Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: I was watching some of the movie on TV. In the scene with Peter's birthday dinner, when Peter says he has been busy, Harry asks "Taking pictures of Spider-man?" instead of "Taking pictures of your friend?", like on the DVD I have. Is there any reason why this was changed?

Answer: Both lines are said in the movie. When Harry first inquires he says "Taking pictures of Spider-Man?" casually. Later in the scene he says "Taking pictures of your friend?" in a rather irritated tone.

Answer: Any real owl would not allow itself to be wrapped in a blanket like that, wounded or not. Granted at times it does look very realistic but it's not.

Answer: It's from 1960 and called Beatnik Fly and is played by Johnny & The Hurricanes.

It's not Beatnik Fly.

What makes you think it's not?

Bishop73

Because Beatnik Fly is a different instrumental, it's similar but not Beatnik Fly.

It's definitely Beatnik Fly. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI8OMrO1Y_Q.

Question: What was the name of the song playing in the Yahoo only trailer? It starts when in says "this January" and goes through to the end. I really like this song and it is driving me mad.

Answer: Yellow brick road - Elton John.

Question: What's the name of the piece of music that's playing during Mark's "confession" with the flashbacks about Anthony's death? Is it included in the official soundtrack?

Answer: Nanou 2 by Aphex Twin.

Question: Mickey Mantle was on a home run streak that year and then got hurt. I am just curious to know, if Mickey Mantle had been the one to break the record, if there would be such an uproar over it.

Answer: Actually Maris was MVP the previous year, 1960.

Answer: Probably not. Mantle was loved by the fans and the sports writers, plus he was a good layer. Maris never really had a good season before, or after, so a lot of people did not think he deserved to be the one to break the record.

pross79

Question: Anna Ramirez tells Jim Gordon that the Joker card pinned to the fake Batman's body has three sets of DNA on it: Judge Surrillo's, Commissioner Loeb's and Harvey Dent's. So they go and make sure of their safety while ordering Wuertz to find Dent (who is incidentally working for the Joker). But while Dent is speaking to Rachael, Bruce knocks him unconscious and hides him in a broom cupboard. How did Bruce know that The Joker was targeting Dent? He had no contact with Jim Gordon as he was not in the Batsuit. Did he just randomly anticipate the Joker's threat on Dent?

Answer: Bruce was very likely keeping an eye on the security from the building and possibly the police scanners. The benefit he was hosting had all the high profile people attending from Gotham, including Harvey Dent. There was a good chance Joker would crash it, and even listening to police frequency for a few seconds would have given Batman enough notice that something was very wrong and that Harvey was in danger. Ultimately, they don't show how he knew, so there is no way to know for sure besides saying - he is Batman, the world's greatest detective.

oldbaldyone

Answer: They are at a fundraiser for Harvey Dent (who is by the way NOT working for the Joker at all!). It is not a long stretch to assume that when armed terrorists come storming into the fundraiser, that Dent will be a major target for them, if not the prime one. Bruce simply does not take the chance to wait and find out if it's a robbery or an assassination attempt, but gets Dent to safety at once.

Twotall

I think he meant that Wertz was working for the Joker.

As someone else pointed out, you misunderstood the original question. The statement was that Wuertz was working for the joker. You also haven't explained why Bruce knew *anything* about an impending attack... He grabbed Sent before the bad guys entered the penthouse. I guess he must've gotten an alert from a security camera or something.

Question: If the T-1000 doesn't have a central processor, then how was it programmed?

Answer: I'm not going to give the whole long answer here. Look up distributed processing and nanobots on Google. Basically millions of tiny processors doing one job each is equally efficient or actually superior to one processor doing multiple jobs.

Grumpy Scot

Enemy at the Gate - S5-E20

Question: Sheppard (under orders from Jack O'Neill) is sent to Earth to operate the chair weapon in case the Wraith make it there. Why wouldn't O'Neill man the Earth chair himself? He's the one that operated it in the first place, and Sheppard has lots of experience with the Atlantis chair. Pulling Sheppard from Atlantis leaves a very inexperienced and nervous Beckett to fly and defend the city, as well as leaving Atlantis without its military commander.

Answer: Because Sheppard instinctively operates Ancient technology very well. He is better at it than any one else Earth has ever found. O'Neill has to think hard and work at it. Sheppard is the best choice with the fate of the Earth at stake.

Grumpy Scot

Question: If the Andromeda "Incident" at Piedmont and the facility were top secret, ever wonder what they did with the old man who knew of both? (I'm excluding the baby, since he can't talk or remember).

Answer: The government would have concocted an official story about what happened in Piedmont - attributing it to some natural disaster. The old man had dementia, was alcoholic, and suffered a severe emotional trauma, so it's doubtful many would give much credence to anything he had to say. He was also confined to a small area of the Wildfire complex and was given minimal information about what it was or where he was at. In his confused mental state at the time, he probably would have remembered little about what actually happened.

raywest

Question: Technology-wise, in the scene where he is on the phone and the French police are tracking him down, how does he make that possible? A two-way radio "wired" to the cell phone? Only in Hollywood, or could it be possible?

Answer: Actually, what Bryan Mills did was perfectly possible. He strapped a mobile phone to the two way radio, and used the other two way radio to talk. By speaking into his radio, it transmitted it to the other radio, where the mobile speaker could hear and transmit his voice. The French police would have been able to triangulate the source of the mobile phone signal from the particular 'cell' (i.e. area) that the mobile was using - while that would lead them to the phone position, he'd be elsewhere talking on the other half of the radio.

GalahadFairlight

Answer: Yea but how did he answer the call? A very long stick?

Question: Why do Marty's brother and sister get erased from top to bottom, and Marty just fades? Why can't they just all fade?

DeathGawd

Chosen answer: The way I understand Doc's explanation, Dave and Linda were both erased completely because Marty interfered with their parents' meeting; thus the three children were erased from existence, from oldest to youngest. Marty only begins to fade because the timeline corrects itself before he gets erased completely.

Cubs Fan

Super solid explanation, but I think the original question is asking why Dave and Linda literally disappear from top to bottom in the photo: in other words, Dave's hair is erased, then his whole head, then his feet, and Linda also disappears similarly. When we see Marty start to disappear in the photo, it is his whole body that starts to fade all at once, instead of vertically like his siblings.

jshy7979

Answer: A $50 Bill.

Chosen answer: $247.19 and a coupon for free HBO.

Grumpy Scot

Answer: $1.

Question: There's a scene in the Leaky Cauldron where an anonymous customer is reading Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time and stirring a spoon in his coffee cup without touching it. Is this just a random display of magic, or is it some kind of inside physics joke? I seem to remember some example (maybe about entropy?) in Hawking's book that included reference to a coffee cup, but it's been a really long time since I read it. Does anyone know what, if anything, this scene is supposed to signify?

Answer: It is a bit of an inside joke, but not as significant as you make it out to be. The plot in "Azkaban" involves time travel, and the book, written by the famous British scientist, fits in with that premise. The magic being used to stir the coffee is probably just that - a demonstration of magic. It also draws attention to Ian Brown of the band Stone Roses, who makes a cameo appearance as the coffee drinker.

raywest

Question: More of a book question, but which sub-species of Hobbit are the four ones in the fellowship? I've heard that Sam is of a lesser species than the other three. I've also heard that either Pippin or Merry is a different species; how does that work with them being cousins?

Answer: To think of the three divisions of hobbits as separate species is incorrect, they are simply tribal variations, with none being any "lesser" than the others. The three types, the Fallohides, the Harfoots and the Stoors, hailed from different regions, but since all three sub-groups settled in the Shire, the hobbits have intermingled and intermarried over the centuries, making the differences considerably less clear, to the point where they can simply be considered one group, the Shire-Hobbits. Certain Hobbit families, however, do tend to retain a relatively strong blood link to a particular division - the Tooks and the Brandybucks, for example, tend to retain the height and the impetuous nature of the Fallohide hobbits. The Baggins family is of unclear bloodline, but Frodo would also carry a strong strain of Fallohide blood from his mother, Primula Brandybuck. The Gamgee family are likewise of uncertain bloodline, but Sam's relatively stocky build and affinity with the soil and agriculture would suggest Stoor-ish blood.

Tailkinker

Question: I am resubmitting my question because the posted answer is incomplete and/or irrelevant. In FOTR, Bilbo says something like "There has always been a Baggins living at Bag End, and there always will be." Presumably he thinks Frodo, and Frodo's descendants, will always live there, but Frodo goes to the Undying Lands, leaving no heirs behind. In the book, Sam and Rosie move into Bag End, but this does not happen in the movie - at the end of ROTK, you can see that the hobbit hole Sam goes home to is not Bag End. My question is, why did the filmmakers change these 2 things? In other words, if Bilbo's line is included to make it important who ends up in Bag End, why not show who does end up there in ROTK? If it is not important who lives there (thus explaining why Sam and Rosie don't appear there), then why have Bilbo make a fuss over it in FOTR? Someone answered that "Bilbo is simply stating the way things have always been", but this is not what I'm asking. I'm not asking "why would Bilbo say this?", I'm asking "why did Peter Jackson think it was important to have this line in the movie?" Why make a scene about who Bilbo thinks will end up in Bag End, and then not show who does end up in Bag End? I want to know what dramatic or story-telling purpose the juxtaposition of these 2 scenes (Bilbo's line and showing that Sam and Rosie do not move into Bag End) serves.

Answer: I think the point is that, at the time he speak the line, Bilbo has NO WAY to know the events that are to come. Clearly, he thinks that the Baggins' will always live at Bag End. How can he possibly know the way things will turn out? Even in the book, at the beginning of the story, Bilbo has no way to know that Sam and Rosie will move into Bag End and that Frodo will not. Also, you might be attaching far too much significance to this one line. We cannot assume that the line was included for the express purpose of "making it important who ends up in Bag End". All that matters is Bilbo is making an assumption that Baggins' will always live there.

wizard_of_gore

Answer: Peter Jackson and the writing team made an effort to put lines of all the books in the movies. Can't remember if this line was actually in the book or if that was some kind of implicit statement. But I think Jackson chose not to place Sam in Bag End because it could be unpopular for the audience (at least some). It gives you no hope that Frodo will be back. It would be like admitting he was dead, and he would never ever come back. On another point of view you might consider that keeps the integrity, honesty and simplicity of Sam's life as gardener, and not as someone who is now part of the upper class. Not sure but I think we also do not know exactly when Sam actually took Bag End in his possession and actually started living there. I would imagine, if I was him, I would keep Bag End in neat condition but prefer to live in my cosy known family house. As his family grew bigger with Rosie, then he would move to Bag End for more space. They had thirteen children and you only see 2.

Milady_Elessar

Question: What does Lord Beckett mean when he says to tell Davy Jones, "To give no quarter"?

raywest

Chosen answer: In this case it implies showing no mercy or clemency, to leave no one one alive and take no prisoners, no offer to retreat for the enemy, the Black Pearl, which Cutler Beckett knows would surely make Jones very happy.

Super Grover

Chosen answer: Bit of a tenous link that to be honest, I just put it down to her and Amanda liking the band and wanted to go on the European tour to see them.

GalahadFairlight

Question: I have a 4 part question. 1. If Batman really represents what's good and true, then why does he allow Harvey keep his clean public image when Batman knows this isn't true? 2. Does Batman realize that this might have adverse effects? 3. Given that Batman has a better than average knowledge of the law, why doesn't he realize that he is essentially becoming an accessory after the fact (he knows that Dent killed several officers), or committing conspiracy to pervert the course of justice? 4. Finally does Batman think the people will be upset by the oh-so-shocking concept (note sarcasm) of a politician being involved in a scandal?

Answer: If people only have one hope, you don't take it away from them. A martyr is a powerful symbol - if people believe that Harvey Dent died as a good man fighting against the forces of lawlessness and corruption, then he becomes a rallying point, a battle cry for those looking to carry on the fight in his name. It doesn't matter that it's not true - what matters is that people believe, and continue to believe, in Harvey Dent. If the truth, that Harvey died a deranged killer, came out, then everything that Harvey did will be tainted, morale would plummet and the city would be right back to square one. As for Bruce becoming an accessory after the fact, of course he knows, but do you really think he cares? Likewise representing "what's good and true" - most of what he does as Batman is completely illegal - assault, kidnapping, property damage, illicit surveillance, just in this film alone. But he does it for the good of the city. Same with covering up for Harvey. It's what's right - doesn't matter if it's legal, or even true, it's what needs to be done.

Tailkinker

Plus as stated in the film, if Harvey is exposed, all the criminals he put away would be released. It doesn't matter if Harvey was good when he locked them up, him being exposed as a criminal would taint his reputation and the criminals could claim he falsified evidence, etc.

Answer: Yes, he appeared in an episode called "Judgement Day", shown in 2000.

Tailkinker

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