Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.

Question: Why did Jim, Kim, and the others want Edward to wear a hat and jacket for the fake burglary? His "hands" are not covered, so if he stepped into any light, his disguise would be pointless.

Answer: Because the rest of them wore disguises, I think they wanted him to feel "included" in their group so he would continue to help with the fake burglary.

Question: How does Ted have so much time on his hands when he is a solo dad? He is able to attend his son's karate class, no problem. He has the time to shop for his son and make Howard look like a bad father. Also, he lives in a rather nice house, something that wouldn't be affordable if you were just working part-time, so Ted probably works full time. Howard, on the other hand, looks to be working hard to get ahead in life. He has the support of his wife, who also appears to be a stay-at-home mum.

Blair Howden

Answer: Since it's never explained in the film, everything would be speculation. There's a number of things Ted could do to have the type of lifestyle seen in the film. For example, he could be getting child support from his ex-wife if he has primary custody. He could even be getting alimony from his ex-wife. Ted could also be earning passive income (e.g. rental property or other types of investments). It also seem Howard is working a lot of overtime where Ted may have a regular full time job, but has hours set that make it look like he has a lot more free time.

Bishop73

Answer: As Bishop73 basically said, people have different circumstances and situations. It doesn't make sense to say that one single parent should, or should not, be able to do something, judging by the life of another single parent. Life happens to everyone differently. My husband and his five siblings had a single mother. She still attended some school events, worked part-time or temporary jobs, went shopping, and went on dates.

Question: Why were the people walking towards the ferry so desperate to get Ray's car? Considering the power was on in that area, the ferry was operating, and the army were driving round in humvees, tanks, and trucks a few scenes earlier, then surely Ray wouldn't have been the only person with a car?

Answer: He may not be the only person with a car, but you can imagine there are fewer cars than people around, since a lot of the people there came from areas where the cars had stopped working. Or else they wouldn't be walking. That's why they were going on the ferry, for transport to anywhere.

lionhead

Answer: Agree with the other answer, but would add that Ray had figured out that cars were not working because the starter solenoids were knocked out by the alien's technology. He and his friend fixed Ray's car. Unlike military mechanics or marine engineers, most people were likely clueless about what caused the problem, didn't know how to fix a vehicle, or lacked the means, particularly in a crisis. People were desperate to acquire any car they could.

raywest

Question: When Luke says he can't kill his own father, Obi-Wan tells him, "Then the Emperor has already won." But if Luke actually did kill Darth Vader, he would be left to fight the Emperor by himself, or could even be influenced to switch sides. The Emperor does try this later, suggesting that Luke replace Vader. How would that be a triumph for Obi-Wan and Yoda?

Answer: Obi-Wan didn't think it would be an immediate victory or Luke would rush to then combat the Emperor. His reasoning is that eliminating Vader would weaken the Emperor's power by removing his main enforcer. Once Vader was gone, Obi-Wan and Luke would have to devise a strategy on how to defeat the Emperor. Leaving Vader alive leaves the Emperor's power intact. Obi-Wan trusts that the Emperor will never sway Luke to the Dark side. However, Luke is unable to face destroying his own father.

raywest

So, you think they wanted Luke to fight Vader alone again, defeat him, and they would deal with the Emperor later? Instead of Luke allowing Vader to "capture" him and take him to the Emperor?

Facing his father would be facing his fears. Facing his fears is what will keep Luke away from the dark side. That was the first step in beating the emperor. Luke is understood enough in the end that killing his father is not the answer, but he did manage to beat him. And that was the victory. Because that caused Anakin to turn back to the light side and kill the emperor. Obi-Wan and Yoda can't tell Luke everything he needs to do, some he has to do himself.

lionhead

Question: Were the cigarettes in the film real or fake (prop, puff, or herbal)? I ask because I know that Natalie Portman was not a smoker before the making of this film started.

Answer: Actors are usually required to use movie prop cigarettes or herbal cigarettes that don't contain tobacco or nicotine. These usually contain marshmallow root, passion flower, cloves, or jasmine. While some actors might be smokers, prop cigarettes protect other actors and crew from second-hand smoke, especially during long filming sessions. There is debate about how much safer herbal cigarettes are compared to tobacco.

raywest

Question: Did Thomas know that he was allergic to bees?

Answer: I believe so. He was allergic to multiple substances, so he would have been thoroughly tested for just about everything.

raywest

Question: Who and why was the highboy moved to cover the linen closet?

Answer: Mrs. Gardenia, the elderly previous resident, had moved the highboy dresser there to block the closet passageway connecting her apartment to the Castevette's. She was involved in the coven, but after realizing how sinister it was, tried to disassociate herself. The coven later cast a spell causing her fatal coma.

raywest

Question: Why was the "I'm Gonna Wash That Man" number severely hacked about for the film and is not the same as in the soundtrack recording?

Answer: The song was likely shortened to maintain the scene's brisk pace and keep the film's overall length to a certain running time. There were many other musical numbers and sequences in the movie.

raywest

Answer: You could make an argument that the Goblin didn't want to quickly kill Spider-Man, so he's toying with him by beating him, throwing the razor-bats at him, etc. Goblin is psychopathic and petty... he's absolutely go for the longer death after Spider-Man turned down his offer to team up. (But of course, the actual reason behind the scenes is that the vaporizing bomb was just meant to be a cool little one-off moment to show how much of a threat Goblin was. And it'd make the movie very boring if he kept using it, especially given how overpowered it was.)

TedStixon

Question: Why did the daughter's boyfriend, Henry, want to kill her father, James? It just seemed to come out of nowhere, and to me, it seemed like he didn't have any real motive.

Answer: He didn't like Henry, so Henry wanted him out of the way, so they could be together.

Rob245

Question: Was Principal McGee only bluffing when she announced that the "pictures" of the mooners were "on their way to Washington" to simply scare the three into admitting? Or was she serious about that and therefore wanted to give those responsible a chance to come in?

Answer: It's definitely a bluff. I highly doubt the FBI can identify people by butt.

lionhead

Question: If Hermione doesn't believe, and thinks the Grim is rubbish, why is she scared when she sees the dog after Ron calls it the Grim?

Answer: She is scared of a big, snarling dog looking at them.

lionhead

Question: In the Richard Donner version, after Superman reverses time so that the events of the movie never happened, why would he go back to the diner and get even with the guy who beat him up, when earlier he chose to remove his powers?

Answer: When Clark comes back for revenge, there are no references to the previous fight, nor of anyone knowing Clark from before. When the manager tells the bully, "I just had this joint fixed," it doesn't mean it was because of the previous fight.

Sacha

Question: When the Mentors were discussing with the Tributes on how to sell their performances for the audiences, why did the shackled Reaper fake lunge at Dovecote?

Answer: Because he didn't like her, he realized she was just a rich person who saw him as a means to an end, and really didn't care if he survived. He wanted to give her a scare.

Brian Katcher

Show generally

Question: The following puzzles me: 1. Why don't the survivors try leaving on a boat and finding an island? 2. Why wouldn't the zombies just eat each other? 3. Why do they seem surprised when the zombies show up when they can smell their decaying smell? 4. Why do the zombies need to eat since they still walk around anyway? 5. Why can't the zombies climb ladders? 6. How can they feel hunger with their brains and nerve system gone?

Rob245

Answer: Some of these questions address general zombie lore (or at least, post-Romero zombie lore) and are thus usually accepted that they just "are" a certain way. 1. That's easier said than done if you don't know how to operate a boat, which the average person does not. They're also in the middle of America, nowhere near the sea. 2. There is not a single example of zombie fiction in which the zombies consume one another; they always feed on living humans. No reason other than it wouldn't be scary if they just ate one another. 3. Can you tell the exact source/direction/distance of every smell, even a powerful one? 4. In all media, zombies are driven by primordial hunger for living flesh, which almost never serves any physiological purpose. 5. Lack of physical coordination. It's also why they can't run, swim, dance, etc. 6. Again, it's just how they "are" in the fictional world they inhabit.

I want to add that "finding an island" is not guaranteed anyway. They could end up getting lost at sea and dying of starvation or dehydration. And if they do find an island, they don't know what they will be dealing with: natives who became zombies, natives who don't want them there, unfamiliar plants that might be poisonous, etc. It makes more sense to "start over" where they are.

Question: McPherson broke the grandfather clock and nothing was in there. But then, the next time he opened it with Laura there, nothing was broken, and there was a gun in there. How did it get fixed? What did I miss?

Answer: It's a different clock. The first one is in Lydecker's flat, and there's an identical one in Laura's. McPherson finds the secret compartment in Lydecker's clock, and since Laura's is the same, he checks that one, too. The shotgun is in Laura's clock.

Question: The ending of Back to the Future, Marty says he's not going to the lake as the car is 'wrecked'. All the family react as if he's talking about the BMW. They rush out and see it is fine. But they know Marty has the Toyota truck - why would they not think he meant his car is wrecked'? I know he says car not "truck" but he's talking about going up to the lake - he wouldn't be going in his Dad's BMW. So is this a mistake or bad script writing? (01:49:00 - 01:51:00)

blueslipper@gmail.com

Answer: Why wouldn't he go in the BMW? Going to the lake doesn't mean off-road driving, it might be a nice paved road all the way to a touristy spot. I don't think it's a mistake or bad writing.

Actually, Biff comes up to him with the keys to his truck, saying it is ready for his trip. So he was going with his truck.

lionhead

Answer: It would've simply been down to the pure shock of what Marty was saying. The second he said "The car's wrecked", they dropped what they were doing and went to check. They didn't even care about the first part of Marty's sentence at this point, as all that was going through their heads would've been "Has something happened to the car?"

Answer: Marty didn't know about the truck at that point. He was surprised when Biff handed him the keys, so it's not wrong that the family thought he meant the BMW.

Correct, but the family all knew he had the Toyota.

Question: I know that Jeremy Bulloch played both Boba Fett and Sheckil, but I read that someone else was supposed to play Sheckil before Bulloch replaced him. Who was initially supposed to play Sheckil before Bulloch took his place?

Answer: There doesn't seem to be any info on who the actor was that was cast to play Sheckil. The only information I could find was that the original actor didn't show up on the day of shooting, and Bulloch replaced him at the last minute. He was probably a minor actor who mostly worked in bit parts and as an extra.

raywest

Question: Nick was supposed to be watching Fanny sing at Keany's, but I just don't see him in the audience shots. Error?

Answer: If you mean their first meeting, most likely it was a deliberate decision by the filmmakers that Nick wasn't seen in the audience. The scene was constructed to introduce Nick and show Fanny's reaction as she opens the dressing room door, seeing him for the first time. Nick being seen earlier would also have lessened the audience's reaction as well.

raywest

Question: What caused the monorail track to collapse?

Answer: There doesn't appear to be an explanation. It seems to be done for dramatic effect.

raywest

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