r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Knute5 • 5h ago

SPOILER ALERT Coffee in paper cups in movies...

Why is it whenever an actor gets a cup of coffee, a FULL cup of coffee in a paper cup, they lift and drink it like it's almost empty? Just saw it again tonight. It's a tiny little thing but I literally had to pivot to something else.

The only exception is cop dramas where an overly full paper cup is a common bit where the cop has to lean down over the top and slurp off the excess.

3 Upvotes

59% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

3

u/Apprehensive-Dog6997 3h ago

I notice it too and I can’t figure out why they don’t just weight the cups with a rock glued to the inside or something. Something to give it weight without causing issues with continuity or a spill hazard. I dunno, I’m not a doctor.

3

u/hefty_load_o_shite 5h ago

What I want to know is how they manage to set a full breakfast spread every morning even though they will only ever eat exactly one bite from a piece of toast and maybe a sip of some liquid

1

u/Expensive-Wedding-14 3h ago

I started noticing the empty cups. The actor would move their hand and you could tell. Then I noticed that they didn't hold them upright... as if it might be empty. But the coup de grace was them putting the cup to their mouth and you could hear them breathing into an empty cup.

Do better, actors!

1

u/cerpintaxt44 5h ago

It is empty

3

u/SammyGeorge 3h ago

Yeah, but they're actors, you'd think they'd know how to act like it's full

1

u/mcknight92 5h ago

I can’t stand the sound of someone slurping coffee so imagine that shit at full volume in the theater

0

u/Northern64 4h ago

A full cup may spill or leak. A hot liquid presents a potential safety risk. If the actor drinks from the cup any liquid needs to be handled in a food safe manner. Resetting the scene with liquid in the cups would mean new cups. If we're changing cups there may be continuity considerations.

Or avoid all the complexity and let the actor act like there's liquid in the cup even if there isn't

0

u/SpeedBlitzX 5h ago

It's likely empty. Imagine how many takes they could do with full cups of coffee, the actors and actresses might be bouncing all over the place, heh.

-3

u/ProspectiveWhale 4h ago

Actors exaggerate movements to more clearly indicate what they're doing to the audience.

Another example of this is if you see the show Suits, they have a very exaggerated walk.

And the most common occurrence of this is probably fight scenes. Actual efficient movement usually looks lame to audiences.

What is realistic is different from what looks realistic and clear to the audience.