Lab Coats in Hollywood

<b>How science consultants make movie science plausible in films ranging from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Finding Nemo.</b><p>Stanley Kubrick's<i> 2001: A Space Odyssey</i> released in 1968 is perhaps the most scientifically accurate film ever produced. The film presented such a plausible realistic vision of space flight that many moon hoax proponents believe that Kubrick staged the 1969 moon landing using the same studios and techniques. Kubrick's scientific verisimilitude in <i>2001</i> came courtesy of his science consultants--including two former NASA scientists--and the more than sixty-five companies research organizations and government agencies that offered technical advice. Although most filmmakers don't consult experts as extensively as Kubrick did films ranging from <i>A Beautiful Mind</i> and <i>Contact</i> to <i>Finding Nemo</i> and <i>The Hulk</i> have achieved some degree of scientific credibility because of science consultants. In<i> Lab Coats in Hollywood</i> David Kirby examines the interaction of science and cinema: how science consultants make movie science plausible how filmmakers negotiate scientific accuracy within production constraints and how movies affect popular perceptions of science.</p><p>Drawing on interviews and archival material Kirby examines such science consulting tasks as fact checking and shaping visual iconography. Kirby finds that cinema can influence science as well: Depictions of science in popular films can promote research agendas stimulate technological development and even stir citizens into political action.</p>