Michael Albert

Answer: As the film depicts the control room during the overnight hours, while Truman typically sleeps, the crew is greatly reduced, and not paying very close attention. By that point in the film, Truman had moved into the basement of his home, having separated from his wife. He managed to sneak out of his house while the crew thought he was asleep. Truman had configured his sleeping area to look like he was in it, and had added a recording of himself snoring. We must suspend a bit of disbelief to imagine he could pull this off without anyone, crew nor devoted viewing audience, noticing. But presuming he was able to accomplish the deception, he was able to escape out to sea because nobody was paying attention to any of the thousands of other cameras in town, as all of the focus was on the allegedly sleeping Truman.

Michael Albert

Answer: It is conceivable, I suppose, but extremely unlikely. The role of Madame Giry (the correct spelling) in the opera house, and her relationship to Erik (the Phantom) and Christine Daae differ somewhat between the book, the stage musical, and the 2004 film. But never is a romantic connection between Madame Giry and Erik, past or present, even implied. She functions more as a knowledgeable intermediary and is more or less employed by the Phantom to represent his interests to the Opera House administration, even though she had never seen him, but had only heard his voice. Also, if Meg were his daughter, it wouldn't make sense, given his personality, that Erik would have absolutely no apparent relationship with her. Further, given the dramatic payoff that could be added to the story by revealing that Meg is the Phantom's love child, it is all but inconceivable that such a relationship would be salient in the mind of author Gaston Leroux, but that he would never make it explicit. Ultimately, anything is possible. But in the absence of any evidence to support the theory, I would say it's a pretty clear bet that Meg Giry has no blood relationship to the Phantom.

Michael Albert

Answer: Sara spends much of the convoluted ending of this film in the midst of vivid hallucinations. Eventually, Sara dies, accidentally, at her own hands. She cuts her own wrists during a delusion where she believes she is cutting away the grasping fingers of her father's ghost. As she is dying, her body is dragged under the forest floor by Japanese "yurei." (ghosts). Her spirit remains to haunt the forest, lunging at Michi, the search party's forest guide, in the final frames of the film. Meanwhile her sister, Jess, has been rescued alive.

Michael Albert

Answer: Mr. Burns, being over 100 years old, holds very old fashioned views. One such view is that business is a man's world. So, he's basically saying that, despite the fact she is a woman (wears a skirt), Lindsey Naegle is still capable of rebuilding the church.

Michael Albert

Answer: Consider that the event is a masquerade ball, where everyone's attire is meant to be intricate to the point of being "overdesigned." Look carefully. In Raoul's case, he is wearing a dark navy blue, uniform style form-fitting jacket with horizontal gold braiding flanked by gold buttons, shoulder epaulets and a standing collar. What you see draping his left side is a matching short jacket over the shoulder, which is emblematic of a classic hero in art and literature. The short jacket is sewn on as a design element, of course - not just draped there, as it would fall. So one arm isn't exactly "out." You see the sleeve and the braiding of the short draped jacket dangling behind him when he and Christine are dancing. There is also a shirt underneath it all with more of the same gold braiding design.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: According to IMDb.com, it is Carly Simon.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: The corpse of the woman in a white flowing dress appears to be floating under the great dome (the light behind her) that was above the grand staircase of the first class foyer. This is the same area Rose and Jack meet at the clock after dinner and before the party below decks. It is also the same area where we see the spirits of Jack and Rose meet at the end of the film, near the clock. There's a chance it might be the 1st class lounge. The room where Rose was watching the little girl have tea and her mother talked about the invitations for the wedding. You can see the room once more when the passengers retreat back to it instead of getting into the boats because it was too loud and cold outside. I don't believe we are meant to know, specifically, who the woman was, nor did she seem to have any significance but to create an artistic shot of the calm of death juxtaposed with the panic of those still alive above deck just before the ship splits into two pieces.

Michael Albert

Answer: When the couple turns the corner, startling Pain and Panic, they proceed to...well...panic. Pain and Panic didn't want to be found out. And while carrying a baby, they couldn't hide as quickly or as nimbly. It was an impulsive act which they might not have committed if they had time to think it out rationally. Besides, had they not panicked and run, baby Hercules would have ended up in the hands of Hades and the movie would have been over before it began.

Michael Albert

Answer: I took it as an annoying bike-guy in general. Since professional or not, they're all annoying.

Answer: This occurs in a flashback where Peter is recalling a time Brian discovered his "hidden shame." In the memory, Brian is driving a car. Peter pulls up next to him on a bicycle. He is decked out in a full, multi-neon-colored lycra spandex pro bicycling get-up, with matching reflecting helmet and some kind of rear view mirror attached. The ensemble is complete with riding gloves and the latest athletic shoes. When Brian notices it's him, he exclaims, "PETER?!" To which Peter responds, "Brian, I'm sorry. I'm one of these guys now...I'm SORRY, Brian. I'M SORRY! (as Brian drives off, aghast) " By "these guys," Peter means the kind of guy who, though a casual cyclist and nowhere near professional level, still buys all of the latest riding clothes and gear, making him look silly and pretentious (in "Family Guy" terms, he looks like a "douchebag").

Michael Albert

Answer: The narrator tells us that Charlie accepted Wonka's offer to take over the factory "on one condition." We then see Charlie come home to his family's house - a place of warmth and love - with WIllie Wonka in tow to share dinner. Then the camera pans out to show that the house is, indeed, inside the factory, with giant salt shaker-like machines providing the snow. Then we see an Oompa-Loompa, who has apparently been our narrator throughout, tell us the ending of the story. Charlie won a factory. But more important, "Willie Wonka got something even better - a family." So, what was Charlie's "one condition?" Recall that in the scene before, Charlie watched intently as Wonka reconnected with his dentist father after years of estrangement. The "one condition" probably wasn't to have the house moved into the factory. Rather, it was probably his condition that Wonka become an adopted member of the Bucket family. By moving the house into the factory, everyone's happy ending could be met. Perhaps moving the house was more Wonka's idea than Charlie's. Plus, it just makes for a hell of a cute ending, with those fun little nested surprises throughout.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: He is daydreaming out loud - acting out a little fantasy in his head. Truman leads a very ordinary, very humdrum, almost totally pre-programmed life. He attempts brief moments of escape, fantasizing about lost love, dreaming of a trip to Fiji, and engaging in small flights of fancy while staring at himself in the mirror. He has another such episode when he draws a space helmet with soap around his reflection, and imagines himself an astronaut.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: You are correct that "Oliver" does have some material that might be intense for young children - including a murder, some minor violence, issues of adoption, child abuse, kidnapping, and even some sexual content (but only by innuendo). Drinking alcohol is also involved, and some of the characters with whom we are meant to sympathize are, in fact, thieves. But intense content does not necessarily preclude a movie from obtaining a "G" rating. There have been several G-rated movies which have content, including killing, that could be frightening for children, including "Bambi," "The Lion King," "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," and "The Wizard of Oz," to name a few. In "Oliver," most of the violence is alluded to, and the murder of Nancy is committed out of sight (only Sykes' hand is visible, and Nancy's screams are heard), though it is frightening and realistic. Violence can be permitted in G-rated films, as long as it is "minimal." Sexual innuendo is permitted, in small doses, as long as lewd acts aren't shown. Intense content is also permitted. Drug use is not permitted, but I suppose the tavern scenes are cartoonish enough as to not warrant a more harsh rating. The bottom line is that ratings are determined by the MPAA - Motion Picture Association of America, and that association is given wide latitude and discretion. Apparently, the "mature" content of "Oliver!" was not viewed as rising to a level which the MPAA felt would warrant a more stringent rating.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: The name of the club is Cafe Opera.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: From the screenplay of "Rebecca" which I found on-line, and verified by looking at two different versions, the entirety of the line is: "By the way, what do you do with old bones? Bury them, eh what? However, for the time being - you know, Max, I'm getting awfully fed up with my job as a motor-car salesman."

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: Even though Rose repeatedly spurned Cal's affections in favor of Jack, Cal still maintained feelings of love and devotion for her. Cal did, with Jack's help, encourage Rose into a lifeboat in order that she might be saved. In the process, he told her that he had an arrangement with a ship's officer for another boat in another part of the ship which he and Jack could board. But that was a lie. He never had any intention of helping Jack. Jack had already surmised that Cal was lying, but played along in order to help convince Rose to save herself. Cal revealed the truth to Jack as the boat was being lowered. It seems Cal believed (or hoped) that once Jack was out of the picture, Rose would become the kind of wife he desired. However, after Rose abandons the lifeboat, and returns to the Titanic, Jack runs after her so they can live or die together. At that point, it finally becomes obvious to Cal that he will never have her. In his rage and jealousy, he lays chase, and unsuccessfully attempts to shoot them with his manservant's gun as they disappear into the flooding dining room.

Michael Albert

Answer: I believe the chase was also an ingenious way for Cameron to show flooding in various parts of the luxury areas that had previously been shown in its opulence, a good juxtaposition.

Chosen answer: The Phantom's frequent request for a footstool in box 5, which he demanded be left empty - not sold to patrons, does come from the book (chapter 4, pages 11-14), and is not mentioned in the movie. It's never made quite clear precisely the purpose of the footstool. According to Mme. Giry, "I brought the footstool. Of course, it wasn't for himself he wanted it, but for his lady! But I never heard her nor saw her." She did find evidence of her, however. One night, a lady's fan was left behind. She also mentioned that the Phantom would leave a gratuity for her services. There is never a clear identity given of "his lady." I presume it may have been used for a young Christine Daae to stand on, so she could better see over the rail of the box to the Opera on stage below when Erik brought her. But if that's true, it is still unclear why nobody ever saw her, and why she had never seen the Phantom.

Michael Albert

Answer: To my eye, she resembles a pre-pubescent Barney-like dinosaur, with inexplicable antennae and a case of pink-hued vitiligo. However, as her name implies, she is actually a unique fabrication of the program creators, and reflects no actual animal. The series uses the word "Uniqua" as both the character's name, and the designation for her species.

Michael Albert

Answer: Jack's arm wasn't actually attached to the door. His hand and Rose's hand were frozen in a grasp. In order to swim to the dead officer to extract the whistle from his mouth, Rose had to pry her hand and Jack's hand apart. She releases him to the water, promising to "never let go" [of life] as she, ironically, lets go [of Jack]. Had she not done so, she never could have saved herself swimming with Jack's dead body in tow.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: The 1971 version of this story focuses on Charlie and the other children finding their tickets, followed by all of the action that takes place within the chocolate factory during the tour. While some narrative exposition of past events is given by various characters in the film's present time, it is absent any of the flashback depictions that peppered the 2005 version starring Johnny Depp. Not only is Prince Pondicherry's story not told, but we also see none of Wonka's strained relationship with his father as a child, nor the escapades which lead him to discover the Oompa Loompas, nor any of the scenes depicting Grandpa Bucket's past association with the factory, some of which were created for the 2005 film rather than coming from the original novel.

Michael Albert

Answer: Interspersed with scenes of vigils, marches, AIDS quilt panels, and ordinary adults and infants with AIDS, the following famous figures appear: The three men in the newspaper photo shown are Michael Callen of NY, Anthony Ferrera of Washington, DC, and Roger Lyon of San Francisco (who is quoted in the headline, "I came here today in the hope that my epitaph would not read that I died of red tape"). Bobbi Campbell was a San Francisco AIDS activist, most remembered for initially opposing the closing of bathhouses during the crisis. Next is a picture of Ryan White, the young hemophiliac notable for acquiring HIV via blood transfusion, and fighting to remain in school when he had developed AIDS. Next is Michael Jackson walking up to greet Ryan White's mother - Jackson had become friends with Ryan White's family during his struggle. Next is Rock Hudson, actor and one of the first (but less than eager to be so) public faces of AIDS. Anthony Perkins, actor most famous for his role in "Psycho." Tina Chow - fashion icon and jewelry designer. Ballet dancer Rudolph Nureyev. Tennis player Arthur Ashe. The cast of "A Chorus Line" followed by its creator, Michael Bennett. Performance artist Liberace. Freddie Mercury of the band "Queen." Princess Diana of Wales, notable for her charitable works for people with AIDS. Elizabeth Taylor, actress and co-founder of the American Federation for AIDS research. Elizabeth Glaser, wife of actor and director Paul Michael Glaser, who contracted HIV from a blood transfusion while giving birth and then unknowingly passed the virus on to their daughter. Basketball player Magic Johnson. Larry Kramer, co-founder of ACT-UP and the Gay Men's Health Crisis. Arthur Ashe again. AIDS activist Allison Gertz. News reporter Max Robinson of Chicago. Fashion designer Roy Halston Frowick, known simply as "Halston." Fashion designer WIlli Smith (AIDS quilt panel). Fashion Designer Perry Ellis. Singer-songwriter Peter Allen. Studio 54 owner Steve Rubell. Artist Keith Haring. Congressman Stewart McKinney. Actor Denholm Elliott ("Raiders of the Lost Ark"). Actor Brad Davis ("Midnight Express"). Actress Amanda Blake ("Gunsmoke"). Actor Robert Reed ("The Brady Bunch"). Philosopher and author Michael Foucault (AIDS quilt panel only). Tom Waddell, athlete and founder of the "Gay Olympics" (later named "Gay Games" due to copyright issues).

Michael Albert