Wandering

N.Y. Times columnist Maureen Dowd reported this morning that she recently “made the mistake of taking my eyes off the [high-speed] road for more than 1.5 seconds, which is the danger zone, according to technology experts at Ford headquarters.” It is routine, of course, for actors at the wheel in movies to take their eyes off the road for three, four or even five seconds so they can convey meaningful eye contact with their front-seat passenger, especially if they’re romantically involved with same. Nothing infuriates me more. Directors who allow or encourage actors to ignore the road for such periods need to be put into wooden stockades.

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23 thoughts on “Wandering”

  1. I still hate how in older movies especially, some guy is shaving, gets interrupted, he towels off the shaving cream, and immediately afterward he is perfectly shaven…Cary Grant in North by Northwest, for example…

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  2. I was watching DINER and it occured to me that Steve Guttenberg, having been woken up by Timothy Daley, just out out of bed and put on some clothes (including a shirt and tie) and went out. He must’ve really smelled.

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  3. Yeah this bugs me too. Every movie involving a long dialogue scene in a car, I’m constantly looking at the driver, mentally counting (and even cringing) over how long his/her eyes stay away from the road.

    It’s something I definitely didn’t do during my teens when I couldn’t drive. Never bothered me much then.

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  5. It is amazing how many times film and tv viewers want to yell out “watch the road!” during in-car scenes. Other frequent sins include forgetting seat belts and leaving doors wide open when exiting vehicles and buildings. Maybe the Directors Guild should offer remedial courses and after school detentions for frequent offenders.

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  6. A big movie/TV thing is how people honk their horns when they arrive at someone’s house. They pull into the driveway of their mother’s home, for example, and honk, like “I’m here!”

    Who the hell does that?

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  7. The honking, at least, I’ve seen happen lots – at least when people are in a rush to get out of somewhere. Definitely see it in carpools.

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  8. It isn’t the directors, it’s the process of towing. When the actors are actually driving and being photographed by camera mounts attached to the car, they watch the road.

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  9. It should be noted that when the Zodiac told Ione Skye that he was going to throw her baby out of his car before he killed her, he never took his eyes of the road. Also, perfect 10-2 position. Good driver.

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  10. I liked how they joked about this issue in KNIGHT & DAY when they made us think that Cruise was driving the car.

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