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 do all the members of Project Mayhem chant Bob's name after "Jack" says he has a name?

Satine

Chosen answer: Because they interpret what he's saying as Bob being elevated to a place of honor. Since none of them have names and now Bob has one, he must be special.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: Why did the T800 near the end destroy the 600 that was experimenting on Reese? It just seemed to be a bit out of "character" for the Terminator to unnecessarily kill one of its own kind.

Answer: Because the T-600's targeting system was damaged by Kyle shoving that steel rebar into its neck, and the T-600 was out of control just shooting anywhere and everywhere, presenting a danger to the T-800.

GalahadFairlight

Question: Is it important for the storyline of the movie that Emily (Gwyneth Paltrow) can understand the policeman, when he is speaking Arabic to his wife on the phone?

Answer: Not really. She being a linguist and able to speak the detective's language seems to create a bond of trust and understanding between them.

raywest

Chosen answer: Because he is indoors and the sunlight is not directly shining on him.

raywest

Question: In the first movie there was a song that played every time the creature was about to attack. Does anyone know why the filmmakers decided not to play that song in the second movie?

Answer: It could be any number of things. The artist in question could have refused to allow them to use the song. In The Fast And The Furious, they had the name "NOS" on the nitrous. But in all other films in the series it is known as "N2O" as NOS didn't want it in the films anymore.

Ssiscool

Answer: The song "Jeepers Creepers" was only relevant to the first movie, and not the second, because it foreshadowed the ending. The song didn't have anything to do with the creature about to strike, it had to do with a vision the resident psychic Jezelle (who only appears in the first film) saw involving the song, a vision that eventually came true. The song was a subtle hint about Darry's fate, which is why it played several times.

Question: Why is there another flight of stairs going up from the Fat Lady's portrait when there are only supposed to be 7 floors on the Grand Staircase? There's also another flight of stairs going up higher in the background (behind Harry and the others) when the Fat Lady won't allow the students in until she's broken the glass with her voice. Is there an 8th floor we're not hearing about?

Answer: We are constantly told that the staircases move by themselves and often lead no-where. It is very easy to assume that these stairs are ones that go no-where.

Ssiscool

Question: I'm not sure about this, but didn't Grim's tires get blown out? If so, right after the next scene, where 14K hits Grim's car, the tires appear intact. It also looked new despite getting blown by a missile.

soptter

Chosen answer: Yes the tires do appear to be shot out so that would make it a mistake.

Ssiscool

Question: Are there any lyrics available for what is being sung in the theme score ("Main Title" and "What we Need is a Hero")?

Answer: Lyrics can be found here http://www.lyricstime.com/aaron-waters-we-need-a-hero-lyrics.html.

Ssiscool

Question: Why would an interpreter be necessary for a mission such as Miller's? Is this purely a plot devise to add a character who is 1) inexperienced in combat and 2) not part of a pre-existing group close-knit through combat?

Gordo-from-hell

Chosen answer: If they have to ask the locals for information they will need an interpreter for that.

Ssiscool

Answer: Miller and his platoon advanced onto Ramelle France. Seeing as none of the platoon spoke French, Upham was a perfect candidate for this. Also, when they capture steamboat Willy, Upham is also of good use as he spoke French and German.

Tony

Question: Why did Fletcher stop up the water pump at Faraway Downs?

Answer: So they'd be unable to water their cattle. Which has two benefits for Fletcher. The first being that they'd have to take their cattle to the watering hole on the border of their property, making it easier for Fletcher to steal the cows. Second, and more long term, their cattle would be of poorer quality due to lack of proper care. The ranch would lose money as a result, and they'd be more amenable to selling the ranch to their competition, whom Fletcher works for.

Phixius

Question: What is the name of the song which plays during the first basketball game where Scott turns into the wolf?

willieboy78

Chosen answer: Way To Go by Mark Vieha. Its on the soudtrack if you can still find it.

Gavin Jackson

Question: What is the point of WALL-E (a garbage robot) having the function of recording? It seems pointless.

dogboy44

Chosen answer: Since Wall-E has been repairing himself for 700 years, and likes music,he may have modified himself as he did when he took another robots tracks, There is no way to know if he was originally made with the recorder or not.

papajim

Question: How does the Phantom get his salary? I know he tells Firmin, "Send it care of the Ghost by return of post," but what exactly does this mean? And also, what does he do with his salary?

Answer: Mme Giry acts as the intermediary. She brings the notes, so sending the money by return of post means the money should be given to her to pass it on. As for what he does with it, the luxury of his clothing and lair bears witness that he doesn't pile it. He spends it on anything that will bring beauty around him, whether it's a wig, a mask, clothes, furniture or anything else. And it wouldn't be surprising if a few bribes weren't given here and there.

Sereenie

Question: I don't understand. What did Russell mean when he said, "Phyllis is not my mom." and why was this so dramatic?

Answer: It means his parents are divorced, or at least separated (since his dad is living with another woman), meaning he comes from a broken home and making the fact that his father never shows up to his events a lot harsher.

Gary O'Reilly

Question: In an answer for one of the other questions here, it says that Leia doesn't know she is adopted until Luke tells her that they are siblings. If she doesn't know, why would he use the term "real mother" when asking her about her mother? It seems that if she didn't know she was adopted, she would think it was strange for him to ask about a "real" mother.

Answer: It's never stated anywhere in the films whether Leia knows that she's adopted or not. Given her apparent lack of surprise at Luke's reference to her "real mother", it seems more than likely that her adoptive parents have told her at some point.

Tailkinker

Question: I don't understand why Darth Maul talks about having revenge in this movie or why Episode III is called "Revenge of the Sith". I thought the original group of Sith all killed each other. I know that they want to destroy the Jedi, but how is that getting revenge for anything in particular?

Answer: The Sith and Jedi have been at war for millenia. Yes, there's always been infighting among the Sith as well, but the fact remains that their primary enemy has always been the Jedi. The Sith have been forced to hide away, working in the shadows, for a thousand years, because they lacked the power to eliminate the Jedi. Now, finally, they're in a position to do so. What else would you call it but revenge?

Tailkinker

Question: This is a two part question. Question 1: during Obi-Wan and Darth Vader's duel aboard The Death Star, Obi wan spins around, briefly exposing himself and giving Vader an opening within which to strike. Why didn't he take it and stab him through the back? Question 2: towards the end of the duel, at 91 minutes 28 seconds, why does Obi-Wan's lightsaber dim to the point of where it looks like it's going out?

Socks1000

Chosen answer: In response to your first part, its simply a case that Vader missed the opening, he clearly has no issues with striking down someone unarmed as he demonstrates later. In response to your second question, its a fault with the effects used at the time that when the lightsabers were held at certain angles, the effects used to 'paint' on the shimmer of the lightsabers couldn't be applied because there wasn't enough of the required colouring.

GalahadFairlight

Question: I've always wondered about one scene in the movie. It happens when Tom Hanks says, "prepare for a little jolt, fellas." We see the astronauts being propelled forward in their seats as the spacecraft accelerates very quickly. But the only time you'd be going forward was if you were riding in a car and the brakes were suddenly slammed on, right? Can someone explain this to me?

Answer: While this did actually happen on Apollo 13 it was completely unexpected, the "get ready for a little jolt" line was made up for the movie. There are retro rockets on the S1-C (first) stage of the Saturn V that are supposed to fire at separation to slow the S1-C and create more separation before the S-2 ignites. The retros fired one second early on this mission so it was before separation and the unexpected reverse thrust is what caused them to get thrown forward. Apparently Jim Lovell even had marks on his helmet from hitting it on the panel when this happened.

Answer: You have to think three-dimensionally. The rocket is travelling upwards under the thrust of the first stage - the moment that thrust cuts off, the only force acting on the ship is gravity, so it's effectively as if the brakes have been slammed on, relatively speaking, as they are no longer moving forwards anywhere near as fast. Then the second-stage engines kick in, propelling them upwards at speed again, pushing them back into their seats.

Tailkinker

Question: Is it usual for gun store clerks to leave ammunition and bullets on the counter where anyone can pick them up and load them into a gun?

Socks1000

Chosen answer: No, it's not, but not every gun shop owner is reputable or responsible.

wizard_of_gore

Chosen answer: Randall is telling him that the ending of the film would have been better if Frodo and Sam had had gay sex. This image grossed the guy out to the point he puked.

Grumpy Scot

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