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: Anyone in a sales floor realizes that if you have a lot of people in one room talking at the same time, there's background noise. Yet only one or two people have active noise canceling headsets. Everyone else uses handsets. Either everyone should or no one should. Why the difference?

Answer: I spent some time as a telemarketer (my apologies to anyone I may have called) and only certain people got headsets. They were used as a reward for top closers. Everyone else had to use handsets in a room similar to the one in the movie.

Question: I was under the impression, although I may be wrong, that winnings in Vegas are taxed over a certain amount, and that this is done in the casino when cashing out. At the end of the film, Lawrence Fishburn says that the IRS will be wanting to speak to Kevin Spacey, but how were they able to cash out the amounts they won whilst using fake id's? It doesn't mention it in the book either - I know for the purposes of the film this is soemthing they can gloss over, but I was wondering if it would be possible to win the amounts they are talking about and simply walk out with the cash? I know in one part they cash it in in smaller amounts, but surely the casino would be aware of a huge win on one of the tables, and would be expecting a big cash out?

Answer: Gambling winnings are taxable, but using fake IDs was one way of getting around the IRS. It was also mentioned in the book that the team would keep chips until their next Vegas trip to avoid cashing out. They would also exchange money with each other so everyone would come under the $10K limit before the casino had to file a Currency Transaction Report. Also, there is no reason not to assume they would place some of their winnings as "credit" for their next visit.

Answer: There are loads of outtake videos on youtube.

Question: What song is playing at the way beginning, you notice it first when Milton says something about how he's going to be late again, and everybody is just starting to arrive while Milton is still waiting at the bus stop. It's kind of jazzy- swing-ish sounding.

Answer: Mambo 8 by Perez Prado.

Question: When the U-Boat leaves La Rochelle the Kriegsmarine brass band plays "Muss I' Denn, Muss I' Denn", an old German love song that many people will recognise from an Elvis Presley movie, GI Blue I think,with the title "Wooden Heart". But when the boat returns the band plays a much more martial march (which does not prevent a soldier on the pier from dancing!). But which marching tune?

Answer: The music the band plays at the end of the film is the Erzherzog-Albrecht-Marsch. In the uncut edition (which features a longer departure), the march is also played.

Question: As the dads are getting into the Shark car, they say something like, "too bad he wasn't playing with. yeah, that was cherry" well that's what it sounded like. Anyone know what they're saying?

Answer: As wayne enters the car he says, "Too bad Adam wasn't playing with the Splittin' Image, huh? That was cherry", to which his brother replies, "Yeah, but the Twin Mill was Faster."The Twin Mill and Splittin' Image are two popular Hot wheel cars that debuted in 1969.

Question: What make and model are the cars featured in this movie?

Answer: A lot of the cars can be found here - http://www.imcdb.org/movie.php?id=117509.

Question: In the beginning of the movie when we see Frank Morris(Eastwood) getting out of the car and onto the boat,why wasn't he cuffed? The guards later cuff him when he is on the boat and would be difficult for him to escape.

Answer: I believe the director is trying to lure us into thinking that Eastwood is a good guy as he usually plays the hero. However that myth is shattered when he is cuffed.

Question: Why was the man in the yellow suit wearing a band-aid on his pointer finger when he was talking to the young priest?

Answer: I looked over and over, he is not wearing a band-aid. My guess is, since he has bumpy fingers and it was dark, you just thought you saw a band-aid.

Question: How does Hoffman manage to get out of the glass box after Strahm is crushed to death?

Answer: Obviously, he must have it set up so that he can escape. In Saw VI the walls open and he is able to escape easily.

wizard_of_gore

Answer: It shows in the next movie the box slides into the next room with a conveyer belt.

Yes. The problem with the franchise is that you need to keep watching to get answers.

Ssiscool

Answer: When the room fully shuts, the coffin is transported to another room, where Hoffman can exit the coffin.

Question: Can someone please tell me what happened to Jodie Foster's ex-husband? Did he live or die?

Answer: He survived. His injuries were serious but not life-threatening.

raywest

Show generally

Question: Does anyone know which episode O'Brien and Bashir come out of the holo suite after fighting The Battle Of Britain?

Answer: The fourth season episode "Homefront".

Tailkinker

Question: This might be a daft question, but what exactly is Denethor's problem? From the Extended Version of "The Two Towers" to when he dies in "The Return of the King", I just get the impression that he's being an a** for no apparent reason.

Answer: Denethor is basically a grim and humourless man, largely brought on by the early death of his beloved wife, thirty years before the events of the film. In many ways an intelligent ruler, he nevertheless commanded the city under the continued stress of the threat of Mordor, a power that built throughout his reign as Steward and this took a great toll on the man. In the books, Denethor repeatedly used a palantir to gather knowledge from afar; this allowed Sauron to tap into his psyche and sap his will, casting him deeper into a state of fear and paranoia. Ultimately the loss of his beloved son and heir, Boromir, sent him over the edge, leaving him as the bitter and rather twisted man that we see during the events of "The Return of the King".

Tailkinker

Question: This applies to all three movies. Why didn't they just release the Extended Versions in the theatre as opposed to releasing what was released in the theatre? Some things would have made a lot more sense (i.e. the breaking of the Evanstar in the theatrical release makes more sense in the Extended Version), and they are far truer to the books.

Answer: Longer films aren't as marketable or profitable as shorter ones. Studios have the final word on how long a movie is, often overriding the director's artistic intention. A movie's running time is determined by a number of factors including how long it's believed an audience is willing to sit through it, and the maximum number of showings possible per day in a theater. The more showings, the more tickets sold. With LotR, each movie was already quite long, and it's doubtful theater audiences would have been willing to sit through an even longer version. Also, with epic films like LotR, it is typical for the theatrical version to be released on DVD first. Much later, the "extended" version is offered, basically repackaging and reselling the movie to the same audience who bought the first DVD, further increasing the profits.

raywest

Question: Can someone please explain to me the whole Rohan/Gondor relationship? I keep hearing that what is now Rohan was given to those who are now the Rohirrim by the king of Gondor.

Answer: That's true. The Rohirrim were a tribe of Northmen that had more or less settled just outside of Gondor. During an invasion by orcs and Easterlings in 2509, the steward of Gondor sent word to them and asked for help. Their leader, Eorl the Young, led the Rohirrim to the Fields of Celebrant, where they completely destroyed the orc army. In gratitude, the steward of Gondor gave them a large area of land as their own kingdom, that had more or less been depopulated by plague and the latest war. So Rohan and Gondor have had close ties and been allies ever since.

Twotall

Question: At the end of the movie, just before the casting comes up, there is a flash and they show something for fraction of a second. What is it ?

Answer: It's a picture of a penis. It reflects how Tyler used to slice in frames of "adult" material into children's movies, to give people a little shock without them really knowing what it was had happened.

Twotall

Question: Who is the actor that plays the bank clerk at the start of the film (the one with the shotgun)? He's really familiar, but I can't put a name to his face.

Answer: It's William Fichtner. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001209/.

Twotall

Question: Why does Tracy start starving herself?

Answer: Young girls starve themselves for a variety of reasons. Many are insecure and have unrealistic expectations of how their bodies should look and stop eating to lose as much weight as possible. For others it a combination of trying to be thin, having something in their lives that they alone can control, an an act of rebellion, and so on. This often develops into a real disease called anorexia that needs medical treatment.

raywest

Did you watch the movie before you answered? This is not really an answer for this character's situation.

Answer: It was most likely because of her tongue piercing - she didn't want her mom to notice, and it would have been painful.

Answer: As someone else wrote, it could be the tongue piercing, and I think it was also her rebellious attitude. She wanted to be "difficult" by refusing to eat with the family or eat what her mother cooked.

Question: Was Kristina Wayborn's descent from the balcony (in which she tips herself backwards and slides down using her sari as a rope) really carried out as shown? I would have thought that she should plummet to the ground much faster - too fast to be sure of landing feet first - and risk a broken bone or more. Are we to assume that Bond girls have magical powers or that the sequence was slowed down for dramatic effect?

Answer: It didn't happen as shown; that would be impossible and highly dangerous. Tricky camera angles, safety equipment, and carefully choreogrphed stunt work helped make this appear like one, continuous fluid motion.

raywest

Question: When Harry is brought to Dumbledore's office after dreaming about Mr. Weasley being attacked, what does Dumbledore mean with "but in essence divided"?

Answer: J.K. Rowling explained its meaning during an online chat at TheLeakyCauldron.com shortly after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published. Says Rowling, "Dumbledore suspected that the snake's essence was divided - that it contained part of Voldemort's soul, and that was why it was so very adept at doing his bidding. This also explained why Harry, the last and unintended Horcrux, could see so clearly through the snake's eyes, just as he regularly sees through Voldemort's. Dumbledore is thinking aloud here, edging towards the truth with the help of the Pensieve."

raywest

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