Science to the Rescue!

In the past I have mentioned my love of doing research and my focus on getting things right in my writing. Along the way I've pointed out how frustrated I get when moviemakers don't bother trying for accuracy.

Well, it turns out I'm not alone. The mighty National Academy of Sciences apparently also makes angry snorting sounds when it goes to the movies, and likes to go on at length about stuff the movie got wrong during the drive home afterward. But since the NAS is a prestigious organization with a public-education mission, it could actually do more than write some huffy blog posts.

Now there's a science accuracy hotline for moviemakers ��� and, presumably, for television and computer-game creators, as well. It's called the Science and Entertainment Exchange. The magic number is 1-844-NEED-SCI, or you can go to their Web site. The Exchange puts science-starved screenwriters in touch with Real Scientists who can help them.

What's especially nice is that the scientists at the Exchange seem to understand the difference between Getting It Right on science and technology details and winking at the "allowable magic" required to tell fantastic stories. A scriptwriter calling for help about an Incredible Hulk movie should not have to sit through a lecture about how the Hulk violates conservation of mass. Sure, the Hulk does gain hundreds of kilos of mass out of nowhere, but if you get rid of the (essentially magical) instant transformation of a meek and scrawny scientist into a giant green Incredible Hulk, then you're telling a different story. (Without the instant change he's just a steroid user with big weight fluctuations.)

So: from now on I expect every single moviemaker to use this resource. You no longer have an excuse.