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: Wouldn't betting on yourself be illegal? I get that betting on yourself to lose would be a no-no, but wouldn't betting on yourself at all be against gambling rules?

The_Iceman

Answer: Short answer is no, it's not illegal. For example, boxers are allowed to bet on themselves. There may be leagues or clubs that prohibit their players (and even staff) from any form of gambling, not just betting on themselves or their team. But it doesn't mean it's illegal. Some casinos or bookies may not take players' bets unless it's a straight bet to win, as opposed to a player betting he'll win in the 6th round.

Bishop73

Question: After the events of this movie, why does Darth Sidious call himself Emperor Palpatine? Vader was expected to ignore his old life as Anakin Skywalker. Or was that a personal choice of Vader's?

Answer: Anakin, renamed Darth Vader, is a choice by Palpatine/Sidious. It is a Sith name. Darth Sidious, however, has two roles to play as both a Sith Lord and occupying an official position as the Emperor, so he uses his real name for that. The rest of the universe cannot know him as Darth Sidious.

lionhead

Answer: He suspects that Cartman just wants an excuse to stay home and slack off on schoolwork.

Question: If Jay does know about the village in the woods, why wouldn't he have done something about it?

Answer: Do what about it? He's been hired by the Walker Corporation to maintain and protect the preserve and the village inside. He makes sure the junior guards do their job without asking too many questions. The village could not otherwise exist if it didn't have the support and protection of Edward Walker's money. Edward likely put his late father's corporation into a blind trust, to be run in his absence. Key people within the company would also know about the village and provide whatever is needed like the preserve's round-the-clock protection and maintenance, the medicine that is on hand in the event of an emergency, etc.

raywest

Question: I don't think the elders of the village, upon creating the village, took into account things like horns, honking, or the explosions of fireworks on 4th of July and New Year's Eve. So, how would the elders have explained that one?

Answer: They've set up the village as a nature preserve, so isolated that not even airplanes are allowed to fly over. Soundwise, they're far away from civilization, so they can't hear modern noises.

Brian Katcher

Answer: It was mentioned that the Walker Corporation had paid a lot of money to have the airspace above the village restricted so that no planes flew overhead. Fireworks, horns, and other human-made sounds have been around for centuries and were easily explainable and would barely be heard because the village is so isolated. It's all rather far-fetched, plot-wise, however.

raywest

Question: At the beginning, what were the cops looking at in the basement that was so bad? As far as I recall, there was just the dead guy chained to the wall, and possibly Jenna Ortega's body. Neither of which seem any more messed up than the bodies the cops already covered up.

Answer: It was just the naked man chained up. Lorraine was being dragged inside when she gurgled, and the old man had a heart attack and died. They were just inside the front door.

posty

Question: When Blade is getting ready to leave the morgue and Karen is lying on the ground after being attacked by Quinn, Blade is about to walk by and leave her there. However, a flashback of his mom reaching out for help appears twice, triggering Blade to save her. This represents his mom, which I understand. But his mom's death occurred in the opening scene or at the beginning of the movie, and Blade was only a baby. How could he possibly have a memory of that as an adult from being a baby? (00:14:35 - 00:15:03)

Answer: I don't think it's so much a memory as it is Blade just equating Karen with his mother in that moment. The only way to convey his thought process to the audience, though, is to show his mother onscreen.

Phaneron

Question: Where exactly is Empire Bay supposed to be located?

Answer: The fictional town is supposedly located somewhere on New York's coast, near the mouth of the Culver River, also fictional.

raywest

Question: At the beginning, why did Jo's dad try to hold the storm cellar door against the raging winds of a tornado when he could have just scooted them into the farthest corner of the cellar – and even shielded them with himself if necessary? It was almost foreseen what had happened when he held the door.

Answer: His impulse thinking was to close the cellar door to best protect him and his family. He likely didn't believe they could survive if it was left open, even if they were all huddled in the furthest corner.

raywest

Question: How did the aliens drop down from their ships that were shown on TV? Did they land and drop them off, or did they have some kind of teleporting device? Also, why didn't the Air Force attempt to shoot down any of them?

Answer: It was never shown how they did this, so it's all speculation. It was shown that the ships were apparently hidden by a shield, making them appear invisible. This was seen on the TV footage when birds in flight were hitting something in the sky and suddenly dropping to the ground.

raywest

Answer: Madame Leote's spirit was encased in the crystal. The singing busts were inanimate objects brought to life.

Answer: He still had control over them, that's why they've never been able to move on.

Answer: She was African American, most likely the daughter of slaves. He felt she would have brought shame and disgrace to the mansion and the family name.

Question: What were all the cities that were attacked during the invasion?

Answer: Most likely, coastal cities or cities near a large body of water.

Question: Is the Egyptologist's (Jonathan Hyde) name ever revealed in the film, or is he always referred to as just the Egyptologist?

Answer: I don't recall his name ever being mentioned, but IMDb lists his name as Dr. Allen Chamberlain, so it's possible he was named in the script.

Phaneron

Answer: In the late 90s and 2000s, she was reported to be dating several different men. She was often called a "serial dater."

Question: How could Chris have legally become sheriff? Wouldn't he have had to go to law enforcement school or academy before he could have been considered for a role as sheriff?

Answer: The role of sheriff is an elected, political position, and as recent US politics have shown, one can be elected to office with little or no previous relevant experience.

Question: During the Sheriff's car ride back to the Vaughn house, when the Sheriff was explaining the story of the previous Sheriff, is it hinted that the sheriff and the others killed him so he could take over? And if that's true, was that because the previous Sheriff was about to get in the way of Jay's criminal activities or was already doing so?

Question: Why does Darth Maul have almost no dialogue?

Answer: Probably because Ray Park, who portrayed Darth Maul, was not a professional actor, but a martial arts expert and stuntman who was recruited for the film. Another actor, Peter Serafinowicz, voiced what little dialogue there was.

raywest

Answer: The comment by RayWest is a good possible behind-the-scenes reason. Also, I think Darth Maul had been raised by Palpatine/Darth Sidious from a young age, unless that is no longer canon. Unlike Vader and Tyranus, who join Sidious as adults, Maul has almost no interests nor associations with others. He is focused on serving his master because it's all he knows. This could be why he says very little to others - he has no desire, nor much knowledge, about how to interact with them. But again, I am not sure exactly what is canon now.

Question: What happened to Officer Paski, Ray Reddy, Lionel Prichard, that girl from the pharmacy, and that army recruiter guy after the events of the film? Did they survive?

Answer: It's never revealed, so any answer given would be pure speculation. In truth, the answer is that it's up to your imagination. I'd assume a few were killed, but most people likely survived, given how short the invasion was. Of all of them, Paski and Ray Reddy are the most likely to have survived, as Paski is a cop and likely could defend herself, while Ray went out towards the water – the alien's weakness.

TedStixon

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