Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: In the scenes in which the POWs use the bags inside their trousers to distribute tunnel dirt over the compound, how do they put the pins back into the bags? It seems like a pain in the butt to have to take the bags out, just to put them back in, just to take them back out, etc.

Cubs Fan

Chosen answer: The movie is based on a true story and depicts actual events. After dispersing the dirt, the POWs simply removed the bags from their pants, reinserted the pins, and put the filled bags back inside their trousers again. Of course it was a pain, but what other options did they have? Little or none. Carrying out a secret operation in a POW camp with few resources, they worked with what they had, and made what they had work.

raywest

Question: When Gandalf finds out that Denethor is going to burn Faramir alive, why does he leave the battle just to save Faramir? Surely he could do much more good and save more than one life by staying in the battle.

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: It's a morale thing. Denethor's already nearly ruined the defence of the city by telling everybody to flee; were it to become known that Denethor was not only dead, but had taken Faramir with him, thus destroying the line of Stewards and leaving the city with no ruler, the morale of the troops would be destroyed. Gandalf can only do so much to rally the troops; the city still needs a leader, even an incapacitated one. As such, he needs to make sure that Faramir survives.

Tailkinker

Question: Is there any word about a new special edition of this movie with some deleted scenes on it? I would quite like to see the fight between Aragorn and Sauron at the Black Gate (which has reportedly been filmed).

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: It's highly unlikely that that scene would ever see the light of day, as much of it was cannibalised to use in the fight between Aragorn and the Troll. Plus there would be substantial effects work required to present the scene in any decent way and it would be highly unlikely that the filmmakers would choose to do any more effects work at this point, just for a deleted scene. With three separate DVD releases of the film already in existence (theatrical, extended and the "special limited edition", which contains both the theatrical and extended cuts), it's highly unlikely that a fourth release would be under consideration any time in the near future.

Tailkinker

Question: Does Sam's reluctance to give the ring back to Frodo in Cirith Ungol mean that Sam too feels the pull of the ring and wants it for himself, or is he simply reluctant to give it back because he thinks Frodo cannot cope?

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: Probably a bit of both. Even with his utter loyalty to Frodo, Sam isn't immune to the lure of the Ring. It still affects him, even if only a little, enough to cause a brief hesitation. However, it's also fair to say that he realises what effect the Ring has on Frodo and hates to see that happen to him, which would also give him pause in returning the Ring to his master.

Tailkinker

Question: First of all who is the EPA guy and what does he have against Springfield? Secondly, What happens to Spiderpig? Halfway through the movie they just cut him out.

Answer: Well, as the movie states, the EPA guy is the administrator of the "Environment Protection Agency." It has been declared that Springfield is the most polluted towns in the country. As such, obviously the town would be thorn in his side. As far as the pig goes, often times in shows like the simpsons there are random comical characters entered and then they disappear just as quickly without any reason as to why. In Spiderpig's case, he is more than likely left behind when they go throught the sandtrap to get out of the dome. Odds are, when the entire town is scratching at Homer's head and attempting to kill him, and the house is spirralled into the sand hold, the pig was either in the house or caught up in the debris and dies.

Ian Mugford

There was a deleted scene showing that this pig survived.

Question: What happens to Arwen in the end? Does she die like a human, remain in Middle Earth forever (as Elrond predicted she would) or travel to the Undying Lands after the other elves?

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: She dies as a human. In order to marry Aragorn, she had to give up her immortality. In "Fellowship," she tells Aragorn that she would rather live a mortal life with him than live forever without him.

Cubs Fan

Question: Denethor, while not a king, sees himself the ruler of Gondor. Why then, is he not sitting on the marble throne of Gondor, but on a small much less elegant chair set upon the stairs leading to the throne?

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: The Stewards see themselves as the rulers of Gondor, with some justification, as it has been many generations since a King sat on the throne. However, while they are in charge, they must still answer to tradition, and tradition states that the throne is held in trust for the King of Gondor, with the Stewards ruling from the lesser throne. If Denethor were to decide to sit in the King's chair, he would be effectively promoting himself to that rank, which would not go down well with the Gondorian population.

Tailkinker

Question: Hagrid was expelled from Hogwart's because he was believed to have opened the Chamber of Secrets. He was stripped of his wand at the same time. Why then, after he is proved innocent of opening the Chamber, is he not given another wand?

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: Hagrid apparently still has his old wand that he keeps hidden within his umbrella. That is how he gave Harry's cousin Dudley a tail in "Philosopher's Stone". Also, now that Hagrid has been exonerated, he is free to obtain a new wand if he so wishes.

raywest

Show generally

Question: In one of the episodes with clip shows, Troy McClure said that there would be a little green alien that only Homer could see and hear. I know this was a joke, but has the alien ever appeared in any other episodes?

Answer: No, this refers to "The Flintstones," in which Fred occasionally saw such an alien.

Sereenie

Question: Is there any meaning behind the license plate number on Homer's car?

Answer: There is no meaning behind Homers licence plate.

Ssiscool

Question: When Don is doing the interview at the beginning of the film, why does Cosmo make a face when Don says that he lives by the motto "Dignity, always dignity"?

Answer: As you can see in the flashback during the interview, Don hasn't always managed to live by his alleged motto - to put it mildly!

Ioreth

Question: How did Gollum know Bilbo's name and where he lived ("Shire! Baggins!") when Bilbo just picked up the ring in Gollum's cave? In "The Hobbit" Bilbo meets Gollum, they talk (Bilbo reveals his name and where he lives), and then Bilbo takes the ring after playing a game of riddles with him. Are we to presume that the game of riddles has taken place when Bilbo finds the ring in this movie?

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: Bilbo finding the Ring in "The Fellowship" movie is a flashback to happenings from "The Hobbit." Bilbo actually found the Ring and had the riddle game with Gollum about 50 years prior to the happenings in "The Fellowship". Therefore, Bilbo didn't actually find the Ring in "The Fellowship of the Ring" story.

Zwn Annwn

Answer: It's not, no. It is, however, the name of Matt Groening's real dad, which is why he named the father of the Simpsons' Homer.

Sam Johnson

Question: Did anyone else notice how much more blue Sue's eyes seemed to be in this movie than the first? Was that a mistake or intentional?

Answer: I would assume that the director wanted to make her appear closer to the comic book Sue...this would also explain how blonde her hair is in this film.

Stefanie

Question: This applies to most prison movies, but is most prevalent in Shawshank. How, roughly, would a prison contraband system like what Red has set up work? It's made clear that Red can get pretty much anything, for the right price, and it's shown that the contraband he "orders" comes in with laundry and the like - so he obviously has somebody on the outside that finds out what Red needs, buys it, and then has it smuggled in. But how does Red get his "order" out? And what's in it for the outside contacts? They're paying for the posters, whiskey, playing cards, etc with their money and taking a risk by sneaking it into the prison. what is Red doing to make it worth their while? I know prisoners make money for their work but it's a very small amount and there's no way he could earn enough to make a profit. Red has a life sentence, so he can't promise his buddies on the outside (smuggling in the goods) that he'll pay them back when he gets out. Also, on the inside (of every prison movie ever) prisoners always do their bartering with packs of cigarettes as currency. Where do all these smokes come from? Do prisons issue rations of cigarettes? They can't all be contraband.

Answer: Since very little is mentioned about Red's life outside of prison, any number of possibilities could exist. Perhaps Red comes from a wealthy family with connections. Perhaps Red became very good friends with a former guard who still makes sure his little system works. It would appear that all of the guards and even the warden know about the system but do nothing about it figuring that it keeps morale from getting low.

Damian Torres

Answer: Taking into account a few dollars to someone in prison is valuable...It seems as if Red has a contact on the outside who simply provides him with requested items. Red probably sends money to the source in reverse of how the items are sent in. Each person who touches it (the loading dock guy, the source, etc.) probably gets a piece of Red's take.

It seems that they all get paid in cigarettes. Two packs seems to be the going rate for virtually every transaction point. The most obvious contact point for Red is also in the movie, the guy running the laundry truck operation who himself bribes the guards.

Question: ***Question contains spoiler*** OK, maybe I'm dense, but what was the point of killing the kid? Was it just another scene designed to shock the audience?

wizard_of_gore

Answer: The kids were beating on Beth. If she was beaten and bruised she's worth less money. So Sasha told the "leader" of the gang to choose one to die or he will.

Chosen answer: I think it was meant to show that there is a line that the kids can't cross - if they do, then one of them will get sacrificed...hence why the adult doesn't show any mercy in doing it, and the kids know that something nasty is about to happen.

Sam Johnson

Question: I am confused about the battle of Osgiliath. Are there orcs attacking the city, or just the Nazgul? Also, how many Nazgul are there (just the one we see or more)? When Faramir shows Frodo the way out through the sewers (Extended DVD) have the Gondorians won the battle or is it still going? And last of all, is the battle of Osgiliath in the third movie (where the orcs are coming in on rafts) a continuation of this battle, or are the orcs seen in the third movie reinforcements?

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: Osgiliath is under attack from an army consisting mainly of Orcs, but with at least one member (probably more) of the nine Nazgul operating from time to time in the air. In the final film, Osgiliath is still under siege, but the newcomers on the rafts represent major reinforcements, more than enough to take the city before continuing on to Minas Tirith. At this point, Sauron has committed to a major offensive, so all nine Nazgul are in the fray along with his huge army of Orcs, Trolls, Mumakil and so on.

Tailkinker

Question: Is Evana Lynch British? I know that all the people in the films are supposed to be British, but I don't hear much of an accent at all on Luna.

Answer: She's Irish.

SexyIrishLeprechaun

Question: So is the loophole used to get Chazz and Jimmy back into the figure skating arena actually in the Olympic Pairs skating rules somewhere?

Answer: It wasn't really a loopole in the rules of figure skating that they found. When the two were banned from figure skating, the board specified that the two were banned from singles skating. Therefore they would be able to skate as doubles, since it wasn't a general ban from figureskating as a whole. But no, doubles skating rules specify the pair must be a man and a woman.

Ian Mugford

Answer: The loophole isn't that they are a male-male team. The loophole is that the rules stated that a lifetime ban from the sport is only valid for the skaters division in which they were banned. So as long as they do pairs skating male-male or male-female, they can compete again, but all real competitions state that it has to be a male-female pair.

Question: Near the end of the film, when McClane, his daughter Lucy, and the hacker Matt Farrell are about to leave in the ambulance, there is a sign with the number 5 hanging out of a warehouse in the background - does this mean there will be a Die Hard 5?

Allister Cooper, 2011

Chosen answer: Looks like a standard 5 mph speed sign to me. You can't read too much into that. In addition though, Bruce Willis has already stated in a few interviews that he'd be more than happy to do another one.

XIII

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