Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.

Question: What is the racist redneck whistling just before the black security guard tells him to put his foot down? And why is he whistling it to the black man?

Melanie Elsworthy

Chosen answer: He is whistling "Dixie"; the unofficial national anthem of the Confederate States of America. He's a racist.

Answer: My answer: He was whistling it to the black man because he's racist and the song was "Dixie" I think it's a type of racist song.

Question: How did Moira, Charles and the others get away from the island? They did not have someone who can teleport them away, the jet is broken and they had no possibility to communicate with the others. You can hardly expect the Russians or the Americans, who wanted to kill them a few minutes ago, to suddenly want to help them.

Answer: They do have the ability to communicate with the other mutants, via the powerful telepath Charles Xavier. He could also use mind control on the navy captains to make them rescue them, or any number of other possibilities.

Sierra1

Question: What exactly prompts Zhora to attack Deckard when he's posing as an abuse agent? I guess there is something that makes her realize he's lying and or that he's a Blade Runner. But what tips her off? (00:55:08)

Quantom X

Chosen answer: She's paranoid, in hiding, and an expert killer. Either Deckard tipped her off or she decided it wasn't worth taking the chance that he wasn't legit.

Show generally

Question: I've heard the rumor for a while that the show SpongeBob Squarepants was originally made for adults. The only "proof" I've seen of this is speculation of certain episodes with supposedly "adult" jokes and the town's name being Bikini Bottom. Does anyone have legitimate proof of this being true?

Answer: The show was always intended to be for kids (with the occasional joke for the grown-ups thrown in) The name Bikini Bottom follows with the theory that all of the characters in the show are able to speak because of an atomic blast, as the first atomic tests were conducted near the Bikini Islands...Bikini Bottom, meaning the bottom of the ocean at the Bikini Islands.

Actually this theory has been debunked in the show. Firstly, there are caveman versions of Spongebob and Patrick in the episode "SB-129" and Middle ages versions in "Dunces and Dragons." Also Tom Kenny (the voice of Spongebob, and sometimes Gary the Snail) has stated that the theory isn't true.

Question: How did Tim's dad know about the incident with the black guy and about the fight with Schwartz?

Answer: He likely heard about it around town. Anti-semitism was fairly common at the time so word of someone being beaten in a fight by a Jew would travel fast.

So then, how did he also know about the incident with the black man? It happened clear out of town and the only ones who knew about it were Tommy and Billy since they set the whole thing up and the others didn't know about it until after they run out of the hut.

The rest had been back for a while before his dad showed up. Back then this was a small town and again word gets around real fast.

Question: Was there a deleted scene where Cathrine and Ellen were talking while making the turkey in the kitchen and/or doing something resulting in the bird being "overdone" totally and showing up in the scene at dinner causing the turkey to literally explode in a cloud of dust when carved by Clark? It just seems there was a scene missing there!

Answer: YES! You are 100% correct about the deleted turkey-cooking scene! Both my husband and I remember this scene. It was Catherine and Eddie that cooked the turkey to thank Clark and his family for being hospitable. They had never cooked a turkey before and they thought cooking it at a low temperature for a LONG time would be ideal. It looked great, but completely dehydrated. THIS is why Catherine is so upset when the turkey pops open and steams - she ruined the turkey for everyone.

Answer: I have a DVD with the exploding turkey scene It's a classic.

Answer: There was never a scene as described in the film, nor was there anything in any of the special features. Also, there is no mention of it in any of the commentary.

Answer: I also remember vividly the scene where Catherine is cooking the turkey and have been trying to get a copy of the film where that scene is not deleted. Also checked with my wife, she recalls it too. I think we might have seen it on a very early VHS or LaserDisc version.

Question: There is a metal "something" on top on the radio in the living room of Ralphie's home. Can you tell me what it is?

Answer: It's a decorative metal bowl/vessel. They were fairly common in the 1930s. It's a bowing trophy bar set. I have one like it. http://garagesalin.blogspot.com/2010/08/bo-ling-or-happy-marriage.html.

Question: I understand that Frank is part of the manipulated dead and I also understand that he does not travel through time, but rather manipulates it as it happens. This leads me to ask, how was it possible for Frank to guide Donnie before Donnie kills him? Is this implying that the loop has happens over and over until Donnie gets it 'right' and sacrifices himself?

Answer: No, the timeline is not a loop. Frank's death is just bound to happen and he is supposed to make sure Donnie kills him, after accidentally killing the girl. That is the "trap" as they call it. To make sure that Donnie is forced to fix the universe and saves everyone.

Question: In the scene where they cross the bridge with the train, and Allison French is being held by those two guys with a rope around her neck, so that if they would shoot the guys, the horse would run off and break her neck, suffocate her or whatever... They were with 4 against 2, so why didn't one of 'em just shoot that horse?

Answer: There's no explanation. It could be that no one thought of this. Also, even if they shot the horse, the girl could still be injured or killed. If the horse was only wounded, it could have bolted, reared up, or fallen and then rolled on top of the girl. There's many different scenarios that could have played out.

raywest

Question: At the end when Thorin is fighting the Orc, he is knocked down and drops his sword. Bilbo and the others come to his aid. They are then rescued by the eagles. We never see him pick up his sword, but when he's thanking Bilbo he has it. How did this happen?

James L. Goodwin

Chosen answer: It's a mistake. While Thorin does have the sword (Orcrist) throughout the flight, during the initial shot when the eagle is picking him, Orcrist is nowhere on Thorin's body. Both of the eagle's talons are in view as they roll Thorin toward the camera, and his entire body can be seen down to his boots. Orcrist is not on him.

Guy

Answer: She was referring to his habit of excessively passing gas (farting) He can be heard doing this early in the film, even though he is a ghost.

raywest

Question: How can a woman with such a serious heart condition have such toned arms? Muscles like Emily's requires some serious weight lifting which I doubt a serious ill woman like Emily could do.

Answer: In real life she probably would not have this type of physique or be able to maintain it. While some actors change their looks to reflect a character, it is typical for others to look unlike everyday people, such as being ultra-thin and having excessively toned muscles.

raywest

Question: How did Kate Hudson pay the cab fare after she left Mathew McConaughey's apartment, after she left her pocketbook in the apartment?

Answer: She could have been carrying money and/or a credit card in a pocket of her clothing.

raywest

Question: Lord Blackwood dies through a set of circumstances that cause him to be hanged via chain. My question is this - was it merely coincidence that he ended up in the wrong place and the wrong time for the chain of events to kill him? Or did Holmes know it was going to happen that way it did? It seems a little too convenient to me, so I can't help but wonder if Holmes knew the crane would collapse as it did, setting off the chain of events. (Whether or not he knew if would kill Blackwood).

Answer: It was a coincidence.

MasterOfAll

Question: In the film credits for American Hustle, I have rewound it several times and cannot find Robert De Niro listed, or the character that he plays, Mr. Tellegio. Is there a reason for this?

Answer: It was a cameo role, and most times those are non-credited. Often it is for contractual reasons and whether or not a known actor has to be paid a fee. De Niro appeared as a favor to the director.

raywest

Question: Was Doctor Zaius really aware of what happened to the human race? Many times during the film, he does things that indicate such a possibility, like crushing the paper airplane.

Answer: Yes, he knows what happened and does whatever he can to suppress knowledge about it. He does not want his kind to know that humans were once far superior, which he believes led to their destruction.

raywest

Question: In a post-credit scene, it shows Sinestro taking off his green ring and replacing it with a yellow one. What was the reason for it?

Answer: In the comics Sinestro founded and led the Sinestro Corps, a group similar to the Green Lanterns, but they use the yellow part of the emotional spectrum: fear, rather the the green energy of willpower.

Question: What was Tony's reason that he was afraid of Apollo fighting Rocky again?

Answer: With all the damage Apollo did to Rocky, Rocky still wasn't knocked out. In the film series, Rocky is depicted as having an almost superhuman ability to absorb punches. Rocky also caused internal bleeding in Apollo. Tony knew that Rocky was far more dangerous than anyone realized.

Greg Dwyer

Question: Why is it that the students at Hogwarts are only wearing wizarding hats in the first movie?

Answer: It is typical in a movie series for changes to be made from film-to-film, particularly concerning things like costumes, make-up, set designs, etc. It's a matter of trying something and later deciding it is not really working well. It may have been that the hats were just too cumbersome, were constantly falling off, and were affecting the actors' performances. Also, in the Harry Potter series, there were a number of different directors and each has their own artistic vision and often make subtle changes.

raywest

Question: What did Jack mean when he said "You wouldn't have jumped" after he told Rose that he could see her?

Answer: He means that she never intended to actually jump off from the balcony. He knew she was just acting in a desperate manner because she was so unhappy, but that she did not actually want to kill herself.

raywest

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