Question: According to Captain Panaka and Qui-Gon, if the Hutts discover Queen Amidala on Tattooine, it will be just like landing on a planet controlled by the Federation. Why would they care about her? What would they do?
Phaneron
19th May 2023
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
16th May 2023
End of Days (1999)
Question: Why exactly does the devil need to have a child to conquer the world? Why can't he do it himself? He can easily corrupt mankind and lead them to their destruction, which could allow him to take over the world.
Answer: According to the bible the devil has no power on earth, but like God, he wanted to send his son into the world to influence and corrupt them.
6th May 2023
General questions
When movies or TV shows are filmed on location, how do they manage to film a scene without interference from the local public?
Answer: They will typically have areas closed off. If it is filmed in an area with heavy pedestrian traffic, there will be notices displayed that anyone in the area could end up on camera and is giving consent to be filmed by being in the area. The film crew will have security measures in place to prevent people from disrupting the production.
Your description is accurate, though I once wandered into a scene of the TV show, "Northern Exposure," that was filming in Seattle. I didn't realise I was in the shot. The film crew didn't notice me. When the director yelled, "Action", I just walked away. I've also driven by several movies filming on the street with traffic passing through, such as "Sleepless in Seattle." I drove by Meg Ryan who was in a car. Tom Hanks was on the beach. Was commuting to work as "Fifty Shades Freed" filmed a car chase on the now-gone Alaskan Way Viaduct. Traffic was temporarily stopped during filming.
Answer: Some big budget shows like the Law and Order franchise have recorded outside scenes with green screens to block out the public but keep natural lighting, building exteriors, sidewalks etc. They add a nondescript city background later.
25th Apr 2023
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Question: This film will be a sequel to the first two Deadpool films, which were part of the Fox X-Men franchise, but will instead be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Is this the first time in history that a film is a sequel to another film, but is now part of a new franchise?
Answer: In addition to Bishop's answer, you could theoretically apply this to Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man characters. They both appeared in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which technically acts as a sequel to "Spider-Man 3," "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and "Spider-Man: Far From Home" - three distinct movie franchises. (And there are persistent rumors that Maguire and/or Garfield may make future MCU appearances).
To add to that (I ran out of room in my reply), with the creation of the multiverse, now any Sony or Fox franchise or universe can be considered as part of the MCU. So any Fantastic Four or X-Men sequel (although most likely any up coming film will be a reboot) can be part of the MCU.
I get what you're saying, but No Way Home was more of a crossover film that acknowledged characters coexisting in the multiverse, with those characters returning to their respective universes by the end, and Sony would still have control of those characters. Although we won't know for sure until Deadpool 3 comes out, Deadpool is meant to start as a character in a previously established film franchise and then occupy a different one moving forward.
But what film franchise would he be in? If he's in a Deadpool movie, he's in the Deadpool franchise. If they stop making Deadpool films and put him in another film, then he becomes part of another franchise. (Or more likely, just another crossover film).
This is where I would disagree with you about the MCU not being a franchise. I would contend that it is a franchise, and every series of films and TV shows within it are sub-franchises. So the Deadpool series of films would be a franchise unto itself, beginning in the larger Fox X-Men franchise and transitioning over to the MCU.
So what distinguishes one Marvel film from being in the MCU and another Marvel film not to be in it? Marvel Studios has been part of the production of a lot of films not included in the MCU, including the Blade, X-Men, and Deadpool films.
Any film made by Marvel themselves (or co-produced like the Tom Holland Spider-Man films). Marvel didn't begin making their own movies until the first Iron Man. All previous movies based on Marvel characters were made by other studios in association with Marvel, largely because Marvel licensed out their properties to avoid going bankrupt. The MCU itself is recognized as being the highest-grossing film franchise of all time.
Answer: It depends how you want to define a franchise. Are you talking production companies involved or the distribution company? And are you considering reboots? The reason Deadpool 3 would be "set" in the MCU is because Disney bought Fox and the filming rights returned to Marvel Studios, along with the rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four. When Sony rebooted Spider-Man with Tom Holland, Sony shared the rights with Marvel Studios. So Spider-Man was part of the MCU while still being part of the Sony Spider-man franchise. Venom 2's mid-credit scene is meant to make it part of the MCU while still being part of Sony's Spider-Man Universe. That being said, there are a number of cross-over films that put sequels into another franchises. Such as Freddy vs Jason, Godzilla vs Kong, or Frankenstein meets the Wolf-Man.
I'm speaking strictly from a narrative point of view. Say, for instance, they made a new Alien movie, but it was now part of the Avatar franchise moving forward, while still being a sequel to the previous Alien movies, and not intended to be a brief crossover. I know the meta nature of the Deadpool character and movies makes it a different beast, but still.
And this is what's up for debate, but to me, the MCU isn't a franchise. It's made up of the various franchises; Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, etc. where they exist in the same universe. So when crossover films occur, it's two or more franchises now existing in the same universe. Even the Avenger films can be considered crossovers. Which is why people were wonder if Spider-Man was part of the MCU or the Sony universe. Deadpool is still part of the Deadpool franchise, but now part of the MCU.
22nd Apr 2023
Deja Vu (2006)
Question: Why did Doug did not travel back to the night before his partner was killed? He could save his partner, the girl and the people on the ferry.
Answer: They only have a 4-day window to observe and intervene with the past events. Once Doug and everyone else observed his partner being murdered, the 4-day window for that event had lapsed.
In theory, he could go back (not far enough), then find the time travel scientist, convince him to believe his story, and travel back another 4 days, etc. A lot of ifs, but it could be possible?
8th Nov 2007
The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
Question: At the meeting, what did Mother Nature mean when she said "Don't mess with me Santa. I'm pre-el niño." or something like that. What does pre-el niño mean and why did she think Santa was messing with her?
Answer: By "pre-El Niño", she meant what to a mortal woman would be pre-menstrual. El Niño is "an oscillation of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific having important consequences for weather around the globe. Among these consequences are increased rainfall across the southern tier of the US and in Peru, which has caused destructive flooding, and drought in the West Pacific, sometimes associated with devastating brush fires in Australia."
So she was saying she's PMSing?
Yep, that's exactly what she's saying.
30th May 2022
Old (2021)
Question: Why didn't Mid Size Sedan age sooner since he was there longer than the others?
Answer: I submitted this answer previously, but it was deleted for maybe appearing to be inappropriate. The reason for his slower aging is addressed in the film when he says "Black don't crack." Black people tend to age better than other people in real life, due to having a higher production of melanin and other factors.
Answer: Guests with medical conditions were given drugs in their drinks, and so they didn't age as fast as the others did.
The drugs had nothing to do with aging. The whole point was that they aged fast.
9th Jan 2023
General questions
Are there any notable examples of a TV character being written out/killed off because viewers hated them?
Answer: Roseanne Barr was killed off from the second version of "Roseanne" when she became too controversial.
Answer: Nicolette Sheridan, who portrayed Edie Britt in the TV series Desperate Housewives was considered a diva and didn't get along with the shows creator Marc Cherry. Her character was killed off when she swerved to avoid hitting Orson. Unaware that there was water under the car and that a powerline had snapped, Edie gets out of the car, is electrocuted and killed.
Answer: During the season 4 run of "Moonlighting," Cybil Shepherd was pregnant in real life, so it was written into the show. During her paternity leave, her character, Maddie, was having mixed emotions about the baby and her relationship with David. She goes home to do some soul searching. She's still unsure, when on the train ride back to L.A, she meets a man. Walter Bishop, actor turned director Dennis Dugan, on impulse she marries him. Viewers thought this was the dumbest mistake, since the "Dallas" it was all a dream season. Everyone waited with baited breath on how they were going to fix this. Finally the character, Walter, realised the whole thing was a mistake and got an annulment. He says goodbye to everyone and as he walks out the office door, he turns toward the camera and says, "Are you happy now."
Answer: I would include Jennifer Love Hewitt, who replaced Jeanne Tripplehorn in "Criminal Minds" after season 9. Love Hewitt wasn't well received by viewers. The official reason given for Love Hewitt's departure after one season was that she was pregnant. Despite the show's claim that viewers had "warmed" to her character, she was permanently written out.
Answer: I think the character Seven was written out of "Married with Children" because viewers disliked him so much. He was an example of "Cousin Oliver Syndrome" - an annoying younger child character who is added to a show after a few seasons. He basically disappears. The neighbors mention that he is staying at their house, but eventually, he is never mentioned again.
1st Jan 2023
The Mummy (1999)
Question: Why is it said that Imhotep and his priests were mummified alive? Mummification occurs when someone dies and has most of the organs removed. Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that he was buried alive?
Answer: It means the process of removing their organs was performed while they were still alive. Certainly at some point they would die during the process from blood loss or having a vital organ removed. And it was just the priests that were mummified alive, Imhotep was subjected to a different punishment.
Their internal organs were not removed or they'd die instantly. In the movie you see them being bandaged up and put in the sarcophaguses whilst still moving and then sealed up so they still had their organs. It is indeed more like being buried alive but then as a mummy.
Indeed, but you can also see the Medjai using sharp tools against some of the priests. The priest on the left side of the screen with his arm writhing has a Medjai placing a sharp object around his face, indicating he might either be cutting out his tongue or removing his brains through his nose. The Medjai in the immediate foreground is (badly) making a slashing motion with his sword towards the priest lying on the table before him.
22nd Aug 2017
Home Alone (1990)
Question: Near the end of the movie, Kevin makes the 911 call because of the bandits. Why couldn't he had just done this instead of bothering to set up all the traps in the first place? Was he possibly trying to see if he couldn't kill them first instead, then call? Either way, the police were coming over with the call.
Answer: If Kevin called 911 sooner and was found to be "home alone" he knows the police would probably put him into Child Protective Services, leaving the house unguarded. His parents could face some legal issues for having left him behind. Since the burglars hadn't actually done anything yet, the police could not have taken any action against them. Also, Kevin's a kid. He was not trying to kill the burglars, but by his reasoning, he thinks it's his duty to protect the family's home.
Answer: Yeah, that would have made a great film, wouldn't it? "Kevin rings the Police, Harry and Marv are prevented from breaking into his house, and everybody lives happily ever after." A surefire winner.
Answer: Kevin was afraid to call the police because he had stolen a toothbrush so now considered himself to be a wanted criminal. This is why Kevin didn't want to show his face to the pizza delivery man (since the same man worked at the drug store) and also why Kevin changed his voice when he finally did call 911.
Yet Kevin is happy to call to the police with his real voice near the end of the second movie and is present when the police arrest the Bandits despite being a wanted criminal for stealing a credit card.
17th Sep 2022
General questions
I need help with the title of a book my teacher read to my class in 5th grade, circa 1995. The only details I remember were it taking place in either the North or South Pole, and the main character killed a polar bear by shooting it in the head.
Answer: It may or may not help, but polar bears don't live in Antarctica (the South Pole).
Answer: If you aren't recalling the details, the only movie (and book) around this time period that I can think of is "Alaska" (1996), starring Vincent Kartheiser and Thora Birch. But Vincent did not shoot a polar bear - a poacher shot a mother polar bear and the baby followed the kids while they searched for their father who had wrecked his plane.
I've never seen the movie Alaska, but the book in question feels like it was probably more of a survival story rather than an adventure. The only additional detail I can give is that the teacher assigned us to draw a scene from the book, and since the protagonist shot the polar bear in the head, many of the boys in the class, myself included, decided to draw that scene, complete with exaggerated gore.
"Alaska" was about survival.
I wonder if your teacher may have deliberately altered some information (e.g, the boy shooting the bear) to make the story more relevant and provocative to the grade level and whatever discussion questions that were given?
I've only seen the Nostalgia Critic's review of it, but wasn't it about the father's survival while his children were on an adventure of sorts to rescue him? Again, I'm not familiar with the "Alaska" book, but it seems like the protagonist for my book was an adult male and it was told from his point of view.
7th Sep 2022
The Mummy (1999)
1st Aug 2022
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Question: Why did Diana destroy the mall's security cameras, and why did she want the little girl to stay quiet?
Answer: At this point in time, her gig as a superhero is not public knowledge, and she wants it to stay that way.
How would that accomplish anything considering there were many people in the mall who saw what happened?
As the other answer indicated, Diana/Wonder Woman wasn't yet known publicly as a super-hero. A video recording is different from eye-witness accounts of what people actually saw or believe they saw. Memories are faulty, they fade, and everyone sees and remembers things differently. Regarding the child, I interpreted it as Diana just motioning in a friendly way for the rather precocious girl to stay put, behave, and quietly wait for her mother.
In my opinion, it wouldn't, and it's just another example of the shoddy writing in this film.
Answer: This was long before the age of superheroes, when everything was normal and meta-humans were just theories in a lab. It was her appearances which stated it all. Remember the tagline, "The Dawn of Justice Begins with Her."
27th Oct 2021
Saw II (2005)
Question: Why would there be a tunnel system with an industrial bathroom beneath a house in a neighborhood? I know John Kramer was involved in real estate with his wife and lawyer before he became Jigsaw, so it would make sense that he probably designed it, I'm just not sure what purpose it would serve.
Answer: It serves as the perfect location for John to set up and play his "games."
But it was mentioned in Saw IV that John was involved in real estate development prior to becoming Jigsaw. So if those tunnels already existed underneath those houses, what purpose would they serve?
23rd Jun 2022
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Question: After Harry discovers that Peter is really Spider-Man, he tells Peter that he murdered Norman Osborne. Why didn't Peter just say, "I didn't kill your dad. He was already dead when I brought him to you"?
Answer: As the other answer suggests, it'd be a dangerous waste of time. Additionally, Harry is literally driving himself insane believing that Spider-Man killed his father... so it's not like Harry would actually believe Peter anyway even if he tried to explain it in that moment.
26th Apr 2022
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Question: Peter, MJ and Ned were all rejected from MIT for their associations with Spider-Man, so why wasn't that the case with Flash, who wrote an entire book about his supposed close friendship with Peter?
Answer: Flash is shown to come from wealthy parents. It's possible they made a large donation to MIT and/or are influential alumni themselves. Writing and publishing a book also isn't something that happens overnight. He could have been accepted into the school before the admissions board even knew about the book.
15th Apr 2022
Batman Returns (1992)
Question: When the Penguin kills the Ice Princess, he then tries to kill Catwoman with his umbrella and crosses the crowd to his press van. Why doesn't the mob kill him after the murder and attempted murder?
Answer: The public believes Batman killed the Ice Princess, and they don't know about Penguin trying to kill Catwoman. The crowd that is surrounding his van are his supporters, not an angry mob.
11th Apr 2022
Spaceballs (1987)
Question: Planet Spaceballs intends to steal all the air on Planet Druidia. Spaceball city and Planet Druidia are neighbors. When Megamaid explodes, her head lands on a beach on a planet that presumably has air. Why not steal the air on the planet inhabitated by apes? There's apparently no air shield. Additionally, the desert planet where Yogurt lives also has air and no air shield. Two other planets, in addition to Planet Druidia, that have breathable air.
Answer: It also might stand to reason that the very fact that Druidia has a shield is what makes it viable. It almost creates a docking port for Mega Maid who was presumably designed for that very purpose. After all, what other purpose could a space maid with a vacuum possibly have?
Answer: The Spaceballs are a race of bullies, they only pick on planets they know have no defense, like Druidia. Yogart, like Yoda, was a very powerful being with mystic powers, While the planet of the Apes were highly intelligent and were most likely able to out smart a race of idiots.
Answer: In the context of the movie, the Spaceballs seem to hate Planet Druidia. So why not steal air from the planet they hate? In a more meta behind-the-scenes context... it's just better for the plot for them to target Druidia since it makes more sense dramatically and creates stakes for the story.
24th Mar 2022
Shallow Hal (2001)
3rd Mar 2022
General questions
Are there any TV shows that had such bad ratings/view numbers, they were taken off the air rather quickly? After just one, two, three episodes?
Answer: "The Mike O'Malley Show" from 1999 was canceled after two episodes.
Answer: Tons. One random example which comes to mind is 2007's Drive, starring Nathan Fillion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_ (2007_TV_series). Only 4 episodes aired before it was pulled off air. It was actually quite a promising show, but the ratings just didn't hold up. "Heil Honey I'm Home!" is one of the more notorious examples: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heil_Honey_I%27m_Home!, a sitcom about Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun living next door to a Jewish couple, cancelled after one episode. More here: https://tvovermind.com/six-short-lived-tv-shows/ and here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_series_canceled_after_one_episode.
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Answer: They would likely take her hostage and hold her for ransom.
Phaneron ★
So the Federation was probably offering a bounty/reward for her capture?
Possibly, but given the criminal nature of the Hutts to begin with, it would be in line for them to try to capture her if they became aware of her presence and ransom her off to the highest bidder, be it the Trade Federation, her home planet of Naboo, or the Galactic Senate.
Phaneron ★