http://www.indy.com/posts/2218 en-us Christopher Lloyd Whenever anyone needs to park on a busy city street, there's always a space open directly in front of wherever they're going. You'll never see the hero drive around the block looking for a space, park far away and then have to walk to the restaurant or whatever. Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:33:38 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/2218#comment_7015 http://www.indy.com/posts/2218#comment_7015 joe.shearer Another (though I think it's actually Ebert's): in a disaster picture, though humans are slaughtered en masse, the dog always survives. This is a cheer-worthy moment (see "Independence Day"). Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:07:28 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/2218#comment_7003 http://www.indy.com/posts/2218#comment_7003 joe.shearer Here's a better, more complete list. Go figure Ebert's site won't have a comprehensive list of his rules. I just realized that list is different than the one I'd seen in the past. Here's another archive. http://academic.sun.ac.za/forlang/bergman/tech/glossary/ebert_glos.htm A couple more: In any movie where someone is being chased, if they reach their car they will 1) drop their keys as they try to unlock it, and 2) the car will not start immediately, but rather just as the killer/bad guy is reaching them. Also, if someone needs a car that is not theirs in an emergency, the keys will either be in the ignition or in the sun visor. Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:50:11 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/2218#comment_6995 http://www.indy.com/posts/2218#comment_6995 joe.shearer There's also one the Ebert has about the number of times a phone will ring in a movie. If it's necessary to the plot for the phone to ring a lot, it'll ring forever, but if the purpose is for a character to leave a message, it'll only ring once or twice. Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:25:39 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/2218#comment_6992 http://www.indy.com/posts/2218#comment_6992 keycinemas The Telephone Rule: Never Say 'hello' when you answer; never say 'goodbye' when you hang up! Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:35:45 -0500 http://www.indy.com/posts/2218#comment_6923 http://www.indy.com/posts/2218#comment_6923