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: In the first combat scene, we see the big climbing net already in place. Who put the net up in the first place and how would that have been done? And why would the Japanese not simply cut it down after the first fights when the US troops retreated?

Michael Ebner

Chosen answer: US troops put the net up (in reality the ridge isn't as tall). The Japanese were fighting a defensive battle from heavily fortified positions on a reverse slope, and it suited them to have the Americans attacking from that point. The Americans also used ladders on other parts of the escarpment.

Question: So what are these tournaments called in China? I'm trying to find one similar to them but am having a hard time.

Answer: There are known as Wushu tournaments. Wushu means martial arts in Chinese.

Question: Is Joker's girlfriend the same girl who is with Cruz in the car when he gets attacked?

Answer: No.

Question: Does a letter of marque absolve one person only or anyone who signs on it (for example Will, Jack and Elizabeth) can be absolved by just one letter? I don't understand how many letters are there or why Will agreed to find the compass if the governor said the letter(s) would only save Jack.

ricardoglez22

Chosen answer: The letters of marque need to be signed by the person being absolved and by the king. It can't be signed for more than 1 person. But, more letters can of course be given by the king if need be. BTW, in real life a letter of marque would make a ship property of the crown, not a person.

lionhead

Question: After Flynn decides to give his satchel to the Stabbington Brothers so they can give him a boost, how did he obtain the satchel when he was climbing them?

Answer: We are not shown exactly how he gets the satchel back for comedic purposes. Presumably he just reached around and quickly grabbed it as he was climbing.

BaconIsMyBFF

Show generally

Question: If Dustin, Dana, and James don't appear in a lot of episodes in the show, why are they still considered main characters?

Answer: Dustin was only considered a main character from season 1-3, and probably just because he's Zoey's brother. Dana was only a main character for season 1 and James didn't become a main character until season 4.

Bishop73

Question: Kinda confused, why couldn't they just ask Candie straight up to buy Broomhilda?

Answer: If I recall they weren't quite sure she was actually there. Therefore they needed to worm their way in by engaging Candy with business in order to find out. I would assume that it would've been strange for a man such as Schultz to go though so much trouble to buy a cheap slave girl (after all she was purchased for 300). It would've made their story of Django being a bounty hunter highly suspicious. Likewise Candy was very wealthy. They knew he would have little interest in making such a small profit off the girl. So if they instantly revealed their plans not only would they fail to make it to his home, they may never have found out if she was there. And lastly by getting into Candy's good graces by fooling him into believing they would buy a 12k fighting slave, he probably wouldn't have charged them much to buy her as he would've tried to please Schultz as a future business partner.

Answer: Short answer, because movies depend on characters making questionable decisions to advance the plot and create conflict, without which you don't have a movie at all. Longer answer, because Django was too proud, impulsive, and brash to simply sit back and wait for Schultz to do this, and Schultz himself has a flair for theatrics and so probably hatched the scheme as much for his own amusement as for its chances of success.

Question: I have a few questions. Were the conditions in the film and book the way they were in reality? Like did they really have movie theaters back then? If it was reality, what happened in the penal system that changed penitentiaries to become more "strict"?

Answer: This question is a bit vague and open to multiple answers, but here's one. Shawshank is a fictional prison, an amalgamation of the general federal penitentiary system of the 1940s-1960s, and as such depicts elements common to prisons of the era. Many penal colonies had movie theaters and other entertainment for the prisoners...it depended on a lot of factors, from the crimes committed by the inmates, to the laws of the particular state, to the inclinations and philosophies of the warden. Most prisons nowadays still have these amenities...they haven't become "more strict" since the time period depicted in the film. And, just as now, prisons like Shawshank had guards that were more or less brutal towards the inmates, inmates who worked for the guards (unofficially), corrupt wardens who exploited the prisoners' labor, draconian punishments, etc.

Question: If there is a name for it, what is the name for the hover bus in the scene right after Obi-Wan says "Another happy landing"?

Answer: Wookieepedia just calls it a Jedi shuttlebus or a Senate shuttlebus, manufactured by GoCorp.

Sierra1

Question: Why does George go to find Dennis since he hates him? Did he also expect Dennis to listen to him after he had just scolded Dennis?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Chosen answer: He doesn't hate Dennis and does not want anything to happen to him. He's just a rather crotchety old man who is annoyed by a precocious kid. He may not expect Dennis to listen to him, but he at least makes the effort to reach out as most adults would.

raywest

Question: In The Wolverine, when Yashida (as the Silver Samurai) breaks his claws, Logan regenerates his claws, but they are made out of bone. How come they are metal again when Logan panics and slashes Kitty?

Answer: No definitive answer has been given, although director Bryan Singer has said a possible explanation is Magneto helps. At the end of the Wolverine film, Professor X and Magneto are waiting for Wolverine at the airport. So at some time in the future, Magneto could have rebonded the metal to Wolverine's bone (which has happened in the comics). In the comics though, the True Adamantium turned into Beta Adamantium due to the presence of Logan's mutant healing factor gene. Beta Adamantium has regenerative powers as well (it's also what allows bones to function as they grow properly) and Logan's metal claws could have possibly just grown back, over time.

Bishop73

Question: Are there Slytherins who fought in the battle of Hogwarts? JK Rowling said that the reinforcements from Slughorn was Slytherin. Although it was not mentioned in the book and in the movie. But is this true that the reinforcements are Slytherin?

Answer: Since JK Rowling is the author and said that Slytherins are the reinforcements of Slughorn, then it is most likely true that there were Slytherins who fought in the battle.

DFirst1

Answer: All the Slytherin students were in the dungeons. Slughorn definitely was a Slytherin as stated in the book. And unless you explicitly mean fighting on the Hogwarts side, everyone on Voldemort's side is Slytherin.

Answer: In several location throughout France, from Paris to Mertz, with many scenes being filmed on location. You can find more details on IMDB or Wikipedia.

Bishop73

Question: In the movie and in most of the live shows Christine is brunette but I have heard that in the original book she is blonde. Is that true and if so, do you know where in the book they say it?

Answer: In the English translation I've read (I have not read the original French version); in chapter V, The Enchanted Violin, when the old man is telling the story, it reads "Raoul looked at Christine's blue eyes and golden hair". It should be noted that Christine is Swedish and black hair is uncommon among the Swedes.

Bishop73

Question: When Alex and Clear go to the mortuary and talk to Bludworth, he says that the only way to stop Death is to disrupt the order in which they die in. When Alex saves Carter's life before he dies from the train, shouldn't that have disrupted the order and prevent Death from claiming the rest?

Answer: No. It only stops death from going after its current target, and moves onto the next one.

MasterOfAll

Answer: When all of the others are dead then death goes to claim the one that was skipped.

Chosen answer: Yes, Data's contacts did noticeably drift on occasion, which was a source of angst for Brent Spiner (who played Data and Lore). Spiner never had anything good to say about his yellow contact lenses, as they were his least favorite part of the lengthy makeup process. Rather than further discomfort Spiner by constantly adjusting the contacts, they would often just continue shooting in spite of this minor makeup malfunction, unless he looked positively cockeyed.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: I may have missed this, but early in the film, how did Mia and Sebastian get into the empty planetarium? It must have been locked up pretty tight. Did someone let them in? Did they break in? I'm guessing this was explained and I didn't catch it.

Michael Albert

Chosen answer: The answer is, "It's a movie." They wouldn't have been able to drive up to the entrance either. The entire sequence is fantasy-driven.

Show generally

Question: Forgot the episode and the season, but does Mark, the kid that gets home schooled and ends up beating Kyle, ever show up in later episodes?

Answer: He appears in at least 5 other episodes, but usually just as a background character. He can be seen at Cartman's party in "Immaginationland". He was also one of the kids trying out to replace Butters in the "Professor Chaos" episode.

Bishop73

Strength - S1-E10

Question: The gorilla is said to possibly be able to lift two family cars, which weighs over 2090kg. If it can, then why is it only number 8 in the countdown while the rhinoceros beetle is number 1?

Answer: They based it on how much they can lift in relation to their body weight. A Rhinoceros Beetle can lift 850 times its own body weight, which would be equivalent to a Gorilla lifting 255 tons (over 100 times more than 2,090 kg).

Bishop73

Chosen answer: Dooku lost faith in the Jedi order when his padawan Qui-Gon Jinn died on Naboo at the hands of Darth Maul. He left the Jedi order and pursued wealth and power. He was contacted shortly after leaving by Darth Sidious, joined him and became a Sith.

lionhead

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