Question: Just after (the real) Ross has been shot at the airport, you hear the babble of bystanders' voices. At one point you apparently hear this exchange: Person 1: "I heard he shot someone" Person 2: "He's a c**t, that's what he is". Is this part of the script, a mischievous foul-mouthed extra or my bad hearing?
Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
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Question: Besides the Thomas Alva Edison quote at the film's beginning, what could be the scientific explanation for the fact that electronic equipment 'from this side' it's able of capturing sounds and sights from people 'at the other side'?
Chosen answer: I think it is quoted in the movie, but the first Law of Thermodynamics is that energy can be neither created, nor destroyed, it can only change form. We, as humans create energy, so it must go somewhere when we die. Since it cannot be destroyed it is entirely probable that it could change into radio waves, one of the most common forms of energy. So it obviously would be transmitted through a radio, where it gets mixed up with static, creating EVP.
Question: Is there a reason why people on the Simpsons TV always say "You may remember me from such films as..."?
Answer: I have only seen one person ever say this and that is Troy McClure. Prior to the retirement of this character (when his voice, Phil Hartman, was killed), McClure was a prolific actor who appeared in movies, commercials, infomercials, public service announcements, etc. If you notice, whenever he says this, it was to reference to a similar commercial, PSA, etc. he had done before. It came to be his signature line, like C. M. Burns' evil "Excellent," Dr. Hibbert's inappropriate laugh, or Dr. Nick Riviera's "Hi, everybody."
Question: I have a collectors edition DVD, and on the second DVD it says the first DVD has a thing called "Cars". I couldn't find it. How do you get to it?
Answer: On the Region 2 discs the Cars trailer is located directly off the main menu. On some versions it plays automatically when you put the disc in, so long as you don't press any buttons on the remote.
Question: In the opening credits, just before the shot of Phantom Dennis, is the shot of the girl crying Darla? What episode is that from?
Answer: Nope, it's not Darla - that's Rachel from the episode "In The Dark", the third episode of the show (the one with Spike's magnificent opening monologue).
Question: Sometimes it's difficult to tell which events are real and which aren't. Which events actually happened, and which ones did Verbal make up?
Chosen answer: There's no particularly good way to tell - one good rule of thumb is to consider which events the police would be able to quickly check themselves. So, for example, Verbal's description of the attack on New York's Finest Taxi Service would have been substantially factual, as he wouldn't want to risk contradicting anything that the police might have found out from witnesses. Likewise the deaths of Saul Berg and his bodyguards would be largely correct. The most likely scenario is that large parts of what Verbal says are reasonably close to the truth - by doing that, it would make it easier for him to stick to a consistent story.
Answer: I believe everything is factual up to the point they go to L.A. Agent Kujon confirms the lineup and taxi service bust.
Question: How come with computers and electronic gadgets everywhere they have to use a telegraph to let the world know how to destroy the aliens?
Answer: The aliens had destroyed the satellites orbiting Earth. This meant that the usual hi-tec methods of communication could not be used (as most use satellites now), and a low-tec method had to implemented.
Question: How old was Olivia Hussey when this movie was made? Also, what is the name of the guy who plays Romeo and how old was he?
Answer: Olivia Hussey was born April 17, 1951 so she was probably still 16 when the film was being made, but 17 when it was released in 1968. Leonard Whiting was born June 30, 1950 - almost a year older than Olivia.
Question: Just before Todd Anderson has his emotional breakdown about Neil's death, one of his friends grabs a handful of snow and shoves it at his mouth. Why did he do that? It makes no sense.
Chosen answer: He is just trying to get something to help wash the taste of vomit out of Todd's mouth.
Question: I don't understand the ending bit. Why did Lupin and Sirius Black want to kill Harry, then when Pettigrew turned up they all became friends? It just doesn't make sense to me.
Answer: Neither Lupin nor Black ever wanted to kill Harry. Black was only at Hogwarts to get Pettigrew (in the form of Ron's rat), who he knew to be the real murderer. Lupin thought Black was evil and had killed Harry's parents until the truth came out that it was Pettigrew. Then he sided with Black, renewing their old friendship.
Answer: Lupin never believed Black was evil or killed Harry's parents. They've always maintained their friendship. When Professor Snape burst in, at the old house, he said, he told Dumbledorf that Lupin was hiding someone on the school grounds. They didn't know who killed Harry's parents until Pettigrew's name appeared on the map.
Yes, he did. Until he saw Pettigrew on the map, Remus was as sure of Sirius' guilt as anyone else was. He says as much in the book.
Question: What is the 'lost in translation' scene with Robbie Coltrane about? (is it actually a reference to the Bill Murray film?).
Answer: A "lost in translation" is a kind of con - Danny, Rusty and Matsui basically pulled a prank on Linus to make him feel like he didn't know what they were talking about when, in fact, they were just speaking gibberish.
Almost right. Actually, Danny, Rusty and Matsui weren't just speaking nonsense, all the conversation contains their plan.
Answer: It's a joke that Matsui plays on newbies. Near the end of the film, When Linus tells his mother (Cherry Jones) he blew the meet with Matsui, she explains that's his idea of a joke on new players. Linus then comments he didn't see that coming. (Damon shows a moment of bad acting, he can barely contain his laughter).
Question: So is Elektra dead? It seemed like she was still alive, but then again, she could very well be dead, as Daredevil sees her heart stop. And if she is dead, how does she get brought back to life in the spin-off "Elektra"?
Answer: Elektra is dead, at least when DD sees her heart stop. If you had actually seen Elektra the movie you would have known the she is reserected that same night by her future mentor, Stick. Thus leading to the probablity that at the end of the movie when Murdock finds the brail pendent (which says "Elektra", btw) that she has been brought back from the dead at that point, at least for a few days.
Question: Was Doom II (the game played in the Ultimart) ever ported to an arcade machine? I think it would be difficult to produce a real coin-op version of the game (a lot of custom hardware and programming - I don't think any arcade hardware could support Doom back then). Making a prop would be easy by sticking a PC with a TV monitor (to prevent flicker) in a cabinet mock-up, or even just run a pre-recorded tape of someone playing Doom and just have the actor mime it.
Answer: No, Doom II was never available in a commerical arcade cabinet. It must have been specifically designed for the movie.
Question: Can anyone point me in the right direction to find the "island" sound versions of the various songs played throughout the movie? (like somewhere over the rainbow) I have the soundtrack, but it doesn't include all the songs.
Chosen answer: A complete listing can be found on the IMDB page for the movie. Specifically if you're looking for "Over the Rainbow", that was performed by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343660/soundtrack).
Question: I've seen the French version of the film, and the opening credits have been taken out. Can someone please tell me why this might be?
Answer: Because none of the English-speaking cast 'appear' in the film, as all of the voices were redone by French-speaking actors. As such, the original credit sequence is pointless, and it would have been a lot of work to redo the credit sequence for every single different language that the film had to be redubbed into. Hence the choice not to have one.
Answer: The French dub of the movie has all the songs translated into French. I suppose that with the song "All Star" by Smash Mouth in the opening they weren't allowed to do it so as a result they removed it instead, resulting in the removal of the entire opening. This is sort of a French thing, to translate the songs.
Question: I understand that most living Elves are really old by human standards and are immortal, but I have a few questions about the elf "life-cycle." First, ARWEN is the last Elf born but how old is she? Second, how do Elves reproduce and how often? Given their ages, wouldn't an elf child be a super-incredibly rare event such that most humans would never live long enough to see one? Third, when ARWEN weds ARAGORN, she has presumably given up her immortality. How does that work? Is it a biological change or a decision made by the gods - the ones who created the Undying Lands for the Elves? Fourth, would ARAGORN and ARWEN's son have merely human-like mortality or would he be somewhat superhuman - perhaps live longer? I am reminded of the half-god heroes of Greek mythology. I know Tolkien was fascinated by Norse mythology (dead Rohan Kings go to "their father's" like Vikings). Does Tolkien ever explain the elf life-cycle and the logistical problems associated with immortality?
Answer: Hmm, lot of questions. Okay, here goes. (1) Arwen was born in T.A. 241, making her 2778 years old at the time of the War of the Ring. However, there is no evidence in any of Tolkien's writings that she was the last Elf born in Middle-earth. (2) Tolkien never really goes into Elven reproduction, but there's no indication that the basic mechanisms aren't pretty much the same as humans (after all, elves and humans have bred successfully on several occasions in the history of Middle-Earth, so it's fair to say that the plumbing presumably interconnects). Elves don't reproduce terribly often - in 2401 years of marriage, Elrond and his wife Celebrian only had three children. Celeborn and Galadriel only had the one child in at least six thousand years of marriage. Arwen is only six generations removed from the first elves who awoke at Cuivienen, eleven thousand years before the events of the films. So, yes, it's fair to say that elven children would be pretty rare, enough so that most humans would never have encountered one. (3) Arwen's family are not pure elves - without going into complex lineages, her father, Elrond, is roughly half-elven. Elrond's father and all his descendants were given the option by the Valar to choose whether to be counted among men or elves - Elrond chose elvendom, his brother, Elros, chose to be counted amongst men, founding a bloodline that would eventually lead to Aragorn. So, basically, it's a mystical thing. (4) Eldarion, Aragorn and Arwen's son, will have a normal lifespan for a human of his bloodline (i.e. About two hundred years). His mother's former status as an elf shouldn't have any effect. The elven lifecycle is basically the same as humans, just very, very elongated - despite the prevailing view to the contrary, elves are not actually immortal. While they live long enough that humans think of them that way, Tolkien stated that they do age, just incredibly slowly, making a natural death an eventual possibility for an elf (after tens of thousands of years). Plus, of course, they can be killed in combat or accidents, being arguably less resilient than a human in that respect. So, between that and the very slow population increase, there's no real problem with overpopulation or anything like that.
Question: I'm almost certain that the first time I ever saw this film on video (I never did see it during its theatrical release) there was no mention or use of the remote mini-guns that the Marines placed outside their "sanctuary", but I've since seen those guns in action. Does anyone know if there are several cuts of the video version in circulation within North America (Canada specifically), or import versions that would be different?
Answer: In the original theatrical release, the sentry guns are mentioned in passing when Hicks inventories the weapons that survived the crash of the first dropship. This reference was deleted in the original VHS release. When the movie was first brodcast on network television, the sentry gun scenes were added (as well as some other scenes including one near the beginning involving Ripley mourning the death of her daughter). As far as I know, up until the Special Edition DVD release which also includes those scenes, that was the only version which contained the sentry gun scenes and the network (I think it was ABC) would brocast this altered version from time to time.
Answer: The Special Edition was first released on video in 1991. While there have been times the Special Edition was the one most commonly available, it's definitely possible to have seen the theatrical cut on video first.
Question: Is what Andy Dufresne says about victims biting down when they have sudden brain injury true? Or is he just making it up so the sisters won't stab him?
Answer: It's true.
Answer: It's not true. But he came across as educated and convinced them it was true...He further put reluctance into them by basically saying "try it and see what happens..."
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Answer: The line is "He's a cop..."
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