‘Miracle on 32nd Street’? Might Be Time for a Reality Check

Did Larry Flynt really pelt a judge with an orange, or was it an apple? Does the human head really weigh 8 pounds, or was that just another line in “Jerry Maguire”?

Movies and television shows don’t have to be true, even when based on history or actual events. But all things being equal, most movie makers would like their facts to be right.

To shield themselves from embarrassment and, more important, legal proceedings, studios and production companies are increasingly contracting with private research firms to authenticate their scripts.

About eight Los Angeles research firms, most of them less than a decade old, specialize in fact checking for movie and television production companies. They look for potential copyright infringement and verify names, phone numbers and addresses included in scripts. But they also serve as a catchall for any flubs, from the description of the dodo bird to the name of Millard Fillmore’s vice president.

“There’s more of a sense that even if one is creating fiction, one has to maintain a certain standard. The public is better educated. They watch CNN . . . and surf the Web. You can’t get away with as much,” said Amy DeLouise, founder of Take Aim Research, a Washington-based research company that recently expanded into Los Angeles. “If you want to create a level of reality, you have to honor your audience that they know these things, or you’ll lose them right off the bat.”

At Joan Pearce Research Associates in Los Angeles, the motto is: “Anyone can claim to have all the answers. It’s our business to find them.”

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Inside the cluttered office, the walls are lined with about 4,000 books, including 60 different dictionaries, pre-World War II almanacs and encyclopedias dating back to 1910. The researchers also use a collection of phone books and the modern conveniences of the Internet and computer databases to make sure that sitcoms such as “Seinfeld” and feature films such as “Evita” are not only entertaining but error-free. Most of the time, they simply seek out the people who are in a position to know.

“We fill in the gaps. We try to help with any research to make it accurate,” co-founder Joan Pearce said. “The legal clearance is what people want. The background is icing on the cake. Nobody sets out to make a bad movie.”

Most studios--except Warner Bros., which does all of its research on the lot--do a combination of their own research and legal clearance and contracting out the work.

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The studios’ libraries typically employ no more than five researchers each, and on many a day they’re overwhelmed with obscure queries. Some directors don’t even realize they exist. Universal Studios’ research department is in the basement of a former motel across the street from the studio. Two people work there, finding pictures and information for such TV series as “Sliders” or researching cases for “Law & Order.”

With the number of facts included in feature films, however, it’s usually cheaper for the studios to contract out than pay the overtime.

Pearce said high-tech movies such as “Judge Dredd” or “Johnny Mnemonic” require the most in-depth research because of questions about the complicated science. Price is based on the depth of research needed. For a 30-minute sitcom, studios pay about $250. A high-tech movie is closer to $3,000.

“Very few writers are nuclear physicists, firefighters, etc. A writer will write about something he knows nothing about, and often the writer won’t do the proper research,” said Pete Sloman, a researcher at Joan Pearce. “There are an awful lot of things to check out.”

Makers of movies such as “Die Hard,” where the idea is to make a bang, or “Jumanji,” where fantasy and special effects overpower the facts, aren’t as concerned with accuracy.

Joan Pearce Research was founded by four friends who decided to go into business together five years ago. Each has his own specialty: Pearce is a Shakespeare and theater buff. Callista Card is an expert in silent films. Michele Teper’s forte is American history. Roberta Young has a master’s in art history. Sloman, hired later, is a linguistics fanatic, having studied seven languages, including Russian and Vietnamese.

The atmosphere of the firm is relaxed. The researchers commonly wear jeans and occasionally kick off their shoes. They stand in the hallway performing dramatic readings from poorly written scripts and hollering, “Does this make sense to anyone?”

Most of the time, they’re on the phone.

When Young needed to know the voltage of the electric chair at Sing Sing for a “Barney Miller” episode, she simply called the prison. The guard who answered the phone couldn’t answer right away. He set down the receiver, and Young heard the jingling of keys, the unlocking of a bolted door, relocking, and then a response with a hefty explanation: “It’s 2,000 volts at 8 to 10 amps and then 500 volts at 3 to 4 amps. There are four phases of 30 seconds each. It’s alternately lowered and raised for two minutes,” the guard said as Young jotted down the instructions in hot-pink ink.

“People think that some of this is not retrievable,” Teper said. “But it’s amazing the things people will do for you.”

Through the years, the crew has interviewed U.S. marshals, museum curators and officials at the White House and Buckingham Palace.

“For me, it’s like doing a crossword puzzle,” Sloman said.

But he says it takes away from the enjoyment of going to the movies.

“We have a hard time not critiquing from our seats,” he said. “We always think, ‘Wait a minute, did I check that name?’ Sometimes things are added on the set. Occasionally, an actor will ad-lib . . . and we get frightened.”

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Most mistakes that get into films are oversights, and the result is usually minor irritation for the few audience members who notice. But at times, an apparently small mistake can lead to a lawsuit or the restructuring of a film.

“If your name was used in a film, you used to take your friends to see it,” Sloman said. “Now you call your lawyer.”

In “Eraser,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a U.S. marshal of the “Federal Witness Protection Plan,” Warner Bros. had to digitally change 1,793 frames because the name of the villainous computer company, Cyrex, was too similar to Cyrix, a Texas computer chip manufacturer. The name was changed to Cyrez at a cost, by some accounts, of nearly $1 million.

The original script never mentioned the name Cyrex. The action originally revolved around a villainous CIA but was rewritten while the movie was being shot.

“Some people are simply trying to satisfy their insurance. Others are truly concerned in getting it right,” said Kathryn Bennett, director of research at De Forest Research Associates in West Hollywood. “No one wants to feel silly. It’s the legal protection and protection from humiliation.”

Yet silliness manages to find its way into many movies. In “No Way Out,” starring Kevin Costner, a chase ended at the Georgetown Metro stop in Washington. There is no Metro stop in the upscale neighborhood. In “Krakatoa, East of Java,” the error is a little less subtle. Look at a map. Krakatoa is west of Java, according to Rand McNally.

Even with Cal Ripken Jr. as a consultant, the summer release of “The Fan,” starring Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes, was criticized for its disregard for baseball protocol. Snipes jumped straight from the dugout to the plate to bat, without ever stepping foot in the on-deck circle. Even more absurd, the game was played in pouring rain.

“We tend to tell clients not to underestimate their audiences. They will know the batting average of Mickey Mantle,” said Carolyn Plumb, script researcher at Marshall/Plumb Research Associates Inc. in Burbank.

“We advise them and let them decide if they are stepping on anybody’s toes. We’re just-the-facts-ma’am kind of researchers.”

Ultimately, producers have the license to overlook glaring errors, sometimes in the search for a more dramatic version of the truth.

Larry Flynt, for example, didn’t throw an orange at a judge during his trial. He threw one at a U.S. attorney, narrowly missing him. He also lobbed one at a priest in a North Carolina federal prison while serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court.

And the human head weighs 10 to 15 pounds. Looks like the movie was a little off--of course, it was a 5-year-old who said it.

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Oops!

Movie companies hire research firms to ensure that their films are factually correct. However, as anyone who has ever seen a movie knows, you can’t always believe what you see on the silver screen. Two examples:

‘No Way Out’

Kevin Costner’s chase scene ended at the Georgetown Metro stop in Washington. There is no Metro stop in the upscale neighborhood.

‘The Fan’

Wesley Snipes went straight from the baseball dugout to the plate, without ever stepping foot in the on-deck circle. And the game was played in pouring rain.

Researched by KIM SANCHEZ / Los Angeles Times