Question: I read that, according to Margot Kidder, when working on this movie, Christopher Reeve and Sidney J. Furie didn't get along at all. Is this true? If it is true, then what was the reason behind their feud in the first place?
raywest
5th Mar 2021
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
6th Mar 2021
Hogan's Heroes (1965)
Question: Many times Hogan and company manage to actually escape Stalag 13, especially at night. If they can escape so easily, then why doesn't everybody in the whole Stalag do it and head to an American Embassy?
Answer: The core POWs regularly escaped and returned to the prison camp because they made it their mission to conduct espionage and commit sabotage in the surrounding German territory. They also collaborated with different underground resistance groups and used a network of secret tunnels to help prisoners from other POW camps to escape, who then relayed vital information back to the Allied forces. Hogan and his men maintained the illusion that Stalag 13 had never had any prisoners escape in order to avoid their covert operations being shut down. Being that the prison camp is set in Germany during WWII, there were no American embassies.
Hogan has mentioned to different characters that they are actually stationed at Stalag 13 to help allied soldiers and prisoners from other Stalags to escape Germany.
5th Mar 2021
Jaws (1975)
Question: I know that during the filming Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw often argued. What caused them to dislike each other so much?
Answer: Agree with the other answer but would add that while the entire cast thought Robert Shaw was a charming and pleasant man, his chronic alcoholism caused problems and tensions on the set. I remember a TV interview with Richard Dreyfuss saying he once lost his patience with Shaw during the production, strongly telling him to just stop drinking after Shaw commiserated about his problem. That may have been the source of the feud rumor.
Answer: Simply put, they didn't; rumors of a feud between them got blown out of proportion over the years. Richard Dreyfuss himself said that he and Shaw got on famously throughout the shoot, and that there was one altercation between them that was an isolated incident. "It's not true, and where that started I don't know, but trust me, Robert Shaw wouldn't countenance that idea of a feud, forget it." You can read the interview with Dreyfuss from 2019 here: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity-interviews/jaws-legend-richard-dreyfuss-reveals-17325959.
5th Mar 2021
Mad Max 2 (1981)
Question: In the first film, society was still functioning; there was still law enforcement and a criminal justice system, there were still hospitals, businesses and a news media. However, in this film there is no law and order at all, it's all chaos and kill-or-be-killed. What happened in between films?
Answer: There was a war over oil which included nuclear warfare and the complete loss of civilization. People ended up like the biker gangs, loners like Max or the Refinery people who were trying to get to the presumably safe northern areas of Australia. In the narration the old man tells the whole story.
Answer: In the opening scene, the narrator explains about the fall of civilization with clips of war and social collapse.
3rd Mar 2021
The Departed (2006)
Question: When Matt Damon and his girlfriend are talking about erectile dysfunction from the night before, she is eating a banana. Is this a deliberate easter egg Martin Scorsese threw in? (00:50:50)
4th Mar 2021
The Black Stallion (1979)
3rd Mar 2021
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (2018)
Question: Why is Tom Clancy credited as an executive producer on this show considering he passed away 5 years before the show went into production?
Answer: As he is the author who created the Jack Ryan character that was adapted into a successful movie franchise, he could be credited as an executive producer for any TV or movie projects both before and after he died. It was announced in 2015 that the series would be produced for Amazon. Clancy died in late 2013, and he probably was involved in the series' earliest stages or discussions just prior to his death, and therefore would be credited posthumously. The title of TV or movie "executive producer" is fairly broad and can include one or more function, including securing financing, production oversight, creative input, script consultation, story concept, and more. Clancy's estate would likely continue to be involved under his name following his passing and receive profits and royalties.
While his estate would receive the profits, it's not automatic that Clancy would receive credit as a executive producer just because he wrote the novels. Authors like Michael Crichton, Douglas Adams haven't been credited as an executive producer after their death for use of their characters and works. Clancy's estate must be involved in the production in some way and rather than credit the estate, they credit the man.
Most likely his estate would be involved, through surviving family members, lawyers, etc. to act on his behalf in his name. No one said it was "automatic." It would have been a contract arrangement made while he was alive and that would continue posthumously. Whatever Michael Crichton or Douglas Adams did was a different arrangement for whatever reason they chose.
Nothing in your answer suggested anything about a contract arrangement (which if true would be the reason). You implied it was automatic. You said "as the author...he would be credited...for any...projects", but that simply is not true.
3rd Mar 2021
Game of Thrones (2011)
Question: Some of the Free Folk are reluctant to join Jon's fight against Boltons in Winterfell. Jon tries to convince them. And suddenly, Wun, the sole giant stands up and says "Snow." then leaves. What does he mean?
Answer: Giants only really speak the Old Tongue (in the book one of the Night's Watch, Leathers translates for Wun). So he just grunts out "Snow" as his pledge.
3rd Mar 2021
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Question: How is Peter Pettigrew, aka Scabbers, even able to enter Hogwarts under the guise of a pet rat? Surely with all the enchantments protecting the school, one couldn't simply turn into an animal to sneak in? If it's that easy to sneak in, wouldn't the other death eaters turn into cats and owls to do the same?
Answer: Pettigrew didn't sneak in. He arrived with Ron in the first film as his "pet" rat, Scabbers, and returned with him each year up until "Prisoner of Azkaban," when his identity was revealed. "Scabbers" (Pettigrew) was previously Percy's rat and lived with the Weasley family for twelve years. Every student could bring a small pet to Hogwarts, so there was nothing unusual about Scabbers being there. Every pet was accounted for and any outside animals suspect. Death Eaters probably could have sneaked in as a Slytherin student's pet, though few witches or wizards were capable of becoming an Animagus (changing into an animal), nor could they choose or change the animal form - it reflected their personality. All legal Animagus were registered with the Ministry of Magic and their animal forms documented. (Like Pettigrew, Sirius Black was an illegal Animagus, and he entered Hogwarts via the secret tunnel.) There was little reason for Death Eaters to sneak into Hogwarts as Harry wasn't a specific target until much later, and his mother's death magically protected him from harm until he was legal age. (Many consider the Weasley twins having never noticed Pettigrew's name on the Marauder's Map to be a huge plot hole).
3rd Mar 2021
Secret Window (2004)
27th Feb 2021
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Question: Is/was it really possible to smoke a cigarette on a submarine? (01:57:10 - 01:58:20)
Answer: Smoking was allowed on U.S. Navy subs up to 2010, though not when a sub was submerged. During WWII, there were restrictions about smoking on deck because the enemy could detect a glowing cigarette ember at night. After 2010, smoking was banned entirely. Foreign navies would have different rules, of course.
Answer: The engineering officer comes off as a bit of a rebel and the captain tolerates it as he is good at his job and is also one of the conspirators to defect.
27th Feb 2021
Orange Is the New Black (2013)
Question: Why do some inmates wear orange uniforms and others wear light brown? This to show who's new there?
Answer: On the show, orange uniforms are worn by the new inmates, while the khaki is the longer-term population. Generally, there's no standardized meaning of the colors as every prison has their own color-coding system. For example, red could mark more dangerous inmates. Other colors could indicate lower-risk prisoners, ones with health issues, area designations, and so on.
27th Feb 2021
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Question: When Little John is cutting everybody free from the gallows, he calls them milksops. Why was this word censored when it was shown on TV?
27th Feb 2021
East of Eden (1955)
Question: Shouldn't there be more people on bicycles? I think a lot of people rode bicycles during this time. At least in the Monterey area. Probably not on the farm as much. People became very car happy in the 50s. Also, the haircuts are very 1940s / early 1950s.
Answer: Many earlier Hollywood movies were often less concerned about recreating a precise historical time period and instead evoked the era's atmosphere. Audiences then were less discerning or knowledgeable about history and details regarding hairstyles, makeup, clothing, manners, etc. which were sometimes diluted, glossed over, and often wrong. More people may have ridden bicycles during that era but many had cars, though it's unessential to the plot either way.
27th Feb 2021
Mad Max (1979)
27th Feb 2021
Duel (1971)
Question: Why didn't David simply turn around and go back home? The truck never turned around to get him, it just waited further ahead up the road. David even stated he'd never make his meeting now due to delays. Huge plot hole.
Answer: As the title indicated this became a "duel." Once challenged, David got pulled into a fight mentality with the crazed truck driver to where his "road rage" pushed aside all logic and sense of safety. David became obsessed with defeating the "Goliath" opponent. Also, if he turned around and went home, that would have ended the movie.
Answer: Not only that but, the truck driver was a psycho who wanted to kill David, so he would have likely turned around and kept following him.
Maybe-but if David had not taken his roughly one hour nap and turned around right then he would have had a huge head start on the truck, and it is doubtful the truck would have caught up with him. Still, a great movie.
26th Feb 2021
The Sandlot 2 (2005)
23rd Feb 2021
Octopussy (1983)
Question: The opening scene shows a military base with an equestrian event taking pace, which Bond infiltrates and places a bomb in an aircraft before getting caught, then escapes with the aid of his assistant and a small jet aircraft. How was this related to the rest of the plot?
Answer: It wasn't meant to be related at all. It was just an action sequence to start off the film as Bond completes a previous assignment before a segue into the familiar 007 opening theme and a new song. I recall there were some other earlier Bond films that also used this formula. After the opening bit, the story starts as Bond meets with "M" for a new mission, then a briefing with "Q" about the latest spy gadgets. There was also the obligatory flirtatious banter between Bond and Miss Moneypenny.
I see what you mean. I'm thinking of those films where the opening scene has some link to the main plot (e.g. The Spy Who Loved Me), but Moonraker is like this one, it starts off (spectacularly) with Bond at the end of a previous assignment.
23rd Feb 2021
Cast Away (2000)
Question: Considering that Chuck had been on the island for four years, would he actually still have all of his teeth or would he have lost them all? From all the things that he saw in the packages that he opened, not one of them had anything to keep his teeth clean.
Answer: Even without dental care for four years, it would take far longer for a generally healthy person to lose their teeth if they had previously maintained proper oral hygiene. Chuck's diet was a factor (little or no sugar) and he could also fashion a primitive toothbrush or toothpick from materials on the island. Ancient humans had relatively little tooth decay. It was after sugar was introduced into the European (and later American) diet in the 11th century, that dental problems started becoming more prevalent.
Answer: It's possible that he could keep his teeth, provided he doesn't eat too many sugars. Just think of all the cultures throughout history and today that do not brush their teeth. They certainly have dental issues compared to those who regularly brush and see a dentist, but it's not like none of them have teeth.
Answer: Toothpaste and toothbrushes (+ floss) are not the only things that can be used to clean teeth! (What did people use before toothpaste and toothbrushes were manufactured?) A CLEAN finger can be used or a wet piece of cloth - and some fruits (e.g, apple) and vegetables (e.g, carrot) can help remove gunk from teeth. He had access to sea salt, which could help. If he "wiped" his teeth (after every meal and snack), he would be able to avoid plaque and tartar buildup. Toothpaste in and of itself is NOT necessary - it is added flavor to supposedly make brushing teeth taste better (e.g, bubblegum flavor for kids), be more pleasant (and thereby encourage people to brush longer), and/or add fluoride. Few, if any, people make it through adult life without a cavity, but there's no significant factor during his four years that would make him lose all of his teeth! The information given in the previous answers is also relevant.
Answer: I wasn't told as a kid I had to brush my teeth every day. I brushed them only before going to the dentist or a special occasion, would sometimes go months without brushing. I only started brushing properly after puberty and I still have each and every single one of my teeth. They're a bit yellower than average, but not that bad. Even with smoking all my life and practically living of sugar, most people actually think I have pretty decent teeth and I never get comments about having bad teeth. They do tell me that if this had gone on for much longer, I would regret it and my gums have retracted a bit from all the tartar, but this makes me assume that, being healthy, you can probably go at least 10 years with poor mouth hygiene before your teeth actually start rotting.
21st Feb 2021
The Sound of Music (1965)
Question: Why did Captain Von Trapp order Maria to go back to the Abby?
Answer: He was displeased by everything Maria had been doing with the children while he was away, such as making play clothes for the kids using the window curtains, taking them on outings around Salzburg, having them singing, going boating, and generally having fun, all of which he, as a strict disciplinarian father, considered frivolous behavior. The captain also thought Maria was being impertinent for suggesting that he become closer to the children.
Answer: There appears to be multiple reasons. They had creative differences, ultimately resulting in a poorly received movie. Kidder said Reeves, who co-wrote the story, had an inflated ego and clashed with Furie.
raywest ★
Moreover, Mark Pillow, who played Nuclear Man, claimed that working with Reeve was quite intense.