Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: I have a question, I don't know if it's true or not but I have heard about this for years after Part III was released. Had Crispin Glover decided to do the sequels, would he have had the role of Shamus McFly in Part III, or once Glover turned down the sequels, then it was decided that Michael J. Fox would play the part of Sheamus once Part III was greenlit? Or was it always going to be Fox playing the role of Sheamus regardless if Glover came back for the sequels or not?

Answer: In an interview, actor Jeffrey Weissman (the actor who replaced Glover as George McFly) mentioned Glover was slated to play Shamus since Lea Thompson, who played Lorraine (Marty's mom) also played Maggie (Shamus' wife). So it made sense the Mom and Dad would play the great-Grandparents. However, without the heavy makeup and prosthetics to look like Glover, the film makers thought having Weissman playing the role would look too unrecognizable that the audience wouldn't know who he was. In a side note, the scene of elderly George hanging upside down in BTTF 2 was written with Crispin Glover in mind as payback.

Bishop73

Answer: It's just one of Frasier's little arcane witticisms. Roz is acting over-the-top surprised (hands on her heart, wide-mouthed gasp, etc.), the way theatre actors and actresses would back in the early 20th century. Tallulah Bankhead was a successful American stage actress of that era, so Frasier is comparing Roz to her after seeing her "performance." He (or, more accurately, whoever wrote the episode) probably chose to reference Bankhead out of all possible actresses because it's an unusual name, unlikely to be confused with some other, non-theatre Tallulah.

Answer: This is a reference to Tallulah Bankhead, a prominent stage and movie actress in the mid-20th century. She mostly played somewhat over-the-top, strong-willed, opinionated characters. Frasier appears to be comparing Roz's melodramatic behavior to her.

raywest

Answer: When Roz comes into the scene, she's complaining about Christmas shopping because she says that she never knows what to give the men in her life. Frasier replies, "Since when?", making a sly comment on Roz's sex life. Roz was often teased about having many men in her life (it was a different time back then). When Roz overacts in response to Niles' statement about getting back together with Maris, Frasier says, "That's enough, Tallulah." The reference is to Tallulah Bankhead, a stage and screen actress from the '30s and '40s who was also known for her sexual appetite.

just visiting

Question: Since one male from each family in her village is required to report for training to serve the emperor, how is it that no-one recognizes Mulan - especially when she gives in to her chi?

Answer: Although it isn't said (in either this film or the animated original), she reports to a different camp than anyone else in her village. Otherwise, the men would not only recognize her physically but they would know beforehand that Hua Zhou never had a son so the ruse would never work. How she knows nobody from her village will be at that particular camp is never explained in either film.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: Maybe I'm ignorant but shouldn't all those injections of various drugs Dr Varnick gets in the chest kill him?

Rob245

Answer: It appears he only gets pierced by the needles. The plungers aren't pressed, so he isn't injected with their contents.

Phaneron

Question: Why would Phil even gamble away the farm to Mrs Biggles in the first place? If he didn't neither him or Isabel and her kids would have gotten in that awful mess in the first place?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Answer: Clearly he is not a very responsible person. This was to create a storyline to add to the film.

Question: Have there been two separate endings made for this film?

Answer: Rumor says there was another ending, where they meet again and she says too much time has passed, she has a career and they could never recapture the magic they once had. She leaves him at the airport and he watches her fly away.

Question: So, how do they find the dogs?

Answer: I believe they returned to the base camp. The dogs apparently stayed in the area and, although there were no dogs when the people first got to the camp, the dogs heard them and came over the hill.

KeyZOid

Answer: Ms. Norbery definitely remembered the conversation (check the scene where she finds the page about herself and also the scene where she questions Cady in the gym) But she knew Cady was a good person at heart with good grades and decided to forgive her, knowing she learned her lesson. One of Cady's punishments was joining the Mathletes, although it's stated that Principle Duvall gave her other punishments as well.

Answer: Ms. Norbury thought Cady was a good student who made good grades and didn't think she was capable of doing something like that. Also, she may not have even remembered the conversation where she tells Cady she is a "pusher", as she encounters many students a day. One of Cady's punishments was that she had to join the mathletes.

Question: Was the poison that killed both John Ruth and O.B. (by causing them to vomit blood) purely fictional? Does it have any equivalents in the real life? If it does, then what kind of poison was that?

Answer: It's not PURELY fictional, as plenty of poisons lead to vomiting and bleeding (cyanide, arsenic, etc.), but Tarantino, as is his wont, definitely takes some artistic license and kicks it up several notches for dramatic/gross-out effect.

Question: Tony's boss says that he wants Tony and Virginia out of the apartment "today." Are landlords not required to give a tenant notice - often between ten and thirty days?

Answer: He is being dramatic. He wants them out of the apartment quickly. Most landlords are required to give a certain number of days, depending on the local laws. And most tenants can't pack all of their belongings and leave before the next day.

Answer: His remark could be interpreted in different ways. There is a legal process involved in giving an eviction, but he could mean that as of that day, they are being given notice. It is also a hyperbolic figure of speech and is something someone would say in anger, meaning to get out as soon as possible. Also, it being a TV series, it streamlines the plot, and the dialogue sounds more dramatic and immediate when the character states it in that way.

raywest

Question: If Annie's parents died in a fire how did the police know where to take the items that they had found?

Answer: Sometimes the parents keep the address of the orphanage where they dropped their child off.

Question: Two questions about the scene in which the Green Goblin comes to JJ Jameson's office: 1) Why does JJJ cover for Parker and say that the photos of Spider-man come in the mail? I would expect him to protect himself before Peter. 2) The Green Goblin says "Jameson, you slime." As Norman Osborne, does he have a prior conflict with Jameson?

Answer: He might be a bad boss but not so bad he willingly gives up his employees to homicidal maniacs. JJJ is probably known to a lot of people as a slime, considering how he runs his paper. Osborne has probably been featured many times in it.

lionhead

Question: Why did the credit card come back as being stolen? The police told Peter to notify the credit card company, so they could track Kevin if he used them - they wanted Kevin to use the credit card, so why would they have put a block on it by reporting it as stolen?

Answer: The credit card company was aware that an unauthorized person was using the card, which someone in the credit card system could misinterpreted as being "stolen." The police needed that information to track when, where, and how the card was being used to locate Kevin. It was assumed that Kevin had the card, but someone else could have gotten hold of it.

raywest

Answer: They did not know where Kevin got off the airplane (or how far away he may have ended up). There were numerous flights to various cities and they initially wanted to know if Kevin used the card and, if so, what city (maybe even country!). This would give police an idea of where to start looking; it was a technique to narrow down the possibilities. If one's credit card is "missing" or in the hands of an unauthorized person (such as Kevin being in possession of the card), it should be reported as stolen (or missing) so that the credit card company is on the alert for an unauthorized user. If this missing card is presented to a merchant (or ATM for cash withdrawals), the person will be unable to use it to make any purchase or continue charging items. The credit card company will know if/when someone tries to use the card and can then notify police of the exact location; the police can investigate from that point. Reporting the card "stolen" as soon as possible (as soon as one realises it is missing) helps protect the card's owner from being held monetarily responsible for whatever unauthorized charges are made over $50; the credit card company will consider the card's owner to be limited to a maximum of $50.

KeyZOid

Question: What happened to the groups of men and women that were supposed to be the members of Drax's master race? They're never seen again after he gives his speech on the space station.

jbrbbt

Answer: Most were killed in the laser battle, if you look carefully you can see some of their bodies laying on the floor of the station afterwards. The others were most likely sucked into space or blown up, when the station exploded.

Question: I've heard rumors there's an Unrated version of this film - possibly released on BluRay in Germany? I've hunted for more info on this, but not having a lot of luck. Any chance the rumors are true?

TANGd878

Answer: I don't know for certain, but there is a website called movie-censorship.com that details and contrasts scenes in alternate versions of movies compared to their theatrical releases, and when I checked, they don't have this film listed.

Phaneron

Question: That multi-coloured gloop that Bowman and Poole are eating looks quite disgusting. What were the actors really eating?

Answer: It appears to be pureed vegetable, probably peas, carrots, and also some kind of meat. It looks disgusting, but it is more practical as regular food would float away in zero gravity.

raywest

Answer: He saw the gun turret sticking out of the nose cone.

Question: In the train dodging scene, why didn't the loco crew brake at all? They definitely saw the boys in front. I know that trains have very long stopping distances compared to road vehicles, but still. And why didn't the boys try to signal the driver to stop? I get it that they panicked, but still wouldn't that be the first thing coming to one's mind in such a situation?

Answer: No, it wasn't that big of a train. He didn't even attempt to get off the throttle. That's all it would have taken for the boys to make it fairly easy. It was a straight-away track, no chance of it derailing by hitting the brakes. Like the man said above, if trains derailed that easily, we wouldn't be using them.

Answer: Throwing on brakes that heavily gives the train a chance of derailing and the train still wouldn't stop in time.

LorgSkyegon

Answer: To add to the other fine answers, and as mentioned, any attempt to make a sudden stop could have resulted in derailment. The conductor knew the train was about to go over an elevated track, and if it derailed, it would have plunged into the deep ravine, killing the boys anyway, as well as those on aboard. The best he could do was blow the whistle, gradually slow the train, and hope the boys survived.

raywest

Can't agree with the arguments about derailment. If trains derailed so easily, they would derail all the time. The train had only 4 or 5 cars. It would not have needed miles to stop. Simply reducing the throttle would have resulted in significant slowing. Plus, they did not stop to determine if anyone was hurt. That is criminal behavior.

Answer: A train that size would have needed miles to stop, and rapid braking could have caused derailment. The engineer was blowing his whistle so he saw the boys; there was no need for them to signal. The engineer and the boys knew their only chance was to get off the bridge.

Brian Katcher

Question: Did Rachel ever find out that her sister wanted her killed?

Answer: I don't believe so. The only person who found out was Kevin. Aside from him, she took the secret to her grave with her when the killer took her out, not having told anyone else. I doubt that Frank would've told Rachel to avoid tearing the family apart. So, it was swept under the rug and Rachel was none the wiser.

Miniature - S4-E8

Question: At one point, we see a man getting his shoes shined. He is holding a magazine or newspaper close to his face and it seems to have a cut out in it so the man can hide his face but still see through the page. What's going on here? (00:14:00)

Gary55379

Answer: From everything I can tell, what you're seeing is part of an advertisement on the page that just appears as a dark box. While there isn't enough contrast, because of the show being in black and white, for me to tell what the ad says, if it was a hole, the man's head doesn't line with what you see and you should be able to see the window behind him, which I couldn't see.

Bishop73

He is holding it much too close to his face to read it, isn't he? You can see some detail in that rectangle. The story is how Charley is looking through the window of a miniature house. And here is a character that appears to me to be looking at Charlie through a "window", so to speak. I believe in the first frames after they cut from his mother eating, I believe you can see his shirt collar in the lower left of the cutout. Curious.

Gary55379

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