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
22nd Aug 2013
The Truman Show (1998)
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.
18th Aug 2013
General questions
I'm looking for a movie I watched at school. It was about a teenage girl who gives birth to a daughter, but because of her age she can't raise her, so the child is given up for adoption to a childless couple who raise her. 2 years or so later, the teenager decides that she wants her daughter back, and so goes to court to fight for her. Any help in finding this movie would be much appreciated.
Chosen answer: I think the name of this movie was Immediate Family. Could also be "This Child is Mine" with Nancy McKeon.
11th Aug 2013
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Question: When Moody is demonstrating the Cruciatus curse in front of Neville, does he know who Neville is and that it'll cause a reaction? I'm only asking since Moody is Barty Crouch Jr (who tortured Neville's parents) at this point and surely he would have realised that the demonstration could have jeopardised his whole plan by causing conflict amongst the student body, which would have led to him being found out earlier by the teachers.
Chosen answer: Moody (Crouch) knew who Neville was and who his parents were because he was one of the wizards who tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom into insanity. The demonstration was geared more toward Harry than it was Neville, however, though Moody knew it could affect Neville the way it did. It probably wouldn't create conflict among most students, as most were dismissive and unconcerned about Neville. Most students would probably welcome being taught something they knew went against school policy. Only Hermione was really concerned about Neville.
Answer: Moody's demonstration was geared at Neville Longbottom. He needed Neville to get upset so that he could invite Neville back to his class for a cup of tea and give him the herbology book that describes gillyweed in it.
30th Jul 2013
Goldeneye (1995)
Question: At the beginning of the film, Trevelyan and Ourumov stage a hostage situation in front of Bond. Do we ever find out when they decided to set one up in the first place?
Chosen answer: No. It could have been at any time before he showed up in the film.
17th Jun 2013
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Question: Has it ever been stated where witches and wizards go to school before they go to Hogwarts? I mean Hermione and Harry obviously went to Muggle primary school, but what about people like the Weasleys?
Chosen answer: According to J K Rowling, most wizarding families choose to home school their children prior to sending them to Hogwarts. A few enrol their children in nearby Muggle schools in order to give them a more rounded view of the world, but most take the home schooling option.
5th Jun 2013
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Question: I've always wondered, but what is the scene about at the beginning of the film before the titles? Is it just there to showcase the team or is there another reason?
Chosen answer: It's an excuse to show off the team, as well as the reason they are already in Eastern Europe.
1st Apr 2013
Goldeneye (1995)
Question: This might sound stupid, but I'm just interested. When Ourumov hits Alec with the blank cartridge at the beginning, wouldn't the fact that it was shot at him from point blank cause at least some injury to Alec, like a bruise or something?
28th Feb 2013
Superman (1978)
Question: Maybe I haven't watched this film properly, but I never got why the Krypton Council don't believe Jor-el when he says Krypton is going to explode. Why would they question someone as powerful as him, someone who was shown to be in charge of the punishment of Zod and Co.?
Chosen answer: The Council believed that Jor-El was being an alarmist, that the changes in Krypton's core would only result in the planet's magnetic fields shifting rather than the beginnings of a chain reaction that would destroy the world.
12th Feb 2013
Licence to Kill (1989)
Question: When M comes out to tell Moneypenny off for the errors in the paperwork she did, and discovers that she authorised a search for Bond, is he angry with her for doing it or does he sympathise with her? I know it's a stupid question, but I've never been able to work it out.
Chosen answer: It's meant to be a bit of both - he is angry she is failing her professional duties but is also worried on a personal front for Bond too. This is also seen earlier at Hemingway House, when Bond resigns and escapes. Although previously M has told Bond plainly to quit his vendetta with Sanchez, when Bond escapes, M says "God help you, 007" - ie. at the same time he sympathies with Bond. So basically he is angry on the surface, but he too is also sympathetic with Moneypenny.
31st Jan 2013
Skyfall (2012)
Question: Why did M send Bond back out into the field if he didn't pass all the tests? She stated he wasn't allowed unless he passed every test, so why did she say he could when the tests stated he's not fit enough?
Chosen answer: Because she believes that people are more than just the sum of their test results. Regardless of what the tests show, she still believes that Bond is the best person for the task ahead, that his skill, experience and tenacity will allow him to rise above a few bad test scores and get the job done anyway.
10th Dec 2012
General questions
This is for the Bond films as a whole. Bit of a stupid question, but in Licence to Kill, Della tries to give Bond her garter and he refuses because he doesn't want to marry again. And then Felix explains that Bond was married before a long time ago. My question is, in all the films, we see him getting off with various women, and since he was married a long time ago, shouldn't he have moved on by now? Or was Tracey the only woman he wanted to marry?
Chosen answer: James Bond is not the kind of man who would be interested in marrying and settling down with someone. Any woman that he that he would have married would be exceptional, and it is highly unlikely then that he would find another such person or consider taking any other woman as his wife.
22nd Nov 2012
Licence to Kill (1989)
Question: When Bond goes back to Felix's house and discovers Della's dead body, what exactly happened to her after Felix was taken and before Bond discovered her?
Chosen answer: She is found shot dead on the bed. It is also probable that Sanchez's men, lead by Dario, raped her - this is hinted at strongly when Dario says that he and his men will "give her a second honeymoon." However, this is left very vague, and nothing certain is ever said on the subject.
29th Aug 2012
Titanic (1997)
Question: When Jack goes to the first class to have dinner, and Ruth and Cal are asking him questions about being in third class and being poor in general, what are they hoping to achieve from embarrassing him in front of all the people at their table? Even Molly doesn't seem too pleased with their line of questioning.
Chosen answer: Molly is only recently wealthy, that's why she's not amused. Ruth and Cal are bad people, basically. They take pleasure from from humiliating Jack.
As you say, Molly was "new money" - a person who had recently become wealthy. Those who were born into wealthy families - "old money" - sometimes acted superior to "new money" people. Molly seems to have more sympathy for Jack because of her background. Her life was not always comfortable.
26th Aug 2012
Mystery Men (1999)
Question: Just interested, but when the Mystery Men are rescuing Captain Amazing, how did Amazing know the sequence for the release mechanism and where it was if he was unconscious when he was put there?
23rd Jul 2012
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: When Indy gets to where the Grail is and meets the Knight, the Knight says that he is one of many brothers chosen to protect the grail, but if being in that cave with the Grail grants him immortality, what happened to his previous brothers?
Chosen answer: The other two brothers are the ones who left the tomb and traveled back to Europe. One of them is the knight Indy and Elsa find in the catacombs under Venice with the shield that has the second marker. The one left behind is the one the brothers determined to be the most worthy to guard the Grail.
23rd Jul 2012
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Question: Just curious, but how does Indy's dad know what the trials to get to the Grail are if he's never done it and anyone who has hasn't survived past the first task?
Chosen answer: He states quite specifically in the movie that he found the details of the trials in the Chronicles of St Anselm. How the details got in there is anybody's guess - given what's seen to occur in the movies, divine inspiration is an entirely reasonable explanation.
Of course, that begs the question... If the grail was not meant to be discovered, then why inspire Henry with the clues to get to it?
The Grail is meant to be discovered, but only by those who are worthy of locating it. In a Grail Quest, the hero has to overcome various challenges and seek out clues to be considered worthy of finding and wielding the Grail. You can't get the Grail if you're unworthy. The 3 Challenges in the temple specifically require traits like faith, wisdom, and bravery to pass. Only someone who understands what the Grail represents would be able to succeed. When divine inspiration is used in storytelling, the goal is to spur people on to want to make themselves better, or to fix something. There may be some divine inspiration that gave Henry the nudge to want to find the Grail, but he still has to put in the work and make himself worthy of it.
29th May 2012
Doctor Who (1963)
Question: Throughout all the series, whenever the Doctor and his companion/s encounter aliens or planets, the Doctor knows who they are, where they're from etc. I mean I know he's pretty intelligent and knowledgeable, but what I'm wondering is, how does he know everything about every species in all the galaxies, even the ones in the future? Is it something he's learned/gathered throughout his travels?
Chosen answer: Partially through that, I mean if you've spent hundereds of years, visiting millions of places and times, its not that wierd that you learn a lot, particually if you're one of a race of super geniuses, he's even a genius for his kind. There also the fact his race observe most events over most times, so he probably learned a lot doing that too.
29th May 2012
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Question: Why didn't Debbie Reynolds actually do the talking and singing when Kathy is dubbing over Lina?
Chosen answer: Because Kathy's supposed to be disguising her own voice to sound like Lina would if she could sing. The studio is trying to fool the public into believing that this is Lina's voice, even though she can't sing and sounds terrible when she speaks. Actress Jean Hagen, who played Lina, was a singer in real life, and she actually dubbed her own voice.
28th May 2012
Titanic (1997)
Question: Bit of a stupid question, but was just wondering. When Mr Andrews is talking to Rose, Cal and Ruth during the tour of the ship, Rose says that there are not enough boats for everyone on board, and Mr Andrews explains that he wanted more boats or something, and he was told that they would make the deck too cluttered so he was overruled, and the ship got the boats it does. But as Mr Andrews designed/ constructed the ship, surely it's up to him how many lifeboats there are etc, so why did he back down?
Chosen answer: It certainly was not up to him. Andrews was only the designer and an employee of the company, White Star Line. Whatever he may have wanted or recommended, the company had the power and the legal right to overrule him in favor of what they felt made the ship more profitable. They did not want their high-paying clientele's ocean view obstructed by too many lifeboats. Safety regulations were far more lax at this time, though many new ones were enacted following the tragedy, including more lifeboats.
Answer: Regulations at the time required ships over 10,000 tons to have 16 lifeboats on board, Titanic which was 40,000 tons had 20 so four more than required. In the 2 1/2 hours it took Titanic to sink they managed to get 18 of 20 boats off safely, collapsibles A and B were floated off and one was even capsized. It's quite possible that if Titanic had more lifeboats more lives would've been lost due to having to work around the extra boats they possibly would've got less boats away.
14th Feb 2009
The Cable Guy (1996)
Question: How much does Chip tip the bathroom attendant to make him leave?
Answer: A $50 Bill.
Chosen answer: $247.19 and a coupon for free HBO.
Answer: $1.
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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 ★