why can't movies use real dollar bills?

Question

every movie ever uses fake money, why?

Answer 1

Because People will steal them.

Also let's say that they need $10,000,000 do you know how hard it is to get that kind of cash, not to mention if someone steals it or some of it. Even if it is a couple of thousands, what happens if $200 dissapears.

To the person who answered before me:
They are not afraid of counterfeiting. Why would anyone counterfeit money from a movie when they can just reach into their own pockets and take out the bill, look at it and figure how to copy it.

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Sometimes I have seen them use real money, they only use $1 bills. Sometimes you see they are supposed to give a $1000 to someone and they take out a bunch of bills and start counting 1 to 10 and thanks to crappy camera works you can clearly see that the $100 bills are actually $1 bills. :D

Answer 2

I've wondered that before. I just kind of figured it's because in order to have real money in a scene, someone will have to give it up (and thus, risk it), even if for a short period. In scenes where there is a lot of money, it would be way easier to use the fake stuff. When it's being thrown around, it could be ruined or lost. And, I think copyrighting is also a good issue... although in cheaper/indie films you do tend to see actual money (in smaller amounts). I remember in "Jesus Christ Vampire Slayer" Jesus uses real Canadian money. ;) At least it looks real. I'm not Canadian, but I've seen it and the stuff in the movie looked pretty realistic.

Answer 3

Probably because there are only a certain amount of bills in circulation. If they record real money on film, it's as though there's the money used in the picture as well as what's really circulating American banks, wallets, etc. Also, I think it's a way to prevent counterfeiting. Don't ask me how, I just have a hunch. Plus it's a federal matter, obviously the government has a problem with it.

Answer 4

It's probably an insurance issue: Who wants to be responsible for counting and recounting, and be ACCOUNTABLE FOR $10,000 or $100,000 or more in real money? The insurance costs would be added to the already inflated costs of making a movie. It IS legal, however, to film money; you just can't make copies of money. Copies of money (or forgeries) can be used in place of real money, but there's no way to spend a bill on film.

The amount of money recorded on film has no bearing whatsoever on the amount of money in circulation.

Answer 5

Sometimes I think they do, if it is a close up shot or just a small amount. But otherwise, why risk using ther real thing?

Answer 6

Because they're too cheap to come up with the real money.

Answer 7

Could be for copyright reasons.