Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2017 February 4

= February 4 =

Movie characters same name as real people
When movie start show message like all characters in the movie are fiction, if like real people, is chance. Is difficult because most movies set story in the real world and the characters must have names which sound real. What happen if characters have same name as real people? How the movie writers prevent this? --Curious Cat On Her Last Life (talk) 17:57, 4 February 2017 (UTC)
 * That is the point of the disclaimer message: it's saying that even if one (or more) of the fictional characters does happen to have the same name (and also perhaps other characteristics) as a real person, this is just a coincidence and any resemblance is not intentional. That way they hope not to be sued by such a real person claiming that they have been defamed by the fictional depiction. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.12.94.189 (talk) 18:32, 4 February 2017 (UTC)
 * The opposite happened with Meet the Fockers, where the studio didn't like that as the title of a movie, so the producers had to find someone whose last name was actually Focker. They did, albeit in Canada. (Source? TV entertainment news at the time.) ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 20:45, 4 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Not in the Netherlands? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:F88D:DE34:7772:8E5B (talk) 09:40, 5 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Now you're just Fokking with us. Clarityfiend (talk) 10:35, 5 February 2017 (UTC)


 * The Netherlands does figure into the story. Here it is, from 2005. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 11:27, 5 February 2017 (UTC)


 * Of somewhat tangential interest: Reference desk/Archives/Language/2009 July 10. Deor (talk) 22:32, 4 February 2017 (UTC)


 * Personality rights may be relevant. Matt Deres (talk) 17:30, 5 February 2017 (UTC)

Thanks for the answers. So how the movie writers check if have real people similar with the characters? --Curious Cat On Her Last Life (talk) 13:08, 7 February 2017 (UTC)
 * I would be surprised if they did that. The disclaimer is there so that if someone thinks that a character is based on them, the producers can say "No, its not based on you.  We just made them up". Iapetus (talk) 15:16, 7 February 2017 (UTC)

SEALS rescue
Call me crazy, call me insane, call me all the names in the book. But I remember seeing a program on Discovery Channel. It featured an amazing but true story about a family aboard a boat. The family was on an outing, when suddenly, the patriarch was injured. Something turned gangrenous, and his family radioed for help. U.S. Navy SEALS were called in to the rescue. They eventually found the boat with the injured man and his family. The injured man was soon airlifted to a hospital. Doctors saved the man's life. Does anybody know what I'm talking about?2604:2000:7113:9D00:B81E:C008:E611:FADF (talk) 23:58, 4 February 2017 (UTC)