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: What role does Paris Themmen play in this movie? (IMDB.com only lists him as "uncredited".).

Answer: Themmen plays a background bowler in pretty much all of the bowling scenes. I don't know if this is necessarily worth a credit, but I guess his agent disagrees with me.

Question: Can someone please explain to me why the audience and Amsterdam are supposed to hate Butcher so much and think he's a loathesome person? He killed Vallon during a fight, fair and square, and was nothing but respectful to his dead enemy. He almost seemed to have regretted killing Vallon. He didn't act like a worse scum than anyone else until quite a while into the film.

Answer: Well, rather obviously, Amsterdam hates him because he killed his father. I mean, wouldn't you? It hardly matters that the fight was fair and that Bill showed respect about it, Amsterdam's not exactly likely to turn round, say "oh, that's alright then" and walk away. William Cutting (or William Poole, as he was in reality) was a ruthless, vicious man, who pretty much stopped at nothing to cement his control of the area. Whether he was actually worse than many of the others is questionable, but the film is based on Amsterdam's view of things - in that view, Bill is the enemy and we're supposed to see him as such.

Tailkinker

Answer: Because he's very racist. That's why the audience hates him. He's very racist.

Answer: Because he was a racist? Secondarily while others might have acted that badly in his situation he was the one with the power and therefore the one holding a city hostage.

Question: Right after the man talking with the lawyer in the beginning says "Grant's like me; he's a digger" and the close up of the mosquito in amber, he says something in another language. Sounds like "caleendo" or something. Does anybody know what he is saying here?

Coconut

Chosen answer: He says in spanish "Qué lindo eres" (what a beauty).

Question: Fusion consists of combining two hydrogen atoms into one helium atom, and energy is released during the process (very simplified explanation). So if the reaction is self-sustaining in air, why at the end of the movie did they dump it into the water? Could the reaction ignite all that extra hydrogen in the water?

Answer: First, fusion is not only combining hydrogen into helium, that's just the most common form. Fusion has to start with an outside power, but the reaction had become self-sustaining, passing the point of needing outside power. This means that the energy given off by the reaction was sufficient to continue the reaction. By dumping it in the water, the energy given off would be absorbed by the water, and the reaction would no longer be able to continue.

Question: In the entire movie all of the events that help Evan are there because he put them there when trying to go back. For instance when he goes back from when he was in prison he draws the drawing of him killing the two inmates. When he goes back to get the knife, he made himself do it. I couldn't understand where to put this in this website but if anyone could help me understand it would help my mind out greatly.

Answer: That's what the blackouts are all about. Its the future changing the present and because, for him, the future hasn't happened, he can't know about them.

SexyIrishLeprechaun

Answer: http://contactanycelebrity.com - very trustworthy, and you can contact them by post or e-mail.

Hamster

Question: In the scene where Vincent is just about to launch, the doctor testing him mentions his son. My brother seems to think that the doctor knows Vincent is not who he pretends to be because he is Jerome Morrow's father. Is there any evidence for this?

Answer: None whatsoever. The doctor seems to have worked out that Vincent is not who he seems to be from simple observational evidence. It's because of his son that he feels sympathy for Vincent and hasn't revealed that he's tricking the system.

Tailkinker

Question: Why exactly does Spider-Man start to lose his powers?(Web shooter, finger grip).

Answer: As the doctor hints, Spider-man's inability to fully make use of his powers comes from a psychological obstacle - and as also hinted, (very heavily, in fact) Peter Parker no longer seems motivated to remain Spider-man. This lapse in powers and enthusiasm eventually leads to the decision to discontinue Peter's role as Spider-man. After then facing the guilt and shamefulness of a life without assuming responsibility, this momentary crisis reveals itself to be the deciding factor that Peter does indeed want to be Spider-man and that he may not have any other choice. Inside, although he didn't fully understand it, this ailment was needed for Peter to resume his role as Spider-man with a new ambition - which was in turn required for him to face the problems that affected his normal life as well.

Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight - S1-E11

Question: At the end of the episode, the invisible girl is taken away by government officials and put in a school where other invisible children are taught things such as assassination and infiltration. Did the series ever follow up on this 'loose end'?

Answer: Marcie Ross - the invisible girl - is never heard of again, though in Season Seven there is another girl who starts turning invisible before Buffy steps in and acknowledges her. That said, in Season 8 (comic) there's hints that Marcie might possibly make a guest appearance in Season 9, as she is asked for by numerous fans.

troy fox

Question: What is the spell that Hermione casts to free Sirius when he is locked in Hogwarts? It is not alohamora. It sounds like bombarda.

Answer: It is Bombarda, or something to that effect. Alohamora only opens a regular doorlock, a good old padlock obvoiusly calls for a different, more powerful spell.

Question: Why did Stephen Schwartz not allow the Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston version of "When You Believe" to be submitted for Oscar consideration, thus depriving Kenneth Edmonds (who helped write the music for this version) of an Oscar?

Answer: Schwartz has stated that he believes the version of the song to be nominated should be the one in the movie, not the one that runs over the end credits. He has also said that since Edmonds (Babyface) only co-wote about 15% of the music, he was ineligible for nomination according to Academy rules.

Answer: It is called 'Somebody help me' sung by Full Blown Rose.

Hamster

Question: How much time passes between the first time the fellowship leaves Rivendell and Aragorn's coronation?

Answer: They leave Rivendell December 25, 3018 and Aragorn's coronation is May 1, 3019, so a little over 4 months, assuming the films are the same as the books.

Answer: The song is Tiny Tim's 'Living in the Sunlight, Loving in the Moonlight'.

Question: The whole train sequence takes place on an elevated train; they are supposed to be in New York. I don't want to submit that as a mistake if it turns out that someplace obscure (but still apparently in downtown) has el trains. The credits at the end also thank the Chicago Transportation Authority, so it wasn't filmed in NYC, anyway. So, does anyone know?

Answer: The train sequence was filmed entirely in Chicago. The elevated trains aren't in New York anymore, it's true, but there used to be an elevated train system in New York in the 1940's, and that's the one that the sequence was supposed to be based on.

Question: What was the importance of the girl who brought Peter Milk and Cake? Was she supposed to be Debra Whitman, Liz Allen, or maybe even Gwen Stacy?

Answer: No, she is just a girl that has a big crush on Peter.

T Poston

Question: Fairly techie question - during the attack on Zion a HUGE mass of sentinels breaks into the dock, and forms separate strands before making one huge stream and hitting the central control tower. This huge stream is being attacked from all angles and sentinels are dropping out as it moves. My question is, was this huge stream of squiddies created as one fairly generic blob to save time, or was it actually modelled as thousands of separate entities?

Jon Sandys

Chosen answer: If you look in the making of, the model appears to be one huge line where there are a few individual squids on the outside and in front.

Kirill Ostapenko

Answer: The name of the character is Rita Dunne. The name of the actress is Kathryn Morris.

Question: Does anyone know what's officially in the mystery package and why Chuck never opens it, or is it just a 'McGuffin' like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction?

Answer: No one knows what was in the package. I think Chuck doesn't open it in order to keep his sanity. The package is his only link to his life before being stranded, working for FedEx and making sure packages get delivered. He was determined to make sure it got delivered just as he was determined to survive and get back to civilization. Success in one meant success in the other. While Zemeckis has joked there was a waterproof satellite phone in it, the real answer from the script is, no joke, salsa verde. Its a care package with a note imploring Bettina's (the artist) husband (naked cowboy) to come back and spice up their life like the salsa.

Answer: The package he got had divorce papers in them. He signed them and then placed them back in the package for return to her.

Here's my spin. Bettina's husband travels and is on assignment in Moscow. He's cheating on her, she knows it, files for divorce, and sends the papers through FedEx to him in Moscow. He signs them and returns in the same box. They end up on Chuck's flight, which crashes. He recovers them but decides not to open them. They re-file for divorce. Chuck returns the box, gazes down the road, and decides to go back and tell his story to her. They laugh about the old papers and live happily ever after.

Answer: In the third draft of the movie there's a scene where Chuck opens the package and finds salsa and a note from the woman in the beginning asking her husband to come home. It's also revealed that she doesn't mind that he never got the package. Pretty unsatisfactory, probably why it was cut and left a mystery.

The One With Rachel's Assistant - S7-E4

Question: At the start of the episode we see the end of Joey's appalling show, listing the executive producers as Colleen Mahan, Eric Goldberg, and Missy Krehbiel. Missy Krehbiel is assistant to David Crane, Friends writer/producer/creator, etc. Anyone know who the others are and what their link to the show is?

Jon Sandys

Chosen answer: Colleen Mahan and Eric Goldberg also work on the show they are assistants to Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane.

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