Should joke credits be included in the IMDb credits? I know if a fictional person is credited, it should be in Crazy Credits. However, what if a real person who worked on a film is given a joke role, like fluffer, if clearly he wasn't a fluffer? What if a famous person who didn't work on the film is given a normal role? Should it be included but with (credit only)? Is it our place to judge whether or not the credits in a film are accurate, or should we represent exactly what's on screen (with the exception of the bizarre changes IMDb forces to conform job titles, e.g. catering to caterer)? I can't find anything that specifically answers these questions in the IMDb help section.
Posted 4 years ago
Michelle, Official Rep
Michelle, Official Rep
Hi Matt -
Thanks for posting the example, I have passed your comment to our data editors who will take a look and clarify the best way to list this type of credit. As soon as I hear back I will update you with the information here.
Thanks for posting the example, I have passed your comment to our data editors who will take a look and clarify the best way to list this type of credit. As soon as I hear back I will update you with the information here.
I'm curious about this too. I know this is an old post, but is there any updated information?
GMJ, Champion
Bobby,
If you have a specific example, please consider submitting a New Post on this matter. As mentioned, this is an old post and is listed as Solved so any IMDb representatives will likely not respond.
If you have a specific example, please consider submitting a New Post on this matter. As mentioned, this is an old post and is listed as Solved so any IMDb representatives will likely not respond.
To be fair, it hasn't been solved, because there was never a reply. I still don't know what to do with that credit.
Admins, please delete the "SOLVED" mark for this topic, because it's not solved in any way:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5718698/fullcredits
https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/joke-credits?topic-reply-list[settings][filter_by]=all&t...
And there is no "Policy for Listing Joke credits" explained in the official guidelines.
PS BTW: the Simpsons example above is not a good example here, because this topic aims on those people who credited in a farcical or joky way for no actual participation or work done, while the crazy credits for Simpsons involve only the alternate titling.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5718698/fullcredits
https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/joke-credits?topic-reply-list[settings][filter_by]=all&t...
And there is no "Policy for Listing Joke credits" explained in the official guidelines.
PS BTW: the Simpsons example above is not a good example here, because this topic aims on those people who credited in a farcical or joky way for no actual participation or work done, while the crazy credits for Simpsons involve only the alternate titling.
(Edited)
GMJ, Champion
What about when someone jokingly gives themselves a bunch of credits? Like if someone made a youtube video and put directed, produced, cinematography, costumes, makeup, etc. and put their name for all of theme even though there was no cinematographer or costume department, makeup department, etc.? Can those be moved to crazy credits or something?
Technically, they did do those jobs, even if the credits were tongue-in-cheek. Sometimes people do seriously put themselves down for everything though, and it's not necessarily possible to tell whether it's a joke or serious.
Matt, what do you mean they technically did those jobs? How do you know what jobs someone did?
If you make a video by yourself, you are the director, writer, producer, cinematographer, etc. It's not usual to credit yourself in a bunch of different roles, but it's not inaccurate.
If you just pointed a camera at yourself and hit the record button, that doesn’t make you a cinematographer. It also doesn’t make you a producer, writer, makeup artist, set designer, gaffer, etc. If someone makes a video and lists a bunch of credits like that because they think it’s funny to have their name listed a bunch of times in a video as a joke, that isn’t the same thing as people who legitimately do that kind of work as their profession and whose credits aren’t actually tongue-in-cheek. I don’t know why IMDb wants to include such credits. I think that diminishes the credibility of the site because because it’s no longer easy to tell when some credits are legit and when some aren’t.
I also find it incredibly disturbing that even copyrighted or stolen material is allowed to be credited. I’ve seen people on here complain that they privately shared a rough cut of their film with someone and that person uploaded it to YouTube, made it public, and then added it to IMDb. Whether the people who’ve complained about this are lying or not isn’t the issue. The issue is that if that were to happen, IMDb would add and refuse to delete the credits of the pirated work.
I also find it incredibly disturbing that even copyrighted or stolen material is allowed to be credited. I’ve seen people on here complain that they privately shared a rough cut of their film with someone and that person uploaded it to YouTube, made it public, and then added it to IMDb. Whether the people who’ve complained about this are lying or not isn’t the issue. The issue is that if that were to happen, IMDb would add and refuse to delete the credits of the pirated work.
(Edited)
Michelle, Official Rep
Hi Matt -
When an individual is given a bunch of credits on-screen as a joke or as "fluffer", we will still retain those credit listings on the site, but these should include the "credit only" attribute; which indicates that while the individual was credited under this role they didn't perform the actual role, they were only credited on-screen for it.
When an individual is given a bunch of credits on-screen as a joke or as "fluffer", we will still retain those credit listings on the site, but these should include the "credit only" attribute; which indicates that while the individual was credited under this role they didn't perform the actual role, they were only credited on-screen for it.
(Edited)
Ed Jones, I doubt the owner/creator of IMDb reads these boards. Why on earth would he listen to a bunch of people complaining on here about credits? Has he ever posted on here before? And again, the policy to include every single on-screen credit, regardless of how serious, fake, or incorrect the credits are, is insane in my opiNo one
Ed Jones, I doubt the owner/creator of IMDb reads these boards. Why on earth would he listen to a bunch of people complaining on here about credits? Has he ever posted on here before? And again, the policy to include every single on-screen credit, regardless of how serious, fake, or incorrect the credits are, is insane in my opiNo one
Col Needham, the founder of IMDb, posts here all the time; it's part of his job, presumably. The company is owned by Amazon. (Jeff Bezos does not post here.)
It's not insane; it's the point of IMDb to catalogue credits. It's not causing any problems.
It's not insane; it's the point of IMDb to catalogue credits. It's not causing any problems.
(Edited)
It's causing problems ever since they opened the flood gates to allow virtually any video to be added to IMDb. Even Ed Jones on these forums had his page messed with, and when he tried to have those credits deleted, an IMDb employee moved them to a different Ed Jones page, which wasn't the correct thing to do since the original credit had nothing to do with a guy named Ed Jones. Look at this thread. Toward the bottom I showed a bunch of evidence how an innocent Ed Jones now has fake credits on his page:
https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/an-attempt-to-vandalize-gs-user-imdb-page-with-a-title-addit...
https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/an-attempt-to-vandalize-gs-user-imdb-page-with-a-title-addit...
It's causing problems ever since they opened the flood gates to allow virtually any video to be added to IMDb. Even Ed Jones on these forums had his page messed with, and when he tried to have those credits deleted, an IMDb employee moved them to a different Ed Jones page, which wasn't the correct thing to do since the original credit had nothing to do with a guy named Ed Jones. Look at this thread. Toward the bottom I showed a bunch of evidence how an innocent Ed Jones now has fake credits on his page:
https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/an-attempt-to-vandalize-gs-user-imdb-page-with-a-title-addit...
https://getsatisfaction.com/imdb/topics/an-attempt-to-vandalize-gs-user-imdb-page-with-a-title-addit...
Matt