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: Is the weapon used in the final battle inspired by Ivy's weapon used in the video game Soul Caliber (or just coincidence)? And how in the world is it supposed to work?

Answer: Actually the origins of the Bone Sword used by Francios date back much earlier than Miss Ivy. It is rumored to be a mytholigical weapon used by the damned in some ancient African beliefs. Crafted from the bones of the dead and the chains of Hell itself. Ivy's weapon and so many others like it are a representation of a magical weapon that springs forth to lash out at an opponent. It can't be crafted. Believe me I've tried.

Chosen answer: He wasn't searching him with the toad. The local man was attempting to sell it to him. It was simply odd timing in the movie for that to happen.

Question: In the UK (Region 2) version of the film, the scene in which Ace pretends to be Hans the dolphin trainer was removed. Can anyone tell me the specific reason why it was removed? Also do any other versions around the world (notably US and Australian versions) remove the scene?

Lummie

Chosen answer: That scene was cut originally by the director Tom Shadyack because the scene did not support the story and thought it slowed the film down. (And the scene was cut from the US version as well.) It was added back later in TV versions of the film. Fan enjoyed the scene so much they asked it be put back in the film version. I know the DVD has it because I own it. It's hilarious!

Answer: It was the only way out. She followed Aiden's voice to the cliff and kept hearing it from the same direction. She knew she had to jump off to get back to the real world.

Question: What would have been the tiebreaker in the medal round, if two teams ended up with the same amount of points?

Matty Blast

Chosen answer: Sudden-death overtime, in which the game ends when the first team scores.

Question: After the girl receives the gift of power and walks out along the beach and there are all the dead sea animals. What is the significance of them being gifts if any. And why sea animals.

Answer: Earlier in the film, Nancy asked for all the power of "Manon" - a fictitious name made for the movie that closely resembles "Mananan," the Gaelic god of the sea. Since this is the god of the sea, and Nancy asked for his power, he gave her sea animals as gifts, as well as the ability to walk on water. Why the god would give her these gifts is beyond me.

Question: Why do they suddenly start singing about Manchester?

Answer: Because the character who is singing, Claude Hooper Bukowski, is from Manchester and came to the US when he 'dropped out'.

Claude is from Oklahoma, not Manchester. The song came from the play. In the stage version, Sheila was from Manchester.

Question: Does Sean really possess the spirit of Anna's dead husband, or does the little boy just read the letters he finds buried in the woods, become obsessed with Anna and pretend to be the reincarnation of her husband?

Answer: I would say that he was "in love" with her before reading the letters. Once he read them, he kinda became convinced that he was the reincarnated spirit of her husband. He clearly is not, since the original Sean was not really in love with her.

I think it was a grey area between the two...I think in life, we are exposed to and vulnerable to, sin. In our rebirth, sin is erased. We don't remember it. I think we remember love. I interpreted the boy as being the reincarnation of Anna's Sean, but only remembering the love he originally had for her, before it was tainted with lust and temptation.

Question: When Miguel is watching Tulio and the girl talking, he walks off looking annoyed. I didn't quite hear what Tulio was saying to the girl so I don't understand why Miguel was so upset. Can anyone help?

Answer: Miguel had just told Chief Tanni how loyal Tulio and he were to each other. Then he overheard Tulio saying to Chel that he wanted to go to Spain with her, ONLY with her "Forget Miguel." That's why Miguel was so upset, because Tulio excluded him from his plans and his life.

Question: Toward the end, when the island is closed off from the rest of Gotham and some of the poison has been vaporized and is drifting around, why isn't the little boy in red affected? Rachel and Gordon have been vaccinated, but everyone else is breathing the stuff in, and we see the some of the hallucinations that those others experience - why is the little boy immune?

Answer: They did show he was affected. Rachel was already immune. So the visual of Scarecrow when the horse was breathing fire and Crane had flames in his eyes was what the boy was seeing. He had no other perception of Batman because he wasn't afraid of him. He knew from earlier in the movie that Batman was good and had no reason to fear him.

Answer: I don't recall it ever being expressed that he is immune. I think it was an editorial decision on the director's/film editor's part just to not show us the effects of the drug on the little boy. It's similar to how they didn't show us Rachel's perspective of Batman while she was drugged. He's also being calmed by Rachel, which helps to minimise the effects.

Ariane Schultheis

Question: Why didn't Val Kilmer play Batman for this movie? Was he not offered the part? Did he not want it? What happened?

Answer: Kilmer wanted to reprise the role, but couldn't because he was already committed to The Saint (1997).

Cubs Fan

Answer: Some say the real reason is Val has a reputation for being difficult and arrogant. He alienated both cast and crew.

Question: How did Lecter know that there was something inserted into Fredrica Bimmels' throat? He had heard about Buffalo Bill in the papers but not much information about him.

Answer: Because he knew that the dead man in the storage unit had one in his throat. He guessed that Buffalo Bill was the former patient of his who had killed the dead man in the storage unit.

Guy

Answer: He didn't know until Clarice told him. After being told he asked "Was it a butterfly?'.

"Was it a butterfly?" means he did know. It's the kind of question that contains its own correct answer.

Sammo

Question: Was the huge monster McReady encounters, and subsequently blows up, the actual "default" form of the Thing? After all, the correspondent DVD chapter is titled "The Real Thing". Yes, they do say that the Thing could've imitated millions of different lifeforms, but it must've had a form to begin with.

Answer: At the end, the large creature presented itself as an amalgam of beings it had absorbed-part Blair, part dog, and various other beings with tentacles, insect-like legs, and a worm-like body. I don't believe that we really ever see what its true form is, if it has one.

Erik M.

Answer: In the book, it was vaguely humanoid with blue rubbery skin, a head of writhing tentacles, and 3 glowing red eyes. There is a picture of it in Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials by Wayne Barlowe.

Grumpy Scot

Question: Why does Mr I so often say "showtime"? Is it a reference to another movie?

Answer: Many superheroes have catchphrases; "Showtime" is his.

Tailkinker

Question: Why would Henry do so many evil things to his own family?

Answer: Henry apparently has what is called a "conduct disorder" - the term used for kids below the age of 18 engaging in what would be (and most likely will become) a diagnosis of sociopathy/psychopathy (antisocial personality disorder) when he becomes an adult. He is "evil", highly manipulative, self-centered, without remorse or other true feelings, and probably incapable of forming loving or long-term attachments. Many sociopaths are believed to have above average intelligence and make good imposters, capable of fooling others because they come across as "charming."

KeyZOid

Answer: Because he's nuts!

Grumpy Scot

Question: I heard that Boromir, although he died in the first movie, appears in one of the scenes of the movie. If he is, can someone tell me which one of them he is seen?

Answer: In the theatrical version, I think he only appears extremely briefly (about a second) in a flash-back to his last battle. In the extended cut, a scene has been added where Denethor berates Faramir for letting Frodo leave with the Ring - in that scene, he hallucinates Boromir standing behind his brother.

Tailkinker

Question: Who is exactly in charge? In ANH it seemed that GM Tarkin was Darth Vader's superior, but in Episode III, Darth Vader seemed to be above Tarkin. Who has been mentioned to be a General at this time?

Answer: Vader's military rank is unclear - it may be that he has no official rank and is therefore not technically part of the command structure. However, as the personal representative of the Emperor, he holds an enormous amount of personal power within the Empire and, as we see, can have military units assigned to do his bidding. Most officers will respect that power (plus his tendency to kill those who displease him) and will show him the proper subservience - just as we see the younger Tarkin show deference to the Emperor and Vader in Episode 3. By the time of Episode 4, however, Tarkin has advanced to become one of the most highly-ranked officers in the Empire, has acquired considerable personal power of his own and is held in high esteem by the Emperor himself. All of which serves to put him on the same sort of level as Vader himself, allowing him to skip the fawning and grovelling. In Episode 4, Vader is on the Death Star, Tarkin's command, so the Grand Moff has the ultimate say in what goes on there, although, as we see, he does follow Vader's suggestions, even when he has his own misgivings.

Tailkinker

Question: How can the Death Star be operational if the superstructure hasn't been completed yet?

Cubs Fan

Chosen answer: They already had gravity, lighting, plumbing, docking bays, life support etc. I assume the entire station is built around the power core and weapon. All the remaining sections were probably crew quarters, storage, more docking bays etc.

Soylent Purple

Answer: More than likely because they had blue and brown eyes, respectively, in real life.

Cubs Fan

Question: Why didn't Professor Broom want Hellboy to know that he was dying of cancer?

Answer: Most normal fathers would hardly be jumping with joy at the prospect of telling their son such a fact, and Hellboy and the Professor have a slightly more unique relationship than most fathers have with their sons. The Professor is the only family he's ever had.

Gary O'Reilly

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