Question: We see something going on between the corrupt skinhead and the Hispanic criminal inside the prison, and it makes Vinyard leave that gang. What exactly was the arrangement by the skinheads to 'protect' Vinyard?
Answer: It's quite simple: He was one of them, a fellow skinhead. In prison different groups stick together for mutual protection and comradeship, and as neo-nazis/skinheads would be fairly unpopular with the colored inmates, all the more reason for them to protect each other.
Question: At the very end of the scene in which Walter and the Dude are spreading Donnie's ashes at the coast, a dark and unidentifiable figure appears for a few seconds in the upper right screen, apparently hiking a trail along the cliff. Was this an accidental walk-on by an actual hiker, or was it written into the script? With all the star-power in this film, I thought every bit of background action was supposed to be meticulously crafted.
Chosen answer: There's no way of knowing. If the hiker was that far away, it could have been someone who happened to stray into the scene by accident. The filmmakers may or may not have noticed, but if they did, may have felt it added to the realism. I did this myself during the filming of a street scene for the TV show, "Northern Exposure." Filming was underway before I realised I was in the midst of it. I just kept walking like I was supposed to be there.
Question: What was the point of Sean Bean's role in this movie? I get that he is exposed as a fraud, but it doesn't really affect the plot one way or the other.
Chosen answer: It is true that it doesn't affect the plot. However Spence's (Bean's) failure can be contrasted with the professionalism of the main characters. Also it raises the possibility that whoever hired them isn't taking necessary precautions in planning and hiring. Earlier we heard Sam (De Niro) ask Vincent (Reno) if he was "labour or management" which suggests a theme of professional operators getting their hands dirty while their bosses play politics.
Question: Did Kelly Van Ryan really love Sam Lombardo or was she trying to use him to get her mom's money? Or both?
Answer: Kelly loved Sam and hated her mom. She wanted the money that was left to her by her grandfather and this was the only way to get it without her mom dying.
Answer: Yes, Kelly WAS in love with Sam. And the money was just a bonus.
Question: What were the Triad throwing into the dryers along side the counterfeit bills?
Answer: It's poker chips (occurs at approx 01:30:35).
What was the purpose of adding poker chips with the fake money?
Within the heat of a dryer, the poker chips tumble around with the new counterfeit bills, helping all those stiff new bills obtain a used/worn natural appearance.
Question: I haven't read the novel, so I don't know if it's addressed there, but after Javert interrogates whom he later finds out to be Cosette in her own home, he goes back to find the house empty, and Cosette and Valjean are now living in another house. Is this an additional house that Valjean already owned as a safe house, or did he just rent it?
Answer: I'd say it was a house he rented.
Question: For the card game at Hatchet Harry's: one of the rules is that an open man can't see a blind one. I'm only familiar with "blind" referring to forced bets at certain spots on the table (e.g. the opening antes for Texas Hold 'Em). For this it seems to be a designation of the bet, for example when Harry counters Eddie's 10K, open, with 20K, blind, which is then topped by 20K, open. Could someone explain to me what open/blind means?
Answer: First, keep in mind they're not playing poker. It's similar, but there isn't a check/bet/call. They put in money, and you have to match it, then it's back on the other guy to match or raise. If you "see" the last guys bet, you put in double, and the cards are shown. Yes, "blind" means you didn't look, "open" means you did.
Answer: When you play a poker hand blind (I think it's in 5 card draw poker) you bet without looking at your cards and so you don't get the chance to change any cards. The others that are betting against you (the opens) have seen their cards, exchanged as many of their 5 cards as they want but then have to double your bet amount.
Answer: They're playing "3-card Brag." In this game, to play blind, you're not looking at your cards when betting. There are certain advantages to this because you only have to put in half the bet while blind. When the round gets to 2 players remaining, if one person wants to "see" a player's hand, he doubles the previous bet and the hands are revealed with the best hand winning (in the event of a tie, the player "seeing" loses). If a player is "open", meaning he looked at his hand, he can not double the bet and "see" a blind hand, he can only bet or fold. The round continues until the blind hand sees or there is a fold. At any time a person playing blind can look at their hand and then continues playing as an open hand, without the blind advantages.
Question: The ending apparently had to be reshot, because the original ending leaked out. What was this original ending?
Answer: The original ending features a huge shoot-em-up, involving more than 150 cops, but it was changed to a shoot-em-up on a much smaller scale that involves only Kevin Spacey, Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Rifkin.
Question: When Karen is being questioned by her superior in the hospital, he has her written report. But, when did she have time to write it? She met Foley, got thrown in the trunk, got into an accident, then went to the hospital.
Answer: The Chinese character on the necklace means, "good fortune."
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