Scott215

18th Nov 2006

Gremlins (1984)

Question: According to imdb.com Jerry Goldsmith composed the music for the film. But I ran across a copy of the soundtrack which names Danny Elfman as the composer. I have also seen him credited for the music in both "Gremlins" films on several occasions, both on TV and online. Why is Elfman getting credit if Goldsmith composed the music?

Answer: It's hard to get a definite answer to this, as I've found conflicting answers online. However, by 1984 Danny Elfman hadn't done much composing, with his musical work largely restricted to songs as part of his band. As such I'd think it was unlikely he composed the Gremlins score. No music from the Gremlins films are on either of his compilation CDs either. The closest thing to a reason I can find for the mis-crediting is that on the Gremlins 2 DVD one of the deleted scenes apparently has some music from "Beetljuice" (which Elfman scored) used over it, which may have led to the confusion.

Jon Sandys

Goldsmith also had a cameo in the film (as did Steven Spielberg) as the man at the phone, while Spielberg rolls around on some sort of bicycle-type vehicle.

Scott215

Answer: I purchased the Gremlins theme on my iPhone, listed under Danny Elfman, and it's the original theme. I'm guessing Danny bought the rights.

Any Gremlin theme song you bought with Elfman's name attached was mislabeled. He didn't buy the rights to any of the songs Goldsmith created.

Bishop73

21st Mar 2022

General questions

Looking for a movie set (at least partly) in WWII - all I remember is one scene where an American wearing a helmet with a swastika painted red, white and blue is speaking to American soldiers and trying to convince them they should be helping the Nazis fight the Soviets.

Answer: That sounds like you are describing a scene from the movie "Slaughterhouse 5."

Scott215

Question: When Scott starts slowly turning into Santa, everybody believes he's dressing up as Santa on purpose. Why didn't Scott simply tell people, "I don't think I'm Santa Claus. I'm not pretending to be Santa Claus. I know I'm not Santa Claus. I'm not even trying to look like him." Granted he could never tell anybody how it happened but if he simply said that he isn't pretending to be somebody he's not people might ease up a bit?

Answer: If he told people he was not deliberately trying to look like Santa Claus, that would cause them to be even more suspicious of Scott Calvin having a mental disorder, not a physical one. Remember, Scott went to see his family doctor, Pete, and Pete tried to explain to Scott his physical changes as a matter of changing his diet from milk and cookies, and Scott suffering from a hormone imbalance. Scott tried, but not even Doctor Pete, a professional in the medical field, could help him.

Scott215

This question is about his mental state. Not his physical transformation. In other words, he could say "There's nothing mentally wrong with me that would make me think for one second I am Santa." His physical transformation could be explained by people thinking he's overeating, growing facial hair and his hair turning white.

Except, Doctor Pete was incompetent. Nobody has the drastic physiological changes that Scott had, and Dr. Pete seems committed to blaming them on 'routine' aging and diet factors. In real life, a competent doctor would be submitting Scott to a continuous battery of tests, cancer screenings, CT scans, etc.

27th Dec 2021

The Santa Clause (1994)

Answer: Why wouldn't Santa Claus visit the same house and the same children each Christmas season? Little Sarah obviously believed in Santa Claus and expects him every year, like many children do. Sarah believed in Santa so much she left him food for the reindeer, and cookies and milk for him, and later, soy milk because she remembered that Santa told her he was watching his fats. Santa will visit each Christmas as often as he can, provided people believe in him.

Scott215

4th Jan 2019

The Terminator (1984)

Question: How exactly do both the Terminator and Kyle find addresses? We are led to believe that is the reason for the phone books, but none of the addresses in the phone books match up to the addresses where either the first Sarah is killed, nor the apartment of our Sarah.

Answer: Gonna be totally honest... that might just be nothing more than a simple continuity error. They accidentally made a phonebook prop that didn't match up with the locations where they shot, and assumed most people wouldn't notice or care. (And to be even more honest, I never noticed it until I saw this question today.)

TedStixon

Answer: My two cents: The T-800 Terminator does indeed, rip out the page of a phonebook for the address, but remember, he was looking for any and all Sarah Connors, not a specific address. He did not know which Sarah would give birth to John Connor, so by process of elimination he began terminating any woman with the name Sarah Connor. He did plug the first Sarah Connor (a housewife), then went to kill the other Sarah Connors in the phone book.

Scott215

I already gave that answer, but apparently that's not what the question is asking.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: Both the T-800 and Kyle look up Sarah's address in the phonebook and it's Kyle who rips out a page. Neither uses a police computer; that's the T-1000 in Terminator 2.

But that doesn't answer the question (and it's already been mentioned) since the information in the phonebook appears wrong.

Bishop73

Answer: Kyle we are shown uses a police computer to find the addresses. The T800 just uses the phonebook as you mentioned. He rips the page out and takes it with him.

Ssiscool

Except 2 of the addresses in the phone book don't match. So how does the Terminator find them using the phonebook?

Bishop73

The Terminator is just blindly killing everyone in the phone book whose name is Sarah Connor (apparently a common name). Process of elimination. So, the day he arrives, unrelated women named Sarah Connor start dropping like flies, and the police believe it's the work of a serial killer. Our heroine Sarah Connor barely escapes this sweeping extermination by sheer luck and Kyle's intervention.

Charles Austin Miller

You just described the plot. Were you trying to answer the question? Because the question still stands. (As it is, it's either a mistake or plot hole in the film).

Bishop73

Perhaps I'm not getting the question. What is meant by "none of the addresses in the phone books match up"? Match up to what, the murder scene addresses? I wasn't aware that the murder scene addresses were prominently displayed.

Charles Austin Miller

Exactly. The addresses seen don't match. Specifically the first Sarah Connor's house number is "14239", but in the phonebook it is listed as "1823." And the real Sarah Connor lives in an apartment but the phonebook doesn't list an apartment number.

Bishop73

Perhaps though this all doesn't matter because phone books can quickly become outdated, the phone book he found could be over a year old. Someone moves but can still be listed in the phone book with their old address. He could have gone to the addresses but found someone else living there and then asked where the previous owner might be, and he was told (or he forced them). This might be how he found all the Sarah Connors.

lionhead

Are any of the Sarah's listed as living at 1823? I've not got access to the film right now to check.

Ssiscool

The first is listed as "1823." The second is "2816." The 3rd is "309." Although after reviewing the scene and thinking about it, for "309" (which is supposedly our Sarah J Connor), the full address isn't actually seen and the apartment number could have been listed.

Bishop73

Reese never uses a police computer; that's the T-1000 in Terminator 2. He rips out the page from the phonebook. The T800 also uses the phonebook but is never shown ripping out a page.

15th Mar 2020

Galaxy Quest (1999)

Question: When the Proctector leaves spacedock, there are Thermians inside the spaceport watching it leave. Later on Mathesar says the Thermians on the Protector are the last ones left. What happened to the Thermians left behind at the spacedock?

Answer: I believe Mathesar was referring to both the Thermians on the Protector and at the base as being all that was left. Not just the ones on the Protector.

TedStixon

Mathesar meant only the Thermians on the Protector were the ones that were still left. The Protector does not go back to the base to pick up the Thermians that were left behind.

We do not know if the Protector went back to pick up the surviving Thermians at the spaceport, as the last act of the Thermians on the Protector was to separate the ship and send the GQ cast back to Earth. Maybe the Thermians did head back to the spaceport to reunite with the Thermians there.

Scott215

Answer: At 01:01:09, Jason says, "You can drop us off, and you guys can be back to your home planet before supper." Teb answers, "Oh, no, sir. We have no reason to go back." Jason then mentions family and friends. Then, Teb says, "We are all that is left." Based on the shocked silence that follows, it's apparent that Sarris has completed his plan to slaughter all other Thermians, as Mathesar had told Jason earlier.

Answer: Why, certainly they all were transported back to the ship after watching the great moment of the first undocking. After all they have the technology, right?

10th Dec 2020

Star Trek (1966)

This Side of Paradise - S1-E25

Question: All crew members left the Enterprise and Captain Kirk was alone on the ship - how was he able to beam down to the planet and then back up to the ship? No one was on board to manage the transporter.

Answer: In other episodes of Star Trek it was shown the Transporter could be operated automatically: set the coordinates, hit the "energize" button (there is a timer to give the person beaming down time to get to the transporter pads), then get to the transporter pads before energizing.

Scott215

12th Jun 2020

Mad Max 2 (1981)

Question: In the initial chase scene when Max secured the Semi for pulling the tanker, the driver of the car with the man in back firing the triple arrow cannon gets the snake dropped on him and fires the arrows into the back of the driver's seat. The arrows stop because of the padding. Am I mistaken, or did the arrows not go through enough to reach the driver?

Movie Nut

Answer: From what I saw in that scene, the arrows did penetrate through the padding into the driver, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle.

Scott215

Question: Where was Truly was going prior to going in the duck pond the first two times? She changes her plans easily.

Answer: It seems those times were occasions when she was on her way to see her father, Lord Scrumptious, at his candy factory, or wherever he may be (like at the Potts' wargaming with Grandpa).

Scott215

10th Jun 2020

Star Trek (1966)

Arena - S1-E19

Question: Why does Kirk order Sulu to warp out of orbit? If Enterprise is not damaged, they can stay and wait, surely?

Answer: Kirk is not taking any chances with the safety of his ship and crew, and neither the Humans or the Gorns had any idea the power of the alien making them fight possessed, so warping the ship out of possible danger would be a prudent (and logical) move.

Scott215

13th Jul 2020

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Question: Why did Alison give Max his phone number back?

Answer: It was her way of saying "No" to any future invites from Max. Also, she wanted the turndown to send a message to Max that it was final, and that way was to return the phone number.

Scott215

Thank you.

12th Mar 2020

Fury (2014)

Question: Are we to believe that an entire battalion of SS troops with a lot of panzerfausts (as shown when they march) are unable to kill one stationary Sherman? Even if there would be many inexperienced soldiers drafted at the end of the war they can't be that bad right?

Answer: The quality of German weapons at this late stage of the war was quite inferior to the early and mid part of the war due to incessant allied bombing of weapons and munitions plants, and the Germans' use of slave labor to manufacture the weapons and ammunition plants, which invited inside sabotage. There are many accounts of German weapon and ammunition failing on a regular basis, so most of the panzerfausts not scoring a kill on "Fury" due to their low and questionable quality is quite plausible.

Scott215

4th Dec 2019

Patton (1970)

Question: Did George Patton really change the time which the mess hall was open and closed like he does in the movie?

Answer: Yes, Patton did change the mess hall times. Chester B. Hansen, who was General Omar Bradley's aide, kept a detailed personal wartime diary. In it he wrote about Patton, and regarding the mess hall Hansen described it this way, "When Fredendall was the corps commander, the II Corps people generally went to breakfast at about 9 o'clock in the morning. When Patton came, however, he changed all that, and in Fairlana they stopped serving breakfast at 6 o'clock in the morning. Therefore it was necessary for us to stumble out of bed at about 5, hurry down and grab a breakfast. It was quite cold at that time in the morning..." After the war, because of his detailed diary Hansen was the ghostwriter of Bradley's war memoir, A Soldier's Story, which was one of the resources for the movie's screenwriters.

Super Grover

Did Patton change the mess hall times in order to discipline his troops?

In short, yes, it was part of Patton's stern discipline and strictly enforced regulations, which he believed essential. Following the disastrous defeat at Kasserine Pass, when Eisenhower had Patton promoted and appointed the new commander of II Corps, it was because Patton was the perfect choice. Just as Scott215 mentioned Patton's helmet requirement and the wearing of shirt and tie, this was all part of one of Patton's top priorities - the dress code and the strict adherence to it, and the strengthening of morale and fighting spirit. Eisenhower himself had later written, "morale in II Corps was shaken and the troops had to be picked up quickly. For such a job Patton has no superior in the Army... General Patton's buoyant leadership and strict insistence upon discipline rapidly rejuvenated the II Corps and brought it up to fighting pitch...the troops...had a much higher appreciation of the value of training, discipline, and speed in action."

Super Grover

Answer: As the commanding Corps General, Patton did, indeed, have the authority to change not only the opening and closing times of the mess hall, but many other areas under his command, like the helmet requirement. He even required his officers to wear shirt and tie while in combat zones, so he did call the shots. His command, his rules.

Scott215

Answer: The film does not explain, but O-ren's parents must have been involved in some sort of shady business dealings to have incurred the wrath of Matsumoto. When he is killed, O-ren's father is wearing the uniform of a United States Army Sergeant Major (pay grade E-9), which is the top rank of an enlisted man. He must have been working with Matsumoto in some sort of illegal smuggling ring that involved international connections through the U.S. Army that went bad, or maybe O-ren's father wanted more money and he was in the way, etc.

Scott215

Question: What was the point of Kint using names on the wall and coffee cup if he already had a story he told to the DA that checked out? He started using them before Kujan found out about the person Keyser Soze.

Answer: Kint (Keyser Soze) was toying with the cops, using names within the interrogation room to see if the cops were really paying attention, who were so engrossed in the story of Keyser Soze they did not see what Kint was doing or the clues being offered to them, such as throwing out unrelated bits about him being in a barber shop quartet in Skokie, Illinois, which was on the dry-erase board in the interrogation room. That the cops did not get the clues until after he was released and escaped much later demonstrated how Keyser Soze could control whatever situation he was in, including outsmarting experienced veteran police detectives.

Scott215

Answer: Caractucus Potts uses the Baroness character in the story he tells his kids to add tension and fright. The Baroness is a spoiled, selfish, narcissist whose only true love in the world is the rich and powerful Baron. She probably did not want children in her life with the Baron to distract her from enjoying and indulging in the power and riches she shares with the Baron, and she projects that onto other people who have children. Children, to her, are a huge distraction from her cushy life. Or, she hates children because she cannot have any of her own due to medical reasons, thus, she figures if she cannot have them, then nobody in the village can have them, so the children that are around are in hiding. The movie makes no mention as to why the Baroness hates children, so leaves that up to speculation by the viewer, unless the original book version has her backstory.

Scott215

Question: How did the "once famous racing car" ended up in a scrap man's garage? Why didn't the owners simply take it back themselves? After all you wouldn't see Lewis Hamilton's crashed F1 car with kids playing in it.

Answer: It is possible the owner of the car had so much invested in the car that he lost everything when it crashed and burned. Needing money, the owner would have sold the destroyed vehicle to the person offering the most money for the wreckage. It is also possible this car was not the only car of the owner so maybe he somehow scraped together more money and continued with his racing career but with a different race car. The movie does not tell that story, though. Finally, many historical vehicles and artifacts have been abandoned and/or lost to history, never to be found or discovered in a barn, attic, garage, or a junkyard.

Scott215

6th Aug 2018

Family Guy (1999)

Answer: The voiceover in this episode says this is a first draft of "Streetcar", meaning other, more improved and streamlined versions are coming up. Obviously, "Deb" and "Debbie" were rejected in the final draft of "Streetcar" in favor of "Stella" which was the joke.

Scott215

Answer: He is yelling out names of people he has met...he does this at parties.

Question: Just some questions about Charlie and Principal Newman: 1. So, just to double-check, Charlie defaces the school and gets into trouble because Principal Newman hates Christmas? 2. How does Charlie get over Principal Newman being his stepmom and do they get along in the end? 3. If the graffiti Charlie is trying to get rid of doesn't come off, how does he get it done or does he still have to do it after Principal Newman becomes Mrs. Claus? 4. In the end, is Charlie still on the naughty list?

Answer: 1. Yes. Charlie gets into trouble for defacing school property - his way of protesting Principal Newman's anti-Christmas policies. 2. That question was not addressed but it can be presumed Charlie accepted it and got over it. 3. Charlie tells his dad the graffiti won't come off, but he was just complaining how difficult the paint removal was. It can be surmised the paint was eventually removed (with difficulty and a lot of elbow grease). Yes, he still has to do it after Principal Newman becomes Mrs. Claus, as his dad would not allow the extreme vandalism Charlie did to slide. 4. Most likely Charlie was removed from the Naughty List because he repented, did a good deed by sacrificing a tooth to summon the Tooth Fairy to bring Principal Newman to the North Pole and was also cleaning up his vandalism against school property. After Christmas Day, he started with a clean slate and a new chance to be good for the next year.

Scott215

Question: Why does Masters torch some of his paintings? Is it a psychological compulsion? Do they not meet his standards?

Answer: Masters is a gifted, talented (yet eccentric), artist who captures his mood and feelings of the moment and puts them down in the form of paintings. He does need to sell them, if at all, as he makes enough money from his lucrative counterfeiting operation. He did not need or want those paintings anymore, because they represented past moods or feelings, so he burned them, which is part of his eccentricity.

Scott215

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