When Worlds Collide: The Science Of Movies

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences believes in educating as well as entertaining. That is why on Thursday, August 6, they presented a program entitled When Worlds Collide: The Science Of Movies. The evening started with a greeting by Academy President Sid Granis, who announced that he is stepping down as head of the Academy to be replaced by election on August 18th. The audience responded by giving him a standing ovation in honor of his four years of service.

The program then continued with the introduction of host Adam Weiner. Adam Weiner is a physics teacher who also writes a blog for PopSci.com and recently published a book called Don’t Try This At Home! The Physics of Hollywood Movies. Mr. Weiner began using film as a teaching tool to get students interested in physics. He would show a scene from a movie and then students would calculate the equations in oder to discover if a Hollywood stunt was physically possible. This light-hearted approach was entertaining, as well as educational. Watching the clips was also a lot of fun.

The first scene that we viewed was from the motion picture Speed, where Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock jump a bus over a 50 foot gap. After doing the math, Hollywood Special Effects Coordinator, John Frazier came up and explained to us how the stunt was really done. The amazing part is that this was a relatively low budget film, so they really did jump a bus. It was also amazing when we were told that Keanu Reeves did his own stunt work. According to the math, in order to jump a bus in real life you would need a steep incline, over 2% and a speed of 78 miles per hour, but any head winds would spell disaster. For the actual stunt they used a Kicker Ramp, a 20% incline and a reinforced suspension on the bus, with a shorter gap. It was all Hollywood magic.

Other Hollywood guests of the evening included the coordinator from The Bourne Supremacy, Dan Bradley, who verified that the stunts were all real, but with important safety features. Also available was Todd Hallowell (Apollo 13), Robert Legato (Titanic), Shane Mahan (Iron Man), Scott Stokdyk (Spider Man 3), and Matt Sweeny (The Fast & The Furious). We were intrigued with stories about the Vomit Comet, from Apollo 13, a very bad accident on XXX, and was brought to tears of laughter on the ridiculous science of Armageddon. We were also informed when Hollywood got it right like on 2001: A Space Odyssey, or when technology may catch up, like on the flying suit of Iron Man.

All in all, it was an entertaining and educational evening, celebrating the art of movies and science. I am fascinated by the science involved here, so maybe I’ll have to go out and buy the book. But more than that, I want to see all these films again. Especially Speed and Apollo 13. Now that I know how the weightlessness was achieved, I want to go back and see if I can tell the difference in each scene, from the real weightlessness shots done in space, and the scenes done here, back on earth. Seeing 2001, Apollo 13 and Armageddon side by side, Armageddon really makes you laugh. At least the film was entertaining.