Why is it everybody wants to be listed in the credits of a film? I was watching a film from the 60s a few nights ago, and suddenly realised how short the credits were back then. These days film credits are long, and possibly have more names than the greater Melbourne phone books.Someone told me that it's a union thing, that the various jobs and people who work them must get listed on the credits. Everybody from the lady who makes the cheese sandwiches, to the drivers who ferry actors back and forth, right up to the accountants who work out the payroll. And they must do this?
Really? Or is it just that we all have some weird perception of what constitutes 'fame'? I have news for you. The credits now are so long that people only stay to look at them if they want to know the name of a song they heard during the show. Nobody remembers the insurance salesman from The Phantom Menace.
Why doesn't this happen in other businesses? I mean, when I buy a light bulb, why doesn't it come with a list of all the people involved in the production process?
Payroll - John Michaels
Quality Control - Frank Peters
Sweeping Up - Geoff McKenzie
... and so on.
Films and music both seem to artistically be similar, yet albums generally don't come with every name involved, all the guys at the pressing plant and so on. And literature is similar too. So, maybe, when I finally get a book published, I'll start a new trend. Five extra pages dedicated to the people who made me lunch, refilled the ink at the printers, designed the font used, washed my car and even cut my hair.
Or maybe I'll just wait until I sell the film rights.
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