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: How did Luke get off the Death Star before it exploded? We never actually see it happen in the movie, or do we?

Answer: He piloted a shuttle out of the hanger. There is a quick shot of him in the cockpit and the shuttle leaving the hangar, which is followed immediately by an explosion.

Cubs Fan

Question: Why was Darth Vader so intent on finding the Millennium Falcon if Luke wasn't even on it? Not only that, how could he even sense it at all, if it was only Luke's presence he could feel through the Force? Was he actually sensing Leia but mistaking her for Luke?

Answer: There are two options with regard to the Falcon; either Luke's on-board, in which case Vader needs to track it down to capture him, or he isn't, in which case the people who are on-board will be excellent bait to draw Luke into his trap. Either way, he needs to find the ship. Jedi can sense the presence of living beings, not just other Force sensitives, so there's no particular reason why he shouldn't be able to sense the Falcon's crew. There's no particular indication that he's mistaking Leia's force sense for Luke's - if he was, then he'd immediately realise his mistake and, in all likelihood, that she's his daughter when he met up with her later in the film. Which he doesn't.

Tailkinker

Question: Why do some think that Darth Plagueis or Darth Sidious created Anakin? I don't see why Plagueis would bother training Sidious, or why Sidious would train Maul, if either of them could use the midi-chlorians make a very strong apprentice. Also, Shmi is a poor slave living in a small town in Tattooine, so why would either Plagueis or Sidious have any reason to be interested in her?

Answer: Because while they could use the midi-chlorians to create a powerful apprentice, they can't use them to grow that apprentice to adulthood in the blink of an eye. Sidious needs an apprentice to do his bidding and advance his agenda in the meantime; he's not going to sit there twiddling his thumbs while he waits for Anakin to grow up. As far as choosing Shmi Skywalker, they need to choose a host mother who's not going to come to the attention of the Jedi. If the Jedi pick up on Anakin shortly after his birth, then they will simply take him away and raise him from scratch, which would ruin him for Sidious' purposes. They need Anakin to grow up a bit, develop attachments that can be manipulated to turn him to the Dark Side, so picking a humble slave on an out-of-the-way world is a perfect choice.

Tailkinker

Question: How did Luke learn to construct a new light saber (after losing his old one in the fight with Darth Vader)? Yoda seems like the only person who could have taught him, but Luke hasn't been back to see him since he lost his old one (Luke's line to Artoo about "keeping a promise to an old friend" makes it clear that this is the case). Was it part of their earlier training on Dagobah?

Answer: According to Expanded Universe materials, Luke constructed his new lightsabre using instructions and materials that he found hidden in Obi-Wan Kenobi's abandoned dwelling on Tatooine.

Tailkinker

Answer: The force ghosts could've talked him through it.

Chosen answer: Instead of passing on they would cease to exist.

Phixius

Chosen answer: "Dunces and Dragons".

Sierra1

Question: Is there ANY chance of them making a film based on the trailer Titanic Two the Surface? It seems like a really good idea for a sequel.

Answer: None whatsoever. While the trailer's a clever example of an editing job, the actual concept is absurd to a truly spectacular degree, and would undoubtedly be seen as a completely shameless cash-in on the original, to the extent where even studio executives might well balk at the idea.

Tailkinker

Question: I've heard that Hans Zimmer's score for this film is heavily inspired by Mozart, to the point where some call it a "rewrite". Which one of Mozart's pieces is he alleged to have drawn inspiration from?

Answer: Some bits of his score bear a small resemblance to a choral piece called "Ave Verum Corpus", but to suggest that it's a full-scale rip-off is a serious exaggeration.

Tailkinker

Question: When the rebels talk about the "forest moon of Endor," is Endor the name of the moon itself or of the planet it orbits? The initial description makes it sound like it's the planet, but later on they refer to the moon as "Endor." Which is it?

Answer: Endor is the name of the planet. It's never stated in the film, but the novelization explains that the planet Endor was destroyed some time ago and the moon which the Ewoks inhabit now orbits the star that the planet once orbited. The moon is referred to as Endor merely for the sake of brevity, as there is no longer a planet to confuse it with.

Phixius

Question: I have heard that the role of Bloody Mary was dubbed in this movie. Who dubbed her, and why isn't that person listed in the credits (given that Giorgio Tozzi, who dubbed Emile de Becque, is credited)? Also, were Nellie and Lt. Cable dubbed? Again, no one is credited, but their singing voices sound dubbed to me. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Answer: See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052225/fullcredits#cast.Bloody Mary's singing voice is Muriel Smith, Lt. Cable's is Bill Lee. Mitzi Gaynor (Nellie) does her own singing. For most of these "on-location" musicals, the singing is recorded in a studio, so even the actors who do their own singing are, in effect, dubbed by themselves.

Myridon

Question: I once heard a sound file, on a website, of Darth Maul talking about fear. Was this part of a deleted scene?

Answer: "Fear. Fear attracts the fearful... the strong... the weak... the innocent... the corrupt. Fear. Fear is my ally." That was part of the promotional campaign for Episode I - there was a tone poem for the main characters, and that was Darth Maul's. They were just used for television ads, but are on the DVD.

Sierra1

Show generally

Question: There's one episode where the janitor and J.D. start talking and arguing and then after a while, the janitor looks down at his watch and says "No, I don't have time" because they had started doing what they were doing in the beginning. Does anyone know what episode this is?

Answer: Season 5 Episode 16 "My Bright Idea."

Guy

Answer: He is probably used to filming people in the best light and from the best angle, and even though he wasn't filming at the time, it may have annoyed him that Lisa was not properly posed or lit for a shot.

Sierra1

Question: Why did Van Garret want to keep his marriage to Widow Winship a secret?

Answer: It may have been because she was a widow. I'm not sure, but it was possibly frowned upon at the time.

Sierra1

The widow was pregnant with Van Garett's child.

Question: In the trivia for Moulin Rouge, it says that Baz Luhrmann included the red "L'amour" sign in this film, as well as Moulin Rouge and Strictly Ballroom. Where is it in this film? Is it the image on the drugs that Romeo and his friends take at the party, or is this a different picture? If this image is not the L'amour sign, where can it be seen?

Answer: It appears on one of the billboards on Verona Beach. It's red and white, and in the style of the Coca-Cola logo.

Sierra1

Show generally

Question: Is there any meaning behind the name of the street that the Hills live on, Rainey Street?

Answer: It's a real street in Austin, Texas, and was apparently where Johnny Hardwick (one of the show's writers and the voice of Dale Gribble) used to live.

Sierra1

Question: Why, at the end, does Cogsworth try to make it out like he was the one who said that Belle was going to be the one to break the spell, when both he and the audience know that Lumiere actually said that?

Answer: Because he a Lumiere have a bit of a "friendly" rivalry. He's either teasing Lumiere or genuinely trying to take credit for it to spite him.

Phixius

Question: Has there been much in the way of controversy about Bart's, ahem, exposure?

Answer: Not really - firstly, it's only a cartoon, and although Bart is only a child, his manhood is so crudely drawn it isn't exactly the most authentic (or anatomically correct) drawing of his 'winkle' - pretty much just a harmless joke.

Sam Johnson

Question: Who does the voice of the droid towards the end, the one that tells Bail, Obi Wan and Yoda that Padme has lost the will to live? It sound like Jimmy Smits to me but I can't be sure.

Answer: That role was played by David Acord, assistant sound editor on the film.

Tailkinker

Question: After Aragorn goes over the cliff during the warg attack, why don't Gimli and Legolas go down to look for him? Even if they thought it would be impossible for him to have survived, how could they live with not having made sure? Yes, more wargs would be coming soon, but surely these two brave warriors would not allow that to prevent them from possibly saving Aragorn's life.

Answer: They simply don't think he could have survived. Even if he did, they could hardly take the time to search for what could be miles downriver. Aragorn would want to make sure that the people of Rohan reached safety, so that's what they do, better to accompany the column to Helm's Deep, rather than abandon them in the face of possible further attacks. Also, King Theoden had given orders to leave the dead, and assuming that Aragon could not have survived such a fall, they were being ordered to leave him.

Tailkinker

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