1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the short Stuff. I'm Josh, and 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: there's Chuck and Jerry's here sitting in for Dave. And 3 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: this is short stuff about in flight movies, all the 4 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: great stuff that you can watch when you fly with 5 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:17,239 Speaker 1: your favorite airline. 6 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:21,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, and this is something that if you've been flying 7 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 2: for a number of years, has changed quite a bit. 8 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 2: I do remember the old days where I didn't fly 9 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 2: a lot growing up at all, like I think if 10 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:31,760 Speaker 2: one time before I went to college, and then not 11 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:34,160 Speaker 2: even a lot after that because I was always broke. 12 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 2: But I did go on a couple of flights back 13 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,240 Speaker 2: in the day where they had the one movie being 14 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 2: shown for the entire plane, and there were these big, huge, 15 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:48,560 Speaker 2: like Volkswagen Beetle size monitors that drop down from the 16 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:50,919 Speaker 2: ceiling like every ten rows right in the middle, and 17 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 2: maybe thirty percent of the flight could get a good 18 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 2: angle on that screen. 19 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, and if you were lucky, you were close to 20 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: that one big screen verse that was like broadcast or 21 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: shown on like the wall. Oh yeah, yeah, in the 22 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:05,960 Speaker 1: middle rows. 23 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 2: Uh huh. 24 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,759 Speaker 1: Yeah. That was how we used to watch movies. Everyone 25 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:10,919 Speaker 1: watched the same movie at the same time. You plugged 26 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: in your headphones that were like hydraulics if I remember correct. Yeah, 27 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 1: air travel episode just through a tube. Yeah, and you 28 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:20,760 Speaker 1: watched that same movie. And because there's all sorts of 29 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: different people with all sorts of different tastes, the movie 30 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 1: you saw was radically different from the movie that that 31 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:32,559 Speaker 1: you would find on like your at your video store. 32 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 2: Yes, for sure, one movie whole plane. We will tell you. 33 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 2: The very first in flight movie, believe it or not, 34 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,960 Speaker 2: was in nineteen twenty nine. It was a newsreel and 35 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 2: a couple of cartoons on a trans continental air transport flight. Right, 36 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 2: but real deal movie service started in the early sixties. 37 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 2: This comes from Variety and CNN and how stuff works. 38 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 2: But nowadays it's a whole different deal because we have 39 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 2: broadband connections, we have servers on board. Everyone knows. Now 40 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:09,119 Speaker 2: you can stream like over one hundred movies. Probably even 41 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 2: a couple of decades ago, you probably just had ten 42 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 2: or fifteen movies you could watch because they were just 43 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 2: you know, stored on a hard drive, I guess. But 44 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 2: now they have all kinds of movies. You can play 45 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 2: games against passengers, you can read ebooks, listen to podcasts 46 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 2: or music or whatever. Right there, either on the seatback 47 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,639 Speaker 2: screen or on your laptop or tablet or whatever. 48 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, it is quite a time to be alive for that. 49 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: But the I guess the whole problem, the whole issue 50 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 1: that faced airlines back in the day, which was how 51 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: can you show a movie to a bunch of different people, 52 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 1: is still around in different forms. 53 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. I mean it cost them a ton 54 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 2: of money. Apparently some airlines spend like twenty million dollars 55 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 2: per year just on like licensing the content. Then you 56 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,239 Speaker 2: got to outfit the planes. That can cost about five 57 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 2: million dollars per aircraft and it makes a lot heavier. 58 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 2: So that was a guy, an econ professor in Norway 59 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 2: that basically calculated all the weight and everything and said, 60 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 2: if the airlines got rid of this stuff, they can 61 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 2: save about three million dollars per year per aircraft by 62 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 2: not having this on board. 63 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 1: Right, which I mean they're like, well, so what, we 64 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: make so much more than that, Yeah. 65 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 2: But they'd pass along the savings to us, I'm sure 66 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 2: for sure. 67 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, of course, apparently depending on where you are. I 68 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 1: think in the United States you pay something like ninety 69 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: grand for one movie for a couple of months, yeah, 70 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: and then other yeah, for a license, and then other 71 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: licenses are like by a per view, so every time 72 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: somebody watches a movie, you have to pay a certain amount, 73 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: probably not ninety grand, but still, like there's all sorts 74 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: of different ways that airlines have to kind of dig 75 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: in their pockets to make sure you have all the 76 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: movies you want. So feel bad for the airlines. 77 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know if this is for everybody, but 78 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 2: I even call them airplane movies. It's sort of like 79 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 2: a hotel movie. It's a movie that, like I probably 80 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:07,240 Speaker 2: wouldn't pay for or go see in a theater, but 81 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 2: I will totally get, like, had enough interest to watch it. 82 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 2: I will do that on airplanes almost one hundred percent 83 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 2: of the time. I won't watch either that or like 84 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 2: an old favorite. But I watched f one Brad Pitt 85 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 2: Formula one movie on this last flight recently, and it 86 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 2: was okay. It was an airplane movie. 87 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 1: Too much minimalist like office stuff for me. 88 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, I mean. 89 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:34,160 Speaker 1: It was lousy with that. I saw some I was 90 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: watching it over somebody's shoulder. 91 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:37,719 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, there was a lot of that. I mean, 92 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,840 Speaker 2: the racing stuff was really really great. I'm sure obviously 93 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 2: much better on a big screen. But it was one 94 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,880 Speaker 2: of those where like not most, but a lot of 95 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:50,720 Speaker 2: people don't understand Formula one racing. So the entire time, 96 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:55,719 Speaker 2: like the race commentary was so explanatory and now he 97 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:57,920 Speaker 2: has to go do this because that means this, because 98 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,720 Speaker 2: the rules say this, and it's just incessant and it 99 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 2: helped you understand it, but it was really pretty pretty bad, 100 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 2: like inception and that respect like inception. 101 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: Let's take a little break and we'll come back and 102 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: we'll talk about some of the stuff that airlines have 103 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: to do to make sure that no one gets offended 104 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:49,039 Speaker 1: by their movies. All right, we'll be right back, all right. 105 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:51,640 Speaker 1: So you were saying airplane movies are ones that you 106 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 1: would normally never pay to see. I get that. There's 107 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: also airline versions of movies, and they come in a 108 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:02,480 Speaker 1: bunch of different ways. Sometimes the airlines like commission companies 109 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 1: to edit the movies that they're gonna show. Other times 110 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,480 Speaker 1: the studios themselves will make an airline cut where they 111 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 1: edit out, you know, the the sexiest stuff or the 112 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 1: most violent or gory stuff, or like jokes like you 113 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 1: probably couldn't show any of the Austin Powers movies because 114 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:26,040 Speaker 1: of all the mean stuff about different cultures, they figure 115 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,280 Speaker 1: out how to edit that out in the best way 116 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: possible so that it doesn't screw up the plot, which 117 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: is was not what they were doing before when they 118 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: showed the same movie to everybody at the same time. 119 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: It was just really clumsy editing. 120 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 2: Then, yeah, for sure, it's kind of funny some of 121 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:45,719 Speaker 2: the things I'll edit out. Apparently they'll add out other 122 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 2: airline logos which I didn't know, which is hysterical not 123 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 2: so hysterical. You're never going to see a movie about 124 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 2: a terrorist or certainly like a hijacking or a plane 125 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:00,400 Speaker 2: crash or anything. You're not going to see that Denzel 126 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:03,159 Speaker 2: Washington movie, Like, You're not going to see anything like that, 127 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 2: which makes a lot of sense, of course, sure, But 128 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 2: depending on where you are in the world too, there's 129 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 2: different cultures that are going to find different things offensive 130 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:13,240 Speaker 2: and you've got to be aware of that. So like 131 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 2: in Europe they're way more okay with like a little 132 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 2: bit of nudity, maybe a little bit more sexy stuff, 133 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 2: but they're not as much as into the gore and violence. 134 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 2: The Middle East, apparently any kind of bear skin or 135 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 2: sexy stuff you can't have. But they have a little 136 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 2: higher tolerance for violent scenes on their flights. 137 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:37,080 Speaker 1: Right, airlines that carry a lot of Muslim passengers will 138 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 1: frequently have like any references to pig or pork or 139 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 1: anything like that edited out. Yeah, Singapore apparently is sensitive 140 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: to scenes or movies with LGBTQ plus content, which means 141 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: they can't get enough of it, is what I'm reading. 142 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 2: I don't think that's the case. 143 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 1: And language you would think like, well, they got to 144 00:07:57,120 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: edit that out, but that's not the case anymore. It 145 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 1: doesn't seem to have been the case ever since they 146 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: started showing on demand individually selected movies because you listen 147 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 1: to them through headphones generally, yeah. 148 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:12,280 Speaker 2: Through headphones. And also they have the little sort of 149 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 2: caveat now where they tell you beforehand, this contains scenes 150 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:19,600 Speaker 2: of you know, violence or whatever brief nudity and you 151 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 2: have to tell whether or not you want to proceed 152 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 2: right beforehand. And you know this. I think because I 153 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 2: was I'm still a bit of a prude. I was 154 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 2: raised Baptist, so I'm always very sensitive to other people's 155 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 2: experience around me, Like I would never be the guy 156 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 2: that's just watching some awful like thing on their screen 157 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 2: with people all around them, just totally clueless that like 158 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 2: kids are around or other people that might be offended. 159 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:46,360 Speaker 2: So I've always been sensitive to that. But there are 160 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:51,000 Speaker 2: there's an actual trade group, the Airline Passenger Experience Association. 161 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 2: Because there are no laws about this, they they will 162 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 2: offer guidance, I guess to movie distributors and to airlines 163 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:02,040 Speaker 2: and stuff like that. There's been some sort of I 164 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 2: don't know about famous, but like at least gone viral 165 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:06,560 Speaker 2: online for like how could they edit that out? I 166 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:09,240 Speaker 2: know when the film Carol came out in twenty fifteen, 167 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 2: which is about a lesbian couple in the nineteen fifties, 168 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 2: Delta got a lot of guff because they edited out 169 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 2: scenes of like women kissing, and so Delta was like, hey, 170 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,319 Speaker 2: that's not us, Like that's the movie they gave us. 171 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:27,120 Speaker 1: But apparently there's a guy who runs a company that 172 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,320 Speaker 1: how stuff works. Talked to Amir sum Nani. He's vice 173 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: president of content services for Global Eagle, which is like 174 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 1: the big company that edits films for airlines. Yeah, he 175 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:43,040 Speaker 1: had said he wasn't saying this to contradict Delta, but 176 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:46,560 Speaker 1: he said, like airlines actually have a lot of say 177 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 1: in what gets edited out, so it seems like Delta 178 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 1: is like, no, we can't show lesbian stuff, whereas American 179 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: airlines in United are like they're all like they're like Singapore, 180 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 1: They're like, bring it on, right. 181 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:00,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, there was in two thousand and seven that was 182 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 2: a co sponsored bill called the Family Friendly Flies Act, 183 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:09,040 Speaker 2: where they wanted to have child safe viewing areas on 184 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:12,120 Speaker 2: the planes where anything over g couldn't be played. But 185 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:16,240 Speaker 2: I think it never passed. And I'm sure it didn't 186 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 2: pass because that's a near impossibility or just a terrible 187 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 2: idea to be like we'll put all the kids in 188 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 2: the back of the plane together right without their parents. 189 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: I was looking at this and it was congress people, 190 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: congressmen from North Carolina, and it does, especially today, sound 191 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:38,000 Speaker 1: just preposterous. But to in their defense, this was two 192 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 1: thousand and seven, and this was a time when planes 193 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:44,000 Speaker 1: still mostly showed the same movie to the entire airplane 194 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:44,960 Speaker 1: at the same time. 195 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 2: Well, that makes sense a little more sense. 196 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:48,760 Speaker 1: Right, it did. It did to me too, And I 197 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: was reading like a just basically an article on it 198 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:53,600 Speaker 1: from the time, and they were like, well, one of 199 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: the problems is like you don't want to just show 200 00:10:56,200 --> 00:11:00,200 Speaker 1: only G rated movies because everybody on the airplane is 201 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:02,280 Speaker 1: going to hate kids even more than they already do. 202 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: That was a quote from it. So they landed on 203 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:09,880 Speaker 1: if this did happen, to just show PG thirteen as 204 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:10,679 Speaker 1: a compromise. 205 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:12,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, well that makes sense. 206 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:14,120 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, And. 207 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 2: If you're wondering how much gets edited out, someone actually 208 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 2: did check running times of movies shown on Virgin Air 209 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:22,960 Speaker 2: and Air Canada. 210 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:24,520 Speaker 1: They had funding that's. 211 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:26,840 Speaker 2: Right, which will be flying soon when we do our 212 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:29,160 Speaker 2: Canadian tour. We got some Air Canada flights book, can't wait. 213 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:30,040 Speaker 1: You got that straight. 214 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:32,839 Speaker 2: And they found that two thirds of the movies shown 215 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:35,520 Speaker 2: on these two airlines were the same length as the 216 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 2: theater presentation. Fourteen percent were shorter, not fourteen percent shorter, 217 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,960 Speaker 2: but fourteen percent of the movies overall. So that, like 218 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:46,160 Speaker 2: that just sort of tells you how many movies are 219 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 2: being edited down for content. Twenty one percent were longer, 220 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:50,760 Speaker 2: which is sort of interesting. 221 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, I would guess Virgin is not huge on editing 222 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:59,960 Speaker 1: down movies. But you never know, you never know, so yeah, 223 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: Chuck said, you never know. I guess, Chuck, doesn't that 224 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:03,560 Speaker 1: mean that short Stuff is Out. 225 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:10,200 Speaker 2: Indeed, Stuff You Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. 226 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 2: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 227 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.