Lost in Translation (2003) - 8 questions

Question: Do Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson do their own singing in the karaoke scene? The first time Murray sings it sounds a lot better than the second, and Johansson's singing sounds nothing like her speaking voice, which is why I'm curious.

Answer: Yes, according to IMDb both are credited with doing their own singing for this movie.

Question: Could someone please tell me which are the two songs Bob and Charlotte sing in the karaoke scene?

Answer: Bob does a song called More Than This. A quick internet search came up with several artists that have covered it but probably the most well known version is by The Cure. Charlotte does a song called Brass in Pocket by The Pretenders.

Question: In one of the Special Features on the DVD, it shows Sofia Coppola and the rest of the cast and crew fulfilling a pre-filming tradition of holding hands and saying a word that sounds like 'puaba' three times. Can anyone tell me what this word means and why it is a tradition in Sofia Coppola's family?

Answer: I believe that it means something like "good luck", as she hoped the production goes as smoothly as possible.

Question: Do Charlotte and Bob end up sleeping together? While the obvious answer is no, when they are going up the elevator the night before Bob is leaving, notice the jacket he is wearing. It's the same jacket that Charlotte gives to him the next morning which he says she "stole" from him. While it doesn't necessarily say they did, they obviously did something together after the elevator scene.

Answer: If they did, it was never said or seen during the duration of the movie. Usually if this happens, it means the event did not occur.

Question: In Sofia Coppola's photo gallery on IMDB, there are three photos showing her in the press room at the DGA Awards holding what looks like a DGA Award in her arms. Since she didn't win this particular award, why does she have a photo of herself with one.

Answer: That is not the DGA Award - that is the DGA Nomination Medal - all the nominees get one.

Question: I saw this movie in theatres in Jakarta, Indonesia and my friends and I were surprised at how often we would see a boom mike drop into the scene, is it just me or did anyone else catch this? Was this done on purpose to keep the idea of a movie that depicts realistic imperfection?

Answer: No, this was not done on purpose. The projectionist in your theater simply did not frame the film correctly.

Question: Could anyone hear what Bob whispers into Charlotte's ear near the end of the film, just before he kisses her??

Answer: You're not meant to. Leaves you to decide what he says.

Question: I have read that the ditzy blonde actress was based on Cameron Diaz. Does anyone know why Sophia Coppola would pick on her in particular?

Answer: Sofia Coppola has denied that character is based on Cameron Diaz in an article in Entertainment Weekly.