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 didn't Joe and Janie have any children after twenty years? I know that some couples have to try for years before getting pregnant, but twenty years seems like a long time.

Answer: One or the other may simply have been infertile. Some people simply aren't capable of having children, and no medical intervention would exist in the timeframe of the movie.

Tailkinker

Question: Was Ian Holm using contact lenses, or did they do something with his eyes in post production? From the scene where Abberline asks about the Free Masons and onwards his eyes are considerably darker (a deliberate effect I take it).

Answer: His eyes are not just darker, his entire eyes are completely black. This was done by CGI effects to show that the murderous Ripper side to Gull's persona is taking over and is in control.

Twotall

Question: When I was growing up in the 90's I saw a movie at some point that was pretty much a spin off of Phantom. A man taught a young girl how to sing at his house and I believe he forced her to live with him.anyone know which film I may be talking about?

Answer: Rigoletto (1993). You can find information here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107961/.

Jennifer30

Answer: I think you might be talking about Svengali (1920s I think).

debbi.ee

Question: Does anybody know who was originally asked for the soundtrack instead of Aerosmith?

Dragon

Chosen answer: Assuming you mean 'asked to record the song I Don't Want To Miss A Thing'? According to an article in this month's Empire magazine (June 2008) it was originally written with Celine Dion in mind.

umathegreatstationarybear

Question: Why did Stark reveal he is Iron Man at the press conference? This makes no sense at all to me.

Answer: Tony underwent a dramatic metamorphosis during his captivity at the beginning of the film: In just a matter of screen-minutes, he transformed from a vulgar, egotistical merchant of death into a superhero fighting for life and freedom. As soon as he was rescued, he even held an impromptu press conference to announce a whole new mission statement for Stark Industries. Everyone thought Stark had lost his mind. Even the U.S. military and S.H.I.E.L.D. were still making up stories to cover for Tony's erratic behavior, right up to the end, at which point he puts all of the coverup and rumor and disinformation away once and for all: He is Iron Man, and this is his company, and this is how it will be run. It's not as if Tony Stark needs a secret identity, and his open admission wiped the slate clean for everything that follows.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: Short version, he has a big ego and wanted the recognition. Also, in recent Marvel comics continuity there's been a superhero registration act, forcing superheroes to reveal their identities to the public. Tony Stark has been championing this cause "to tie the knots of friendship between ordinary humans and superheroes". His revelation in the movie could be laying the groundwork to tie into that in some way.

Disney-Freak

Answer: He's a womanizing multibillionaire with a power supply where his sternum should be. Of course he gave up his secret. It doesn't take a genius (and Stark is one with all caps) to figure out that he had a choice between intimacy or his secret identity.

The Changeling - S2-E3

Question: If Uhura can be re-educated in a few days, (after Nomad wipes her memory) why is there a Starfleet Academy? Couldn't you train an ensign in a week and then send him off on a ship to get practical experience?

Grumpy Scot

Chosen answer: I'd say the difference is re-educated versus educated. The total of an education at any institution is more than what is taught in classes.

Rlvlk

Show generally

Question: Why don't any of the Treks to come use any of the useful things that Enterprise discovers? A psychotricorder can record your memories! Scalosian water speeds up humanoids to the point they can dodge energy beams! A veinful of kironide makes you a powerful telekinetic a few minutes after injection! If Picard, Sisko and Janeway had just read Kirk's logs, the Borg and Dominion wouldn't have had a chance.

Grumpy Scot

Chosen answer: They do use much of the technology, just not the particular items you mention. There are many reasons: perhaps the technology was deemed too dangerous and outlawed (as with the planet Talos), or found impossible to reproduce. The Prime Directive would prohibit them from stealing the technology too, no matter how valuable.

Chosen answer: The orange car is a Saleen S7.

Myridon

Revelations - S3-E7

Question: In one scene, Giles reminds Buffy that, when Angel lost his soul, he tortured Giles for pleasure. Since it is established that Angel and Angelus are separate identities, shouldn't Giles know that, technically, it was Angelus who tortured him, not Angel?

Cubs Fan

Chosen answer: Yes, and he does, but when you've been tortured by somebody, the technical niceties of different personalities tend to lose their importance. The two look exactly the same, plus Giles is well-aware that Angelus is the 'real' personality, with "Angel" only really being a magically empowered construct due to the curse that restored his soul. Giles is not going to want Angel around, whichever personality happens to be in control.

Tailkinker

Question: Here is something that I've always thought was a little strange. When Obi-Wan takes Luke to Mos Eisley, why does he tell Luke everything about the place? If Luke has grown up on Tatooine, it seems like he would know something about it or would have been in a cantina before.

Answer: Luke has never been to Mos Eisely before. Because of the way he was raised by his uncle Owen, Luke had only been as far as Anchorhead, a neighboring community.

Cubs Fan

Question: Why is it that the Marines wore red in the first two films, but they wear blue in this one?

Answer: It was done to show how much influence and control the East India Trading company had over the Britsh Navy/Marines in the series. To demonstrate how the East India Trading company "owned" the British naval forces.

Bruce Minnick

Question: Is Mr. Arnolds the man that was played by Samuel Jackson? If so, why was he at the power shed?

Jack Kaltenbach

Chosen answer: Yes, he's the same character. He went to the shed to turn the power back on initially, but when he didn't return, and the power didn't come back on, Ellie Sattler then went. She discovered Arnold had been killed by the raptor.

Question: How did Alec survive being shot at the start only to return later in the film. It's something that I can't figure out, as James saw him get shot.

Ssiscool

Chosen answer: The real answer, which I believe was explained better in the game or in special features. Regardless, I did hear, is that Ourumov wasn't aiming directly at Alec's head, but to the side and shot the ground behind him. But made it look like he shot him in the head. Alec would have felt the bullet whiz by him.

Quantom X

That makes more sense.

Ssiscool

It has been a while since I watched the movie, and my copy is a VHS... but I believe if you watch very closely you can actually see the bullet hit the ground behind him with a tile breaking. I don't remember for sure if you can, but I seem to remember they did add that little effect.

Quantom X

Answer: But what about the Russian soldier who was nervous and fired at the gas tanks, only to be shot by Ourumov? Did he fake his death too?

That's a valid point. Ourumov never reloaded.

Ssiscool

Answer: He was shot with a blank cartridge. What that means is that the casing in the gun chamber didn't contain a live bullet; instead of killing him, the gun simply gave off a realistic flash that tricked Bond into thinking Alec had been shot. As explained later in the film, Alec's death was staged between himself and Ourumov.

Cubs Fan

Wouldn't James know it was a blank round? Lack of blood for example?

Ssiscool

Ourumov shot Alec and the Russian soldier with the same gun but, only the soldier was actually killed.

But that doesn't work, because even blanks can be deadly at close range.

MrMovieBuff

Question: What is at the bottom of the pit of death? Is it just a flat bottom or are there deadly creatures or sharp stuff at the bottom?

luke skyjogger

Chosen answer: If you are referring to the pit Leonidas kicks the Persian messenger into, it's simply a dry well. There's nothing at the bottom, except what the messenger was after, water and earth.

Twotall

Answer: Mrs. Lovett is secretly in love with Todd. However there is no indication he has any romantic feelings for her. He is entirely focused on revenge, much to Mrs. Lovett's disappointment.

Question: Did just New York get contaminated or did the rest of the world get infected?

Answer: The whole world is infected.

Tailkinker

Answer: During the evacuation, it seems that only Manhattan is infected, or if there are infections elsewhere, it is not known by the government yet. Sometime in January 2010, things get worse if you follow the posters in the movie.

Answer: In Mr Bean animated there is an episode where you see Mr Bean as a young boy and had the teddy then and he also liked mini cars. There is another Animated episode where Mr Bean discovers a UFO full of people who look just like him and they each have their own individual stuffed toy.

Dan23

Answer: It's never been revealed.

Tailkinker

May be able to find out more on the animated series.

Dan23

Question: Right after you find out Oogie Boogie is just a bag full of bugs he falls into the lava, or at least what looks like lava. It looks as if this is not an animated shot, is it a shot from a real camera?

Movieman123

Chosen answer: Yes, it was shot "real time" as opposed to stop-motion animation as the rest of the film was.

CCARNI

Question: When Juno first meets the Lorings, she mentions that she saw them in the Pennysaver, and, suddenly, Vanessa looks very shocked. Why?

Brad

Chosen answer: Because she is wealthy and she considers the Pennysaver to be "beneath" her. Their adoption request was submitted to a syndicate and that syndicate printed the request in all of its publications, the Pennysaver being one of them; Vanessa did not choose to appear in the Pennysaver.

Phixius

Question: Near the beginning of the film, why is Woody so shocked to learn of Andy's birthday party? Shouldn't he have a general idea, if not know outright, when Andy was born?

Cubs Fan

Chosen answer: If you'll notice, when he tells the other toys, he says that the party has been "moved to today". The other toys then mention that it isn't Andy's birthday yet and Woody says that they were probably trying to have the party before they moved to another house. Woody knows when the birthday is, but the party is not being held on Andy's birthday.

Garlonuss

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