The Morning Watch: 'A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood' Scene Breakdown, Fact Checking Film & TV Weaponry,
The Morning Watch is a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fanmade productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows.
In this edition, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood director Marielle Heller breaks down a scene from the movie about children's television personality Fred Rogers, played by Tom Hanks. Plus, a prop maker and historian fact check the weaponry used in movies and television like Gladiator and Game of Thrones, and Will Ferrell gives an informative tour of the Saturday Night Live studio in Rockefeller Center.
First up, director Marielle Heller provides some insight into a scene from A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, the movie about Mister Rogers' Neighborhood host Fred Rogers. This particular scene (via New York Times) was shot in the same studio where the original television show as shot in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Heller explains they used the same style and brand of broadcast cameras the original show used to present it on video monitors within the scene, lending a layer of authenticity.
Next up, Vanity Fair brought in prop master Larry Zanoff and historian Dr. Kelly DeVries to fact check the weaponry used in scenes from period films like Gladiator, 300, A Knight's Tale, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They also dig into the fantasy series Game of Thrones, even though they don't necessarily need to worry about historical accuracy there.
Finally, before Will Ferrell hosted Saturday Night Live, he took the time to give a tour of Studio 8H, where the show unfolds in front of a live audience. The only problem is Will Ferrell doesn't seem to know as much as he thinks he does about the legendary television studio.