lartaker1975

Question: Why was Commissioner Hurst shocked to find out that Commandant Lassard would be helping with the crime wave? They had been friends for a long time, and Hurst knows that Lassard would never do such a thing, so it seems out of character for Hurst to think so.

Answer: Because they found jewelry from the last crime in his office. That's why he was shocked. They may be friends, but he knows he can't ignore evidence even for a friend.

lartaker1975

3rd Jul 2020

Police Academy (1984)

Question: A few cadets had a fight in the cafeteria. Wouldn't they be expelled from the academy?

JeffSteele

Answer: In the universe of the film, the rule seems to be that if a cadet initiates a fight, he or she will be expelled, while anyone else involved would not be (since they were merely defending themselves). That's why Blankes specifically goads Mahoney by saying "Go on, you throw the first punch," and when they are later brought before Harris, he simply asks, "Who threw the first punch? That's all I want to know."

Chosen answer: Not necessarily. They would likely face some sort of disciplinary review, and, if found responsible, receive sanctions ranging from a warning, probation, retraining, dismissal, and so on.

raywest

Answer: Harris finally got the chance to kick Mahoney out, so he didn't care about the others.

lartaker1975

24th Mar 2021

Porky's (1982)

Question: So when the guys first walk into Porky's - and they're confronted by Porky (at the request of Mickey who wanted to see him), Porky makes the comment that they're "Five Angel Beach pussies" - how did he know they're from Angel Beach? I am assuming that the guy at the door who checked the ID's was looking at the ages, but why and how did he relay it to Porky that that's where they're from?

ckbyers

Answer: They also dressed differently, more proper than the regulars at Porky's.

lartaker1975

Answer: Porky's place is supposed to be in the middle of nowhere, the closes town is Angel Beach.

Doesn't make it that they had to be from there - I've driven several miles for things and passed through several towns to get to it, doesn't make it so that I'm from the neighbouring town.

ckbyers

Answer: Okay but my question was/is - the guy at the door never conveyed it to Porky that they had Angel Beach people there - given that Porky's pen was upstairs when summoned. Seems to me movies actually show would show that part to keep the fluidity of the movie going to have it makes sense.

ckbyers

Answer: The guy at the door would need to check their IDs to confirm that they were 21 or over, which they weren't because Porky could get into big trouble with the law if it was ever found out that some underage students got into his bar. That, and when making the fake ID's, they would need the name of the town of where they're from to make them look genuine which is how Porky knew where they're from.

Question: What was Sean's mother reacting to? She turned with a puzzled look before Dracula's car ever came near the house.

Answer: She heard the tires squealing and just had a reaction to that like anybody else would.

SAZOO1975

Answer: If you remember, the mother lit a candle and told Phoebe it would keep the house safe from monsters and lightning. The sound she reacted to was the candle blowing out, indicating the house was no longer protected.

She turned around in reaction at the same time the tires squealed.

lartaker1975

No, she is NOT reacting to the tires. When the scene begins, the candle is in the lower right corner of the screen. It blows out and she reacts to the sound. I've been having this debate since 1989.

Question: I saw this movie for the first time in years the other night, and I did not remember that Nancy was killed in this one. Is this the last nightmare film that she was in (other than the one where Freddy came to the real world and everybody played real names)?

Answer: Yes it is the last one.

SAZOO1975

Answer: Technically she was also in New Nightmare, both as the "Nancy" character and as the actress Heather in various scenes.

Technically the author said other than the one where Freddy came to the real world and everybody played real names. So therefore the 1st answer was accurate.

lartaker1975

Question: What happened to the limo on the curb of the toy store after Kevin got out? Why did the limo driver leave him there?

adamtrainman@aol.com

Answer: During that time, the hotel found out the credit card Kevin used was stolen. So since they were the ones who got the limo for Kevin, it's safe to assume they also called it back.

lartaker1975

Answer: The limo company may have only had an agreement with the hotel to take Kevin to one destination of his choosing or to drive him around for a certain amount of time.

Phaneron

Answer: When Kevin exits the toy store he doesn't look around for the limo but instead pulls out his map to examine it. This would suggest that Kevin was intending to do some more sightseeing on foot and likely told the limo driver not to wait for him.

When Kevin got outside the toy store, he did look around like he was confused, and after that, he raised his shoulders.

Trainman

22nd Jul 2007

Grease (1978)

Question: Well it is said that Danny was supposed to commit suicide at the end. But I would like to know for what reason, could anyone give some more detail on this? What exactly is the reason Danny would want to commit suicide in the first place?

Movieman123

Chosen answer: It was the film producers that suggested that Danny commit suicide at the end of the film, some have speculated to give the movie a different spin than the original stage production. However, the writers refused, so he flew off in a Cadillac with Sandy instead. That said, there's very little evidence for anything to do with Grease featuring suicide actually being real, and not just a rumour.

OneHappyHusky

It doesn't answer my question why he would want to commit suicide.

They would have given him a reason (Sandy going with someone else, for example) - him killing himself would have necessitated various changes to the plot. Danny as we know him in the finished film would have no reason to commit suicide.

If you listen to the lyrics of Summer Loving, he says that he saved her life. She nearly drowned. Speculation is she was dead the whole movie. That he failed to save her. That may be why he "killed himself."

lartaker1975

In the song "Tell Me More," there were lyrics saying "I saved her life. She nearly drowned." The speculation is that he failed to save her and she really did drown. That's why he may have killed himself.

lartaker1975

Answer: Danny probably would have wanted to commit suicide because he was heartbroken and depressed because he wasn't who he wanted to be and he knew it. Also because he was influenced by his gang to think that he belonged where he was, which was going against his heart.

12th Jul 2008

Elf (2003)

Question: I am confused. Buddy has blood drawn in order to do a DNA sample and they get the results almost right away. Doesn't it take weeks for DNA samples to come back? If so, how can they get the results so quickly in the movie?

SAZOO1975

Chosen answer: More than likely, it was done for storyline reasons. Since the results of DNA tests *do* take a while to come back, it slows the plot down to show them waiting. I guess, in a way, this situation calls for a suspension of disbelief; it may seem like it took no time at all, but in order to enjoy the film, you have to just accept that the necessary waiting period has passed.

Cubs Fan

There's an old story where someone asked a major sci-fi producer how fast one of his space vehicles could go. He answered, "At the speed of the plot."

Answer: It was most likely a blood typing test (it can take minutes and its done through a finger-stick test). If the doctor's office had the test cards. If both parents have type A blood, their child can't have type B and vice versa with type B and A. Type O is rare enough that its more likely that Walter and Buddy's mother were either type A, B, or AB. -college student who has rewatched the movie and had to go through several allele genotype/phenotype lectures.

Actually, type O is the most common type. O - is more rare than O+, which is true for every blood type, but O is still the most common for most ethnic groups.

Answer: Most private labs can return DNA testing results in 1-2 days because the test isn't that complicated, even in the early 2000's. It's usually court ordered testing that take weeks to process because of all the bureaucratic red tape, paper work, and signatures required. Some labs do get extremely busy and therefore it might take up to 2-4 weeks to get results back, but that also usually includes more extensive DNA testing.

Bishop73

Answer: Even so the test came back almost immediatly.

lartaker1975

Yes, but again, for the sake of moving the plot along, Walter needs to know that Buddy is his son. The movie could not drag along while they were sitting around waiting for DNA results.

wizard_of_gore

Blood typing is immediate. Can you believe we used to do it in 5th grade science.

30th Oct 2018

Beetlejuice (1988)

Question: Is there any reason besides plot convenience that the Deetzes didn't enter the attic during the three months that the Maitlands were away from the house to meet with Juno? I realise they don't have the key, but seeing as how they were renovating the entire house anyway, it seems like they would have had no problem just knocking the door down.

Phaneron

Answer: No reason was given, but they probably felt no immediate need to enter the attic. I've never been in my own house's attic. As you pointed out, it's really a matter of plot convenience.

raywest

Maybe Lydia reserved it like Charles reserved one room for himself too.

lionhead

Good point.

Phaneron

Answer: After the dinner scene when Otho asked where they hid and Lydia said "the attic" Charles replied that the attic was locked. So it seems like she never told them she had the skeleton key.

lartaker1975

I addressed this in the question. A key is not required to get into the attic because they could just break the door down.

Phaneron

Except they didn't break the door down. Delia kept banging on the door until it opened. If they had broken the door down, there would have been some damage.

I didn't say they broke the door down. I was stating that they could knock the door down if they needed to get into the attic and didn't have the key. Please reread the original question.

Phaneron

Answer: This is purely for convenience. It's always bothered me. Like since the early 90s when I first had a VHS copy to rewind. That whole house has been gutted and rebuilt but no-one got in to the attic for 3 months? That's BS. For one thing not only would someone like Charles Deets want to see every square inch of his property, but a major company/contractor doing a remodel of that size would have at some time needed access to and been on every square foot of that house.

Quite often, people don't think about the attic along with the rest of the house. Many of them won't be going into the attic every day, not every month, maybe not more than once a year.

Question: Just two things I was curious about whilst watching. Does anyone know how they trained the boy who plays Little Jack to do the hand signals and cry on cue etc.? I imagine it would be quite difficult to teach a toddler all of that. Also, how did they get a boy who looks so much like Ben Stiller for the part of Jorge? Is he related in any way or is it just luck that they found a boy like that?

Answer: Little Jack is played by twins so both twins did not necessarily have to learn all of the "tricks". Ray Santiago is not related to Ben Stiller and there are quite a lot of make-up effects applied to his face especially around the nose, ears and eyebrows.

Myridon

Answer: The boy was already taught to sign by his parents before he was discovered.

lartaker1975

25th Oct 2006

Meet the Fockers (2004)

Question: Is there such thing as "Baby Sign Language" in real life or was it made just for the film?

Answer: There is definitely such a thing. There is a theory that teaching babies and toddlers sign language, allows them to communicate their needs, which they cannot do verbally. This allows them to be less frustrated and, hopefully, less cranky.

wizard_of_gore

Answer: The baby in this movie was selected because his parents had taught him to sign. Therefore it was useful to the movie.

lartaker1975

3rd Jun 2013

The Karate Kid (1984)

Question: Why wasn't Johnny disqualified for his own "illegal contact to the knee" like Bobby was? We know the ref saw it happen because he gave Johnny a warning. Never made sense to me.

lartaker1975

Answer: The answer makes no sense since Johnny caught the leg and purposely rams the elbow into the back of the knee. There was no accident about it. Even the ref acknowledged this.

lartaker1975

Chosen answer: Johnny attacked an illegal area which the rules accept may happen accidentally and so they have provisions for warnings and such in light of that possibility, whereas Bobby performed an illegal technique which cannot happen accidentally, and therefore the rules call for immediate disqualification.

Phixius

That wasn't an accident; Johnny deliberately elbowed the back of the knee. But having him disqualified would be a terrible ending to a great film. The warning was for plot reasons.

Answer: The movie never explains this and it always seemed like an error to me. I've always reconciled it by saying that a flying kick to an opponents knee is considered so egregious it warrants an instant disqualification, while an elbow to the knee only draws a warning. Once again, the movie never actually says this so it's only speculation but it does make some sort of sense if you think about it.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: I always took it to mean that the kick Bobby did actually put Daniel in a position where he was unable to continue, and that it was a definite attempt at maliciousness (at least in the referee's eyes), whereas Johnny's attack might have simply been an accident. Look when Bobby kicked Daniel's knee-the fight just started, and it wasn't an accident. When Johnny connected (Up to this point Johnny fought fairly and within the rules) they were in the middle of a match, and Johnny simply hit him illegally without intending to. When I used to train and fight in tournaments, I once got punched across the jaw by an opponent who got a warning. When he did it a second time a few seconds later, he was disqualified. It wasn't something that appeared malicious, it was just in the heat of the moment of the fight. Bobby's act wasn't, which is why he got disqualified. Johnny could have been in the heat of the moment, which is why he only got a warning. If he hit the knee again, he would have been disqualified.

dewinela

22nd Aug 2013

The Truman Show (1998)

Question: Is it ever revealed what happened to Truman's real mother and father? Once he left the show, would it have been possible for him to have been able to find them?

Heather Benton

Chosen answer: No, we don't get any information about them in the movie. It's stated that Truman was legally adopted by the corporation that runs the show; that being the case, Truman would probably be able to learn his true mother's identity from the adoption papers and, with any luck, track her down. Truman was an unwanted pregnancy, hence being given up for adoption, which raises the possibility that his biological father may be unknown, or at least no longer in touch with his mother, but depending on the situation, locating his father cannot be ruled out as a possibility. Given Truman's enormous fame, it's quite probable that a number of people may well appear claiming to be his parents after his escape; DNA matches would allow them to weed out the liars, so it's not implausible that one of both of his biological parents might find him, rather than him finding them.

Tailkinker

Answer: During the interview as they were showing the babies, it was stated that they were "unwanted babies" which means their parents didn't want them. This includes Truman.

lartaker1975

20th Jan 2018

Grease (1978)

Question: Who is the guy sitting alone on a picnic table in the school courtyard while the girls are singing "Summer Nights"?

Answer: This man is the high school's kitchen staff. He's wearing a blue shirt, beige trousers, and a white apron. All during this lunch scene we can see him in the background in a few shots, while he's collecting students' trays, etc., even before they start singing "Summer Nights." (00:11:15).

Super Grover

Thank you SO much for this answer! I have recently gone back and looked at the scene, and sure enough - he's a cafeteria worker. What he's doing sitting on the table in the "thinker" pose at the end of "Summer Nights" is another question, altogether. But at least you've answered my question as to who the heck is.

Michael Albert

The Summer Nights scene shows the progression of their lunch - at the end everyone has gone except the pink ladies + classmates. He's probably waiting for them to go so he can clear up, you see him resume work as the girls leave.

Answer: The guy on the table that was just at looking out at the end of "Summer Nights" was John Travolta's brother he was just an extra.

Travolta has 2 older brothers, Sam and Joey, who are also actors and have been involved in the industry. The guy sitting on the table near the end of the song is neither Sam nor Joey.

Answer: I think a school teacher.

Answer: Danny.

Can't be Danny since he was also singing the same song on the bleachers with the guys.

lartaker1975

It was John Travolta's brother he was just an extra.

Question: In the first film, Frank took on all the world leaders and proved himself to be a skilled fighter. So why is his fight scene in this film with Hector Savage so awkward and shows Frank as being a clueless fighter?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: It was also stated in the movie that Savage was a professional fighter. Therefore Frank would be no match for him.

lartaker1975

Answer: Rule of funny.

Answer: Just because he beat up a group of people doesn't mean he can beat anybody. Hector may have been stronger whereas the leaders may have been a bit weaker than him.

28th Jan 2018

Midnight Madness (1980)

Question: What song are Melio and Barf playing at the piano museum?

Answer: It's called Heart And Soul. Also known for the big piano scene in the movie Big.

lartaker1975

Question: What happened to the other 20 kids that were running in the field?

Answer: The Creeper only selected a handful of the kids, not all of them. Therefore it's safe to assume the rest made it out alive.

lartaker1975

Answer: They got away, presumably.

Question: At the beginning the 2 kids call Ted to get directions, but when they see their truck being towed, they leave the phone, and chase the tow truck. The truck is taken right around the corner, and Ted is outside, waiting for them. There were no pay phones showing where Ted was, and no cell phones, so how did Ted call them, and get to be right around the corner so fast?

Lovescarymovies

Answer: Probably from inside the building he was standing in front of.

lartaker1975

5th Dec 2017

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Question: Two questions involving Russel Franklin; Firstly, what was he referencing when he first arrived at Aquatica? It was just before he had the line "I am getting too old" or something to that effect. Second, why does everyone hate him exactly? I can kind if understand the Preacher when he joked saying that Russell was stupid for climbing the mountain, even if it was a joke, but what about everyone else?

Answer: From 1977-1984 there was a show called "Fantasy Island." The host, Mr. Roarke, would say "welcome to fantasy island." When he was greeted with "welcome to our island paradise" it made him think of the show and he asked where Tattoo was. In "Fantasy Island" there was a character named Tattoo who would say "the plane boss, the plane" at the beginning of the show. It seemed everyone was too young to get his reference and he said he's getting old.

Bishop73

Answer: I cannot answer the first part of the question. As for why they hate him, because he is there to see the progress of everything. She was told if she didn't produce results before he left, their research funding would be suspended and they would be out of a job. That's why they hate him.

lartaker1975

23rd Sep 2017

Independence Day (1996)

Answer: I believe you are referring to the tall, hippie looking pilot that shook his head when Cass told his son to get him more coffee during the "crash course" scene. His character or name is not listed in the credits nor on IMDB.

lartaker1975

That's the guy who looks like the same guy in Tremors 7 - Shrieker Island, who runs the hunting tours. His name is listed nowhere in the ID4 universe. Any confirmation that this is the same guy?

It is definitely not Richard Brake, who was only 32 when Independence Day came out and the actor in question was at least 50.

lionhead

He definitely wasn't referring to Russell Cassee because he didn't have a beard. The other correction perfectly matches what the question describes.

lartaker1975

Answer: If you mean Russell Casse (you are too vague for it to be anyone else) the actor's name is Randy Quaid, brother of actor Dennis Quaid. He also appears in Brokeback Mountain.

He definitely wasn't referring to Russell Cassee because he didn't have a beard. The other correction perfectly matches what the question describes.

lartaker1975

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