raywest

27th Oct 2009

Friends (1994)

Answer: No, although shortly after the event, there was a "I *heart* NY" seen written on the small message board that hangs on Joey and Chandler's front door. A small tribute, no doubt. Also, during the end-credits of the 2001 Season Eight episode, 'The One After "I Do"' there is a dedication to the people of New York. Joey wears an FDNY shirt as well.

raywest

Answer: They actually had to re-shoot the episode following 9/11. Chandler had made a joke about a bomb on a plane while in the airport during the honeymoon episode, so they changed that subplot.

24th Oct 2009

Hannibal (2001)

Question: Did Hannibal like Clarice? The perfume in the letter, the fact that he saved her, and cut off his own arm. He could have easily killed her. What was it about her that he liked, or respected?

Answer: There are many factors here, and his feelings for Clarice are complicated. He's attracted to her in a physical male/female way, and probably loved her as much as he was capable, but, as seen in the first film (and book), it is also her unpretentious innocence, honesty, and vulnerability that drew him to her, causing him to be protective. She is the "lamb" who never inflicts harm on anyone, nor does she ever pretend to be anybody other than who she is. Hannibal's victims lacked those characteristics, and he felt no inhumanity or remorse whatsoever when he killed them.

raywest

That ending was a movie ending. The book is different and at the end they are seen together at an opera by Barney.

Answer: They actually became lovers in the book. So yes, he loved her.

16th Oct 2009

Jurassic Park (1993)

Question: Hammond gets Grant and Satler to go to Jurassic Park by saying he will fully fund their dig for 3 years. Since Grant says he isn't going to endorse the park, does he still get the grant money? In other words, was the grant dependent on Grant and Satler visiting the park, or on their endorsement?

zephalis

Chosen answer: Hammond's proposal appears to be that Grant only had to visit the park and render an honest opinion about it, although Hammond is confident Grant will endorse it. It was never actually revealed whether or not Hammond continued funding Grant after his refusal to endorse the park (which was sarcasm). However, since Hammond agreed with him, it seems likely he would probably fund Grant's dig in appreciation for everything Grant did (saving his grandchildren) and also to compensate Grant for nearly getting him killed.

raywest

Question: At what point does Will actually realise that Thomas Kent is really Viola?

rachypoos

Chosen answer: When they are in the boat, just after "Thomas Kent" delivered Viola's farewell letter to Shakespeare. After a brief discussion about Will's feeling's for Viola, Thomas (Viola) kisses a surprised Will Shakespeare, then rushes away when the boat docks. The ferryman comments to Will that it was actually Lady Viola.

raywest

Question: World War 3 may have been the reason for the nuclear war, but what caused World War 3?

Socks1000

Chosen answer: It's never stated what caused it (in this movie, at least). So much time has passed that historical records have been lost or destroyed, and the remaining humans are no longer literate, nor do they have any inkling about their species' past. The apes also do not appear to know the reason, only that mankind somehow destroyed their own civilization.

raywest

Question: Why does Ben need to find the city of gold to beat the kidnap charge? The President's story of "We got trapped and he saved my life" would work just as well without the discovery.

Answer: I've wondered that myself. It is a rather obvious plot hole, but it appears that the writers thought it added to the story's "suspense" by having Ben eluding the federal authorities while racing to find the treasure.

raywest

Answer: Ben lured the President to the tunnel to ask him about the Presidents' Secret Book, knowing the President wouldn't admit its existence in front of anyone else. This also means the President couldn't tell secret service what really happened. Ben told him he needed to see the book "to lead us to the discovery of the greatest Native American treasure of all time." The President doesn't know if this is true or if he has some other criminal plan for the book. Finding the treasure shows the President that Ben was telling the truth. Had Ben been lying, the federal charge of kidnapping the President would put Ben in prison for life, effectively punishing him for the kidnapping as well as for lying to the President. Considering Ben had already discovered a massive historical treasure once before, and knowing the recently tarnished name of Ben's family, the President was willing to trust that Ben wasn't lying about his intention and gave him the information needed.

29th May 2009

Midnight Express (1978)

Question: What has ended up with Max? Billy promised to go back and release him, but we never see that happen, and no explanation is given for that in the Epilogue. Is Max a real figure? If he is, what has happened to him? Did he manage to escape, or did he die in prison?

Answer: Max WAS a real character, and a Dutchman in real life, rather than an English one as portrayed in the movie. He eventually got paroled and later treatment for a severe drug addiction he had too.

Answer: It's never stated what happened to Max. The film was a heavily fictionalized version of Billy Hayes' book, and the Max character appears to be fictional as well or at least a composite of other real-life imprisoned Westerners that Hayes met while in a Turkish prison.

raywest

20th Feb 2009

Licence to Kill (1989)

Question: I know there is one quick shot of a real iguana when Robert Davi puts it on the couch, but are all the other shots fake? And why did they use a fake iguana and not a real one in the rest of the shots?

tattoojunkie

Chosen answer: Reptiles are difficult to train and handle, and can hold up filming by being uncooperative. Using a reptile model would simply be easier and faster. Long hours on a movie set is also stressful on animals. There may be other shots with the real iguana, but I can't say for sure.

raywest

Show generally

Question: I know that this is such a small detail, but it's been bugging me for a while and google has been no help. In the original series, the command uniforms were gold and security was red, but in Next Gen and everything thereafter, it has been reversed to command being red and security being gold. Anyone know why the change was made? I'm looking for a real world explanation, not a continuity one as I already found one of those. Thanks.

Answer: When ST:TNG went into production, television had changed drastically from the time the original series aired in the 1960s. Not only were special effects far more advanced, but editing, camera angles, set design, lighting, color schemes, types of film used, and so on, were all very different. It was likely a decision of what looked best from an artistic-design point-of-view to give the series a fresh, updated look as well as to reflect how much Star Fleet had changed since Captain James T. Kirk's time. Red is also a very prominent color, and it draws the viewer's eye to it, and to the character wearing it. Therefore, that became the command color. Also of note is that the "old" uniforms, as of the Star Trek original series movies, had more or less universally switched to red uniforms with smaller department insignia. Thus, chronologically they removed colour coding in favour of pure red for everyone, and then decided to bring back colour coding - but retained the red for command instead of switching back to the old way.

raywest

Question: In the end of the movie just after Ron sacrifices himself to the Queen to win the chess game, he falls to the floor unconscious. But before the scene cuts, a rock flies past his head, he winces, and it leaves a red mark. Did he really get it by a rock during filming or was it added in later?

Answer: The debris from the exploding chess piece was not real; this looks like a combination of computer-generated special effect (CGI) as well some type of a light-weight material (such as Styrofoam) made to appear real and is tossed at Rupert Grint (Ron) from off-screen. Considering the stringent safety standards and precautions that are employed in today's film industry, particularly regarding child actors, and also the multiple times that scenes are shot to get it right, it is unlikely that this was anything that actually could have hurt him.

raywest

20th Sep 2009

Marie Antoinette (2006)

Question: Why did Marie take baths with a nightgown on?

Answer: That was just the custom then. Total nudity was considered inappropriate, if not immoral, even when bathing, which people did infrequently or not at all because it was thought to be unhealthy.

raywest

Question: On different websites I have found tonnes of information about Irina, like where she was born and what she did in her life. Where do people find this information? I know it's not in the film.

msmall724

Chosen answer: It is common for information about characters and plotlines to exist outside a movie. Oftentimes the screenwriters have created a back story about the characters that does not appear in the movie. This information may be disseminated to fans through the movie studio's official web site, in interviews, through DVD commentary, and so on. Also, with popular series like Star Wars, Star Trek, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc., the accompanying novels provide additional information about the characters and plot that does not appear in the movies. Of course, fans also create their own backstories and myths about favorite characters which often gets passed around on various web sites and other sources as verified fact.

raywest

Chosen answer: It's unknown. Presumably they dismantled the campsite and left.

raywest

12th Sep 2009

Marie Antoinette (2006)

Question: Why wasn't it acceptable for Marie to breastfeed her daughter?

Answer: It was typical for royalty and the aristocracy to remain extremely "hands off" regarding child rearing. Nannies, wet nurses, and tutors tended to all their offsprings' needs, and parents usually spent relatively little time with their children. It would be considered extremely odd for a queen to engage in something so personal and common as breastfeeding her child.

raywest

Chosen answer: Max is not the children's uncle but a close family friend. He helps the Von Trapps to escape by stalling the announcement the winners of a music concert held at the end. Being the first-place winners, the Von Trapps are announced last, but they have already slipped away into the mountains.

raywest

Question: When and how does Voldemort become aware of the prophecy and how does he know it is about Harry? Does he know that he caused it to become true by giving Harry is scar?

Amytiville

Chosen answer: Spoiler Alert! Voldemort learned about the prophecy from Severus Snape when he was still a Death Eater. Dumbledore reveals to Harry that shortly before Harry's birth, he interviewed Sybill Trelawney for the Divination teaching position at an inn in Hogsmeade village. Dumbledore felt that Trelawney lacked significant talent and had decided not to offer her the position when she suddenly fell into a trance and related the prophecy to him, although she had no memory of it. Snape was spying on them and overheard the prophecy's first half, although he was discovered and thrown out before hearing its entirety. According to Dumbledore, Voldemort deduced that Harry was "the chosen one" based on clues in the prophecy. It could also have been Neville Longbottom who fit the prophecy, but Harry being a half-blood like himself is probably why Voldemort chose to kill him, thus marking Harry (both literally and figuratively) as his equal when his killing curse failed. Dumbledore believed the prophecy was ultimately unimportant, but because Voldemort thought it was, he determined his and Harry's fate the night he murdered the Potters and gave Harry his scar.

raywest

27th Aug 2009

General questions

I'm looking for a film I heard about in drama class in high school. It takes place on a steamboat or river paddle boat. The main character is a woman that sings on the boat, but is kicked off for being half black. If this sounds familiar please please please let me know! Thanks.

padfootrocksmysocks

Chosen answer: This is the musical, "Showboat." It was originally a Broadway musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, based on Edna Ferber's novel set in the late-19th century American south. The character, Julie, is a mulatto who marries a white man, which was illegal. When it is discovered that she is half-black, the couple is arrested. There have been several movie adaptations of Showboat, the most notable being the 1951 MGM version starring Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, and Ava Gardner, among others. The 1936 film starring Paul Robeson is more faithful to the original story, however.

raywest

Question: On what Dumbledore thought when he said that the labyrinth has no dragon or sea creatures, but there is something much more dangerous: he didn't know it would be Voldemort in the maze, did he?

Feather

Chosen answer: Dumbledore did not know that Voldemort set a trap inside the maze. Unlike the book, there are no magical creatures or riddles to overcome inside the maze. What Dumbledore is referring to is a test of courage. The four champions must overcome their individual fears in order to successfully navigate the maze and win the tournament.

raywest

Question: After Dumbledore is killed, Snape, Draco and the other Death Eaters are leaving the castle from the Astronomy Tower, why/how is it that they end up exiting the Great Hall (then blasting the Auror and then exiting the castle)?

HulkObsessedChick

Chosen answer: There is a bit of a time lapse from when they leave the Astronomy Tower, but the Death Eaters are creating as much mayhem as possible within the castle. The movie tones this down, but in the book, there is an all-out battle between the Death Eaters and the Aurors, Hogwarts staff, and "Dumbledore's Army."

raywest

Question: How is a memory retrieved from the bowl of liquid and returned to its vial after it is viewed? Does it say in the book?

Albany

Chosen answer: First, someone removes a memory from their own mind using a wand. The memory is a silvery mist that attaches itself to the wand's tip and is extracted from a person's head. To save the memory, it is often stored in a flask or vial until it can be poured into a magical bowl called a pensieve. The memory can be viewed at anytime by peering into the pensieve, although in the movie it appears that one must actually submerge their head into the liquid. A memory can also be removed from the penseive with a wand and transferred to a storage flask or another pensieve.

raywest

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.