I went to lunch the other day at a local restaurant, a popular place that’s been around for years. I found two misspellings on the menu. I was surprised and, yet, not surprised. How many times have you spotted a mistake on a document, menu or brochure? It’s become so common that we hardly make note of it.
The problem is that too many people rely on their own proofreading, only to find out, often embarrassingly, that they’re not up to the job. Take my word for it, you need an extra pair of eyes or two looking over anything you write.
A few years ago, we produced a newsletter for a client. I wrote all the stories, double-checking them for errors. At least four other people proofed the newsletter before I took it to the printer. The owner of the printing company and I sat down, and within a minute, he pointed to a word in the newsletter and told me it was misspelled. To my amazement, he spotted the mistake looking at the page upside down. I was amazed that a fresh pair of eyes could see upside down what four of us missed.
Which brings me to the title of this post. Kill the Irishman is a movie about Danny Greene, a notorious mobster in Cleveland in the 1970s. The movie is based on a book by Rick Porrello, who is currently chief of police in Lyndhurst, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb. The movie is a good story with lots of bombs going off and a great cast that includes Ray Stevenson, Christopher Walken, Vincent D’Onofrio and Val Kilmer. With a cast like that, wouldn’t you think they’d have gotten the name of Danny Greene’s weed-infested neighborhood right? It’s Collinwood, but all through the movie it was pronounced Collingwood. Worse yet, a title graphic identified a church in one scene as St. Malachy, when it should have been St. Malachi. A minor error, for sure, and one that only native Clevelanders are likely to catch. But it left me with an impression of sloppiness.
What’s the worst blooper you’ve seen in print? Keep it clean! No names of individuals or companies, please. Post them below or email them to me at ideas@themurphyagency.com. I’ll compile what people send me and share it in a future post. Have a grate weekend.
(Just wanted to see who’s paying attention!)
The movie was also shot in Detroit, not Cleveland. Filming began just before the Ohio film tax credits kicked in which drew several productions this summer. The final scene that was supposed to be in Lyndhurst should have been a quiet suburb and instead looked urban.
Good points