Question: Why isn't Bette Midler mentioned in the credits?
Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
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Question: "Spooks" is called "MI-5" in the US. I'm aware that Five operates something like the FBI and Six like the CIA, however, what are One through Four?
Answer: They no longer exist. The Military Intelligence groups first appeared at around the time of the First World War. MI-1 was the original directorate, MI-2 dealt with the Soviet Union and Scandinavia, MI-3 with Germany and Eastern Europe, MI-4 handled aerial intelligence gathering, MI-7 dealt with propaganda, MI-8 with communication intercepts, MI-9 with covert operations, MI-10 were the technical experts, MI-11 dealt with security issues out in the field and so on and so forth. All these departments have either been shut down or subsumed into the Security Service, informally referred to by its original designation of MI-5, the Secret Intelligence Service, referred to as MI-6, or GCHQ, the Government Communications Headquarters.
Question: From the way it is portrayed in the movie, it looks like Bond & Wai Lin just head straight for the stealth boat once they spot it. They come at it from the front. I don't see why they would do that. Even if the surveillance guy wasn't paying attention (there's no way Bond could've known that), shouldn't someone on the bridge be able to see the dingy approaching straight at it? It would've made more sense to me if Bond waited for the ship to pass and then come from behind or the sides.
Answer: It's getting dark by this point - Bond and Wai Lin are dressed in black in a dark coloured boat. Anyone looking out of the window would be looking down towards them - they wouldn't be able to pick them out against the sea.
Question: What is the point of blowing up Parliament if Sutler has been overthrown and killed? It doesn't achieve anything but huge rebuilding costs.
Answer: Parliament is seen as being a corrupt institution. Sutler may be gone, but if the institution remains intact, then all that's likely to happen is that somebody similar to Sutler will claw his or her way to the top and nothing will change. By destroying of the ceremonial Parliament building associated with the corrupt government, V's intent is to shake up that institution to a point where it can no longer survive.
Question: I was wondering if the flower Romalia, suggested to be native to California, really exists.
Answer: Yep. Romneya, also known as the Matilija Poppy, is indeed native to California and northern Mexico.
Answer: Only the flowers in the movie are red, while the real flower is white with a yellow core, which makes it look like an egg, fried, sunny side up.
Question: Pixar has only two rules for what to put in their film: The Pizza Planet truck must appear, and John Ratzenberger must have a part of some kind. Though I have found both in Pixar's other five films, I have not spotted either in this one. Where are they?
Answer: The Pizza Planet truck can be seen on the road when the family arrive in the van towards the end of the film. Ratzenburger shows up right at the very end, voicing the Underminer. Pixar actually have a third thing that shows up in each film - the code A113, which refers to a classroom used by animation students at the California Institute of the Arts.
There is actually a 4th thing as well. The luxo ball, which has been in every pixar film since its debut in 1986's Luxo Jr, a short about two lamps. One of these appears in the Pixar logo (the one that jumps on the "I").
Question: In the scene where Ben has just pulled Abigail into the van after he had stolen the Declaration, why does he ask her if she is hungry?
Answer: It's meant to distract her and confuse her so that he can think and talk appropriately.
Question: When Hallie and her mom are on the way to the studio, they are showing crossing the street. On the road behind them, the white lines are zigzagged at the beginning. Why are they like this?
Answer: They are crossing on the zebra crossing on Abbey Road in London. The Zigzags are a warning for drivers that the crossing is near. They serve as both strict 'no parking' and 'no crossing the centre line' warnings.
Question: Is the Green Goblin a whole separate being, or just another side/part of Norman Osborn himself (and then Harry)? I am asking because Norman argues with the Green Goblin mask in the first Spider-man movie, as if they are two separate people, but it also looks like he could be arguing with himself (with the Goblin's voice really being in his mind).
Answer: It's either Schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder brought on by the super-soldier drug he took. The Green Goblin is a facet of Norman's mind. So he is really arguing with himself, though he thinks it's the Green Goblin.
Question: What did Ron do to Hermione to make her think he "spoiled everything"?
Answer: Ron having a horrible time and berating her for being "with the enemy" had her upset. Plus the fact that there is a growing attraction between the two that has been evident since the second movie, she feels that he should have seen her in a different light and not just a "convinience" date to ask at the last minute.
Question: Why does the girl cut her dad's throat, if she knew that it would fulfill the curse?
Answer: She was trying to help him breathe.
Question: After Happy sinks the final putt to win the tournament, Shooter grabs his jacket and runs. Mr. Larson catches up to him and off camera yells, "Face down." However, in the TV version, he instead yells, "Stay still." Why is this line changed?
Answer: It is an inuendo that Mr. Larson "violated" Shooter for stealing the jacket, which is changed for the TV versions to be cleaner. However, some people insist it's the same for both versions, so it's possible that later DVD releases were changed too.
Question: Fee tells Mary she has two deceased sons. She tells her this before the deaths of Stuart and Hal. I don't remember any other of the Cleary children dying in the novel, what two sons is she referring to?
Answer: When Fee was very young, she had an affair with a man and became pregnant. To avoid a scandal, she was quickly married off to Paddy Cleary, a good and honest man, but someone far below Fee in social class. The eldest son (from Fee's previous relationship) never felt that he fit into the family, and both he and the second eldest son left home early on and met premature deaths. Neither character appears in the TV series, they are only mentioned. Stu and Hal are killed later in the story.
Question: Were the airport scenes shot on location at Bangor and LAX airports? If so, I'm curious as to find out how they achieved the effect of no-one being there. I mean, is it possible to desert a whole airport for filming? I would have thought that to be rather impossible, to close the airport whilst shooting. Any help?
Chosen answer: Yes, they were at those locations.Filming with nobody around is possible, either by shooting indoor scenes at night, when the terminals are closed, or outdoor scenes on unused sections of the airport. If maintenance is going to close a runway (or a whole terminal) for a week, a film company can rent the space (at a price of course!) to keep it closed a few extra days for filming.As well, many shots can be established in real locations, but followed by filming on sets built to replicate parts of the real locations.You could film a whole movie's "setting" in an afternoon by taking select shots, then spend a couple of months in a studio on closeup shots which don't require the large, real, backgrounds.
Question: What kind of game are they playing? You have to buy it in shops but you meet other players on it, so it must be an Internet game.
Answer: They are playing an MMORPG (massivly multiplayer online role playing game). A game where a whole living breathing online world exists where hundereds or thousands of people can play and interact with each other. Games like EverQuest and World of Warcraft are MMORPGs. Only in Spy Kids 3-D, you can actually enter this game as if you're really there through some type of virtual reality.
Question: During the first task with the dragons, there is a shot of Hagrid in the stands. It seems very deliberate that there is only one other person sharing the shot, although slightly in the background. It really looks like the author, J.K. Rowling did a cameo in this shot. From her statement several years ago I realize she would be reluctant to do a cameo, but is there some more up-to-date information?
Answer: I'm not an expert, and I haven't seen any information about her changing her mind about doing a cameo. But I watched that scene very carefully and it does not look like J.K. to me.
Question: Is there some connection between death and water? In FD1 there was Tod who slipped on water, FD2 the pile up occurred on a very wet road and Nora was nearly electrocuted by the fish tank leak, and in this one there's the girls who are burned to death due to the slurped water causing a power overload.
Answer: There is no deliberate connection. Water can be the cause of many accidents and it's an easy one to put in a movie...
Question: What does Adam Sandler say after that kid throws up at the beginning? Does he say "I think I saw a boob come out of him"? (sorry, but that is what it sounds like.).
Answer: He says, "I think I saw a boot come out of him."
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Answer: Presumably she chose not to be credited. This isn't that uncommon when a major star takes on a relatively minor role in a film.
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