Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when the Room of Requirement is found, it is a practically small empty room so that the students have enough room to practice their magic. But why in this movie, when looking for Ravenclaw's diadem, is it suddenly an enormous room filled with what seems like centuries of stuff? Since the room changes to fit the person's needs and Harry, Hermione and Ron were so desperate to find it, wouldn't it be easier for the room to simply be empty and small so they can find it more quickly?

Answer: They wanted to find the room that held the diadem. The room simply provided it for them. The original room that held the diadem was big and full of stuff because it needed to be hidden inside it. The room of requirement can't change the location of items within it.

lionhead

Answer: The room does change size, shape, and function according to a person's specific needs. However, when Harry was searching for the diadem, it appears the room simply reverted to the same configuration it was when the diadem was hidden there. The room may simply be incapable of finding a particular object.

raywest

Question: This was produced by the Walt Disney Production Company. Unlike other Disney films that were family friendly, this one had a dark tone to it and even terrifying moments. Why would the Disney Production company help produce this film considering how scary it is? It seems unusual considering that a lot of the movies they made were more light-hearted.

Answer: Disney at the time was trying to break the stereotype of only producing family-oriented animation films. So they were interested in making more mature films, especially ones targeted to the teen audience. At the time they had already produced "The Watcher in the Woods" and "Dragonslayer". "Something Wicked This Way Comes" was toned down though and some things deemed too dark were removed. It should be noted, this was also the last film under the Walt Disney Production label.

Bishop73

Question: Why does Obi-Wan believe that Anakin (the chosen one) is not ready for an assignment on his own even though he has been his apprentice for the last 10 years? Also, why does Obi-Wan not let Anakin face the trials to become a Jedi Knight even though again he has been his apprentice for the last 10 years?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Chosen answer: Anakin is very talented, but still struggles with anger and emotion. Obi-wan knows this, and knows he's not ready.

Question: Riddle said he knew Harry would try and solve the mystery of who was behind the attacks. Particularly if one of his best friends was involved, but how did he know Hermione was one of Harry's best friends?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Chosen answer: Ginny, most likely. She had been writing in it before Harry found it and confiding her feelings and fears to Riddle.

Cubs Fan

Question: Angelina said that two people flew better than Ron at the tryouts so why let him be keeper just because he and Harry are best friends?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Chosen answer: Harry didn't choose Ron because he was his friend. Harry knew Ron had the talent and ability to be a good keeper but lacked confidence in himself to perform well. Harry realised that part of the reason for Ron's low self-esteem was because he came from a poor background and was overshadowed by his talented siblings and also by Harry's fame. Harry wanted to give Ron an opportunity to excel on his own. Also, picking team members isn't only about selecting the most athletically talented, but choosing people who work well together and follow orders. Cormac, who was also trying out as keeper was talented, but he was obnoxious and would have challenged Harry's authority at every turn.

raywest

Question: During the phone call scene in the beginning: when the killer asks Casey the first movie question, threatening to kill Steve, why does she unplug a cord?

Answer: When she unplugs the cord, the light goes out in the area where she is hiding. Perhaps, in her panic, it is a quick way to feel like she's better hiding from the killer. Of course, in reality, she's backing herself, literally, into a dark corner. But she probably isn't thinking rationally.

Michael Albert

Answer: It's harder to spot someone in the dark and the TV was letting out light.

Question: What's the deal with The Hoggett's children and grandchildren?

Answer: Very vague question. There is no "deal" with them. They are just modern.

MasterOfAll

Question: Throughout the film, everyone says that Binx was trying to prevent the candle from being lit, so why at the end does he thank Max for lighting it, and explain to Emily that he had to wait for the candle to be lit?

JohnShel91

Chosen answer: Binx had accepted his fate of being a cat forever so instead, he decided to stop the candle from being lit. It was only near the end of the film that he saw the death of the witches broke his curse.

THGhost

Answer: Binx knew that bringing the Sandersons back to life would be dangerous, so he tried to prevent it. It was only AFTER the group killed the witches that he was thankful since his curse was lifted. He said that to Emily because he waited 300 years for the right person to light the candle and destroy the witches.

Answer: He accepted his fate until the end of the movie.

Question: Why do the couple get old and start to disintegrate when Otho summons them in their wedding clothes?

Answer: Otho was trying to perform a séance (using the wedding clothes as something belonging to the dead). However, he was using the Handbook for the Recently Deceased and didn't know what he was actually doing and accidentally started performing an exorcism. It was the exorcism that caused Adam and Barbara (the couple) to age, in the attempt to destroy them.

Bishop73

Question: I know it's never answered in the film but is it explained in the book just why the truck driver takes such a dislike to David Mann - he behaves this way after just a couple of overtakes?

The_Iceman

Chosen answer: That is never answered for the film, and not knowing adds to the mystery and intrigue. No mentally stable person would target someone just because they overtook their vehicle on the road. It appears that Mann happened to cross paths with a psychopath. Steven Spielberg has commented that the multiple out-of-state license plates attached to the truck's front bumper may be "trophies" that indicate that the trucker is a serial killer who has run down other drivers. This could be a deadly game to the truck driver.

raywest

I just wonder why the driver's door on the big rig was open while it took a dive over the mountain.

Perhaps a hint that the truck driver escaped. You notice that the truck doesn't explode on impact, although the studio insisted it must; Spielberg fought the studio over the inclusion of a cliched fiery finale, as he wanted the crash to convey an ambiguous ending, suggesting that the driver might not have died. Spielberg even explained that the red liquid seen in the truck cab was not blood, but was some sort of automotive fluid. This all lent to the mystery of what actually happened to the driver, whose body we never see.

Charles Austin Miller

The stuntman driving the truck had to jump out of the truck right before it went over the edge, and due to equipment issues barely made it out, without having time to shut the door.

Chosen answer: It wasn't important enough to include it in the film. As the series overall plot line became darker and increasingly complex, adding the Quidditch scenes would only lengthen the movie's overall running time, it is repetitive, and would slow the action. Film makers can not include every detail from a book into a movie script. Characters, plot points, themes, are entirely eliminated, reordered, or incorporated in other ways.

raywest

Chosen answer: It's unlikely that they ever met, which would mean Mary visited. However, the show seems to imply Leonard has had to call her in the past to help out with Sheldon, and he has her number. Plus, Mary seems to be more motherly (then say Beverly) and one can assume she's called Sheldon a number of times to check in on him and it's likely Leonard answered the phone some of those times and spoke to her. Given that Leonard often shares personal stories with the gang, it's also likely he's told the gang something about Mary.

Bishop73

Question: During the Vietnamese child-rescue scene (in which Vic Morrow and two child actors were horrifically killed in real life), why on earth did they allow Vic Morrow and the children to perform their own stunt work in what was, without question, an incredibly chaotic and deadly-dangerous night-time shoot? With several large pyrotechnics exploding on all sides and helicopters hovering less than 20 feet over the actors' heads, it was a recipe for disaster. Why did the film makers consider it worth the risk to capture a few frames of Vic Morrow's blurry likeness in a wide, distant shot?

Answer: It's unlikely we'll ever fully understand. However, there were already a number of violations involving the children, prior to the stunt. It seems to boil down to the audiences at the time demanding more and more dangerous stunts and actions in their films that the film makers, and Landis, tried to accommodate. Landis also seemed less concerned about the dangers and either didn't think it would be that risky or was more concerned about finishing production on time. For whatever reason, Landis ignored warnings of the dangers. But given that he violated night time production laws involving the children, including hiding the children from welfare workers and telling them to keep everything a secret, shows he was more concerned with getting the shots and must have felt the stunt was that important.

Bishop73

Question: Is it true that in the original version of this that Yoda says the reason Obi-Wan didn't tell Luke the truth about Anakin turning to the dark side is because Yoda wouldn't let him?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Chosen answer: Technically no. While this was never in the original version, there is however a deleted scene where this happens.

ctown28

There are script drafts where Yoda tells Luke not to judge Obi-Wan too harshly because it was his suggestion to keep Luke in the dark about his father. However, Obi-Wan himself still seems to own his decision, citing the same belief in the film that he was right "from a certain point of view."

TonyPH

Question: Would Victor have felt any pain by the time he was found, or would he be so insane that he wouldn't be able to feel anything? And if so, how long would it take for him to become that insane? Also, would he be aware of where he is and who's in the room once he went completely insane, even if he's not able to communicate? And if he's no longer aware of reality, would he still feel pain? I'm a bit confused in that regard, as well as how long it would take for his brain to become mush.

EK8829

Chosen answer: The question presupposes that there is a "level" of insanity wherein one stops feeling pain, which there is not. If his body still has active nerve endings, he would continue to feel pain no matter what his state of mental deterioration. As to the second part of the question, the examining doctor describes his brain (read: mind) as "mush", suggesting that he is too far gone to be aware of reality anymore.

Question: Who plays the cop who handcuffs John Doe and gets blood all over his hands in the process?

Answer: John Cassini.

Answer: Thank you for the answer. I knew he looked familiar.

Christmas Who? - S2-E5

Question: Santa doesn't come to Bikini Bottom, but then Squidward receives a thank you letter from him and sees him and his reindeer in the ocean's sky. Why didn't Santa come before? The one voiced by John Goodman appeared in "It's a SpongeBob Christmas" stop-motion special at the bottom of the sea talking to the characters. Can somebody clarify this for me?

Answer: In the "Christmas Who?" episode's intro, Patchy the Pirate is reading a letter where a fan ask if Spongebob loves Christmas as much as he does. Patchy explains they didn't always celebrate Christmas and this episode is a flashback to the first time Bikini Bottom had heard of Christmas. Santa had never visited before because nobody had believed in him before. Santa finally does visit because of Squidward's Christmas spirit. The "It's a Spongebob Christmas" episode aired 12 years later. So by this time, Bikini Bottom had been celebrating Christmas for quite sometime. Santa comes for a special visit because of how everyone in town, except Plankton, is on his naughty list.

Bishop73

Question: Here's a question that's never been answered. After Captain Quint addresses the Amity city council, he bids them good day and leaves, and a dog and a little guy wearing a cap obediently follow Quint down the hall. For a split-second, we also see this little guy's cap pass before the camera inside Quint's dock-front quarters. Who was this little guy, Quint's first mate? We don't know, because that little guy is never seen again after the dock quarters scene.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: I believe you see the same person helping prepare the Orca before it starts setting out. He has Quint's M1 slung over his shoulder.

Chosen answer: The man is never identified. It is never stated in the movie that he is Quint's first mate or that he works for him. He could be or may just casually know Quint, and is probably also a local fisherman.

raywest

He is Quint's deckhand/first mate. The fellow who was cast was not an actor, just a local character, whose dog followed him everywhere (Spielberg got a kick out of him and cast him). This was clarified in a scene where he quits rather than go on the boat after Jaws, which was cut out of the film but can be found on YouTube.

Question: Why did Zuko get mad when Leo said "Pinks you punk! Pink slips! Ownership papers!"

Answer: The ownership papers of cars use to be pink. Whomever won the race would win the other persons car. They were playing for pinks and he did not want to lose their car.

Answer: Pink slips are ownership papers which means the winner gets the loser's car.

Answer: Because Zuko was being called a punk, and they other guy was from a rival gang and putting them down and being generally obnoxious. Plus, it's possible the word "pinks" was meant to be initially misunderstood as the "Pink Ladies."

Michael Albert

Answer: Because Danny didn't understand right away what the guy meant by "pinks" and the guy tried to humiliate Danny by calling him a punk for not knowing the lingo - that he was too inexperienced and dumb to know what he was talking about.

Question: Most of the songs the Brady kids sing in this movie (and the sequel) were played at normal speed but were redone with new musicians and singers. However in this movie, during the Sears scene, "Sunshine Day" plays and you can tell it's the original recording from the original show but has been slowed down. Just curious about the reason for slowing this one down - was it a legal issue since the original cast/recording was used or another reason?

Answer: I have listened several times to both versions of "Sunshine Day" on YouTube. To my ear, they are both the same speed. However, the movie version does have some significant cuts, and some added incidental bridge music, such as when the crowd of women rushes to the Tori Spelling book signing, or when the kids are talking to Alice in the massage chair. If the movie version is slower, it is not significantly so. And perhaps it was changed to fit the blocked movement they wanted, and to accommodate the timing of the scene that they were going for. I doubt legality had anything to do with it, as the soundtrack notes states the song was used by permission. But, again, I don't think the tempo has been significantly altered.

Michael Albert

The original series was faster. I just listened to the start of both versions a few times in a row and although they are both in the same exact key (key of A), the show is definitely faster tempo and the movie slower. Even the singer in the first line of the song (one of the girls) sounds higher pitched in the show, and slower and lower pitched in the movie.

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