Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: Has JK Rowling ever stated what would have happened if Harry had joined Slytherin and/or become a Dark Wizard? Would Voldemort have sought to slay or recruit him? The scene where he's provoking Harry into using the Unforgiveable Curse on Bellatrix got me thinking.

Answer: She's never said, but I should think Voldemort would see Harry as an even larger threat if he'd joined Slytherin/become a Dark Wizard. Voldemort would assume that Harry would still be trying to kill him, but to take over his rule instead of ridding the world of it.

Phixius

The Son Also Draws - S1-E6

Question: When Peter is lost in the woods and one of the trees is fallen over, another tree says "I'm playing the world's smallest violin." What does that mean?

Answer: It's one of those kid comebacks for someone complaining. Make the OK sign and rub your thumb and finger together. Then you say you are playing the world's smallest violin and it's playing My Heart Cries For You.

Rlvlk

Question: Several times in the movie one character is able to ascertain in which hotel room another character is staying simply by asking the front desk for the room number. Was this realistic at the time the movie was made? Today, a hotel would never divulge a guest's room number to a stranger, since such information could potentially be used by burglars and/or predators to gain access to hotel rooms. Was security really that lax in the 1950s?

Answer: Not really. You could (and at some hotels are still able to) keep your room number private or you could not - i.e. you could ask the hotel staff to keep your number secret from strangers, or you could ask them to tell anyone who might ask. Not having seen this movie, I don't know how likely it would be in the situations you speak of that the hotel guest would choose the latter option- it might be a mistake.

Blibbetyblip

Answer: Yes, security was that lax in the 1950s and beyond. People could acquire all kinds of information about individuals from various types of businesses. Not all were so careless, but many were or they naively didn't see a concern. In the late 1980s, I was a student at a university where a non-university person obtained his ex-girlfriend's class schedule simply by requesting it in-person from the registrar's office. Using that information, he was able to locate and fatally shoot her on campus.

raywest

Question: I have heard many times that there is an accidental car in this movie. I have watched the scene where this reportedly occurs many many times and I still cannot see the car. I have seen the smoke/dust rising in the background which is reportedly dust being kicked up by the car but i cannot see the car itself. I have the Extended VHS version of the movie- is the car more visible in different versions? Please tell me anything you can that will make this car more visible to me.

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: The car was erased digitally before VHS tapes or DVDs were made, so it is not visible in the film itself, in any version. However, on the DVD, in the Music Documentary feature, the car is still visible.

Twotall

Question: When Legolas says "Aragorn, something's out there!" Why does he speak in Elvish? Gimli cannot speak Elvish and there is no reason for Legolas to not want Gimli to hear what he is saying.

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: Legolas was speaking in Elvish so that the whoever or whatever was out there would not understand. It is more likely "it" would understand if Legolas were to speak in english and therefore make their surprise counter-attack void.

XIII

Question: I know that Nuke is a drug but what kind of drug and why dose everyone want the drug so bad.

Answer: We're never given specifics about it, but we do know it's the most addictive drug in history.

Question: What's the significance of PFC Louden Downey not being in his room when the "Code Red" was given?

Answer: It'll be considered hearsay.

Answer: The point is that he wasn't there when the lieutenant ordered the code red. The lance corporal told him LT Kendrick had ordered the code red, but since he didn't hear it himself he couldn't testify to that fact.

Mobrien316

Answer: In addition to the previous answers, it was also particularly devastating to the defense because Kaffee and his team had believed that both Downey and Dawson were present when the order was given; this was what Dawson had led them to believe, since, in his mind, an order from Kendrick via Dawson was the same as an order directly from Kendrick. Therefore, Kaffee et al. were blindsided in open court by the revelation that Downey wasn't there.

Question: What footage was cut from the original but was added in the Uncut DVD?

Answer: The sex scene was toned down for the theatrical release.

Phixius

Question: Obi-wan tells the Gungans that they are connected with the Naboo people, and that what happens to one will affect the other. How are the Gungans useful to the Naboo people?

Answer: Put simply, the two exist side-by-side on Naboo. Inevitably, choices made by one group will have an effect, major or minor, on the other, and if the two do not work together, this will invariably lead to friction between the races. While the details of what each group can bring to the arrangement remain unclear, what is undeniable is that the two races, and thus the planet itself, will be enhanced if the Naboo and the Gungans pool their efforts and collaborate.

Tailkinker

Question: Is it possible that the planets in star wars exist? i know it's science fiction, but it does take place a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

Answer: Sheer improbability aside, there's no reason we know of that they shouldn't.

Phixius

Question: Is Harry the New Goblin, Hobgoblin, or Goblin Jr? I've heard all of them used while people talked about Spider-Man 3.

Answer: The "official" full-length title is "New Green Goblin" but he is often referred to on licensed products simply as "New Goblin." In comic book continuity terms, he'd be Green Goblin II.

Phixius

Show generally

Question: How much do the friends make at their different jobs during the seasons? Could they afford the apartments they're living in?

Answer: Monica's apartment is rent controlled so she has no problem. Chandler has a regular job for most of the time he and Joey live together and it's clear that he pays for most of the apartment and related bills. Phoebe stays in various places where she doesn't have to pay and seems to end up in her grandmother's former apartment which may also be rent controlled (or owned by her grandmother and left to Phoebe). She is the only one whose income vs expenses doesn't really match up, although in later series she starts working at a professional massage parlour which may pay at least half decent money.

tw_stuart

Show generally

Question: Why is there a lot of talking and off screen watching of porn in this show? It's treated like it is very common to do so.

Answer: Eh, it is common but nobody likes to admit it. Porn is a huge industry in the US and worldwide so somebody must be watching.

tw_stuart

Answer: There is an apartment with 2 men who are mostly single, until Chandler and Monica get together in S5. When one of them spends most of their time at home as an out of work actor, it's bound to have a few jabs at the subject.

Question: When Hayley is doing her dance routine, does anyone know the name of the song that is playing?

Answer: "Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued" by Fall Out Boy.

Movieman123

Show generally

Question: When the show makes jokes about scenes from other shows or movies (such as when they show TIE Fighters from Star Wars, which sound just like the ones in the movies), do they have to get some kind of permission to do the scenes or use the sounds?

Answer: Not generally, no. As long as the use isn't too extended, copyrighted material can be used for the purposes of parody. This wouldn't necessarily exclude the makers asking out of courtesy, but there's no legal requirement to do so.

Tailkinker

Answer: Star Wars loved their jokes so much early on in the series they gave Family Guy staff exclusive rights to all the sounds so they could make the best parody possible.

Question: Both David Bowers and Jerome Blake play Mas Amedda in this movie. Are there any noticeable differences in appearance between each actor playing him?

Answer: No. The make-up required for the character is extremely comprehensive, covering the entire face in prosthetics. As such, any differences would be hidden by the make-up.

Tailkinker

Question: Why would High Chancellor Sutler blame Creedy if V was not captured by November the fifth and not one of the other members of the Regime.

Answer: Because Creedy is the head of the secret police and therefore he's the one with ultimate responsibility for catching V.

Tailkinker

Question: Couldn't Angier have kept the one clone alive and simply dropped him below stage each time he did the trick. Did he really have to keep killing them?

Answer: Yep. He's tried working with a double before, and it backfired on him badly. Plus there's the obvious danger of the secret of the trick being revealed if there are multiple copies of him running around - every time the trick is performed, another Angier is made, which becomes a delicate situation after the 4th or 5th performance. Besides, Angier himself would have to be the one dropping below the stage, leaving the clone, up on the balcony, to receive the adulation of the crowd - he hated that before and would be unlikely to want to repeat the experience. Plus the trick would be too easy - he believes firmly that Borden doesn't use a double and wants to have a trick that beats him; to simply work with a double wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

Tailkinker

Chosen answer: There's a limit as to how much the shields can protect the ship. Depending on the force of the explosions, the ship still suffers some damage from any weapon blasts. Also, the shield only holds for so long and gradually loses it protectiveness with successive attacks, causing increasing damage to the ship.

raywest

Answer: The depiction of the shields in this movie is actually interesting because it seems they deliberately tried to show how the ship could plausibly take damage while the shields are up. Here the shields seem to be "on" the hull (or perhaps emanate from the hull itself) and their function seems specific to preventing hull breaches. In TNG and onwards the shields appear as a kind of energy bubble wrapped around the ship, and accordingly they seem to absorb much more impact.

TonyPH

Question: Recently I watched the movie with commentary of amongst others Carrie Fisher. I noticed that she didn't have any comment about the scene where Harrison Ford puts his hand on her breast. Did she ever made a comment about that in a magazine or in an interview? Did Harrison Ford?

Answer: Coincidentally, in the time since this question was first posted, Carrie Fisher revealed that she and Harrison Ford were having an affair. While this may not necessarily have anything to do with the incident asked in the question, it adds the possibility that mentioning it would have been too close to an uncomfortable subject she hadn't yet admitted.

TonyPH

Answer: I've never seen anything on the subject. Seriously, though, why would either of them comment on the incident? It was an on-set slip-up that made it into the film, nothing more than that and, to be blunt, hardly unusual. In all likelihood, neither really remembers the incident among the many slip-ups that both have undoubtedly experienced in their lengthy careers.

Tailkinker

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