, we see Bill Adama working on an intricate sailing ship model. Only to destroy it in a drunken frustation rage...

There was a brief apperance in the T.V. show Nat Geo has on Taboo. It was about dudes that live with life size plastic dolls. Needless to say my wife reminds me of this every time I talk models.

Not a movie, but a TV show.  In Two-and-a-Half-Men, Alan starts building model cars while between steady dates.  When he blows off dating Rose, and she super-glues a Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am to his, er, lap. 

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

fermis

 One of the kids in "The Butterfly Effect" had his room full of models as well. Of course, he was the "dorky" kid!!!

Oh I just thought of another movie.  In "The 40 Year Old Virgin", Steve Carell's character painted figures.  If I remember correctly, there were Testors bottles all over his work bench.  I keep a couple of small models on my desk at work.  One of my co-workers tells me that's how he pictures me when I'm home working on my models.  I laugh and cry all at the same time when I see those scenes in that movie.

Eric

I know Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart enjoyed building models together.  According to Wikipedia:

"When Henry Fonda moved to Hollywood in 1934, he was again a roommate with Stewart in an apartment in Brentwood^[72] and the two gained a reputation as playboys.^[73] Once married, both men's children noted that their favorite activity when not working seemed to be quietly sharing time together while building and painting model airplanes, a hobby they had taken up in New York, years earlier"

echolmberg

I'm pretty darned sure that it was "American History X" that I was watching a month or so ago.  In it, Edward Norton's character was in his room (or his kid brother's room) and, hanging from the ceiling, was at least one model airplane.  It didnt' really SHOW them working on models but there were hanging there just as plain as day.

 That was a pretty good flick. I noticed a 1/32 Stuka, and 1/48 HE-111, and a couple more, looked like they were just slapped  together for props.

 One of the kids in "The Butterfly Effect" had his room full of models as well. Of course, he was the "dorky" kid!!!

 In "The Lovely Bones", Marky Mark's character build ships in bottles.

In 40 days and 40 nights,Josh Hartnett takes up car modeling to get his mind off "other things"

There is a scene in the movie Ronin in which Michael Lonsdale labors over his diorama, painting and placing small figures with great care.  I suppose that counts.  Great movie too.

Bob

A while ago in an issue of FSM, wasn't there a picture of Jerry Van D-yke with a model boat or something like that?  I would love to one day find out that some huge big name actor or actress is big into modeling (and I mean the good kind, not the fashion kind).

Could you picture Denzel Washington sitting down with a 1/48 B-26?  Or Liam Neeson being so happy when his Squadron catalog shows up in his mail?  Or Reese Witherspoon admiring her newly completed 88mm flak diorama?

Eric

Anyone know where this message board thread is about model sightings in movies?

Rodney Dangerfield built an ME 109 in the flic 'Easy Money'.

Heh heh.  I watched "In the line of fire" again last week.  John Malkovitch casts the pieces for his home made pistol from resin.  And Clint refers to modelling as a "weird little sub-culture"  They eventually find out the assasins real name (Mitch Leary)  by speaking with his old modelling buddies.  Watching Malkovitch beavering away at his cluttered workbench gives you an insight into the life of every modeller.  (although we only use our powers for good, not evil, right ?)

There was a thread a while back about modelling as portrayed in the media and movies.  Very interesting.

I'm pretty darned sure that it was "American History X" that I was watching a month or so ago.  In it, Edward Norton's character was in his room (or his kid brother's room) and, hanging from the ceiling, was at least one model airplane.  It didnt' really SHOW them working on models but there were hanging there just as plain as day.

Makes you wonder where they get them from.  Does the director have someone make a model or two specifically for the movie or do they just fish around to see if anyone has a built-up one lying around that they can donate for the cause.

Eric

Here, made the link "hot" for ya:

http://www.thespec.com/living/familyparenting/article/480263--tea-with-george-vi

Here is a newspaper story about the Kings interest in modeling.  It is about a man who was commissioned by the King to build British model soldiers.  It is an interesting story and shows some pretty impressive models. 

http://www.thespec.com/living/familyparenting/article/480263--tea-with-george-vi

Sorry you will have to cut and paste.