Question: What does NID stand for?
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Answer: Fun fact: The producers were originally going to call the NID the "NRD" for "Not a Real Department", but changed it so they could make it mean something sensible if they ever needed to.
Question: At the beginning, Brad Pitt takes two tablets then somehow survives a massive electric shock. Are the tablets some form of stimulant to help his system recover (or some other form of genuine treatment), or is it just a fictional cinematic device?
Chosen answer: He might have taken a medical equivalent to a regulated dose of Curare, which can suspend the body temporarily in a coma-like state, while keeping the mind active and perceptive. It could also have been tetrodotoxin, which has remarkably similar effects, but lasts longer. In either case, they were specifically engineered for his physiology, indicating a pharmacologist's aid in their endeavor.
Question: Why was the ship that stopped in the front of the library empty? Did the crew abandon ship? Or was there something more sinister?
Chosen answer: Hard to tell why, it was not depicted. During heavy storms, most people would be on call, attending watches in the engine room and bridges. They probably died during the storm (several causes, as such heavy trashing, being swept away, the cold) etc., but their bodies were not shown, as it was irrelevant to the plot.
Question: Did that animal in Crematoria's prison (during the "feeding") have his eyes change (start glowing) after his contact with Riddick? I thought maybe I had missed something, but it looked like he/it had eyes like Riddick's after.
Chosen answer: The animals appear to be somewhere between a minor-class mimic of their surroundings and emotionally-triggered chameleons. As a sympathetic gesture towards Riddicks' dominant nature, it may have been altered purposely, or it was the animals' native eye color, when unstressed.
Question: I'm curious to know how people in Russia, the Ukraine, and other parts of the former Soviet Union feel about this movie. Do they detest it, love it, like it... do they think any part of it is an exaggeration? Where could I go to see their opinions on Miracle?
Chosen answer: My name is Anastasiya and I am from Moscow, Russia. I am married to an American and we visited his family in New York, America and saw the movie Miracle in the theatre. My opinion on the movie was very good. I thought it was a good movie and although their views on the Soviets weren't very good at parts, I think that was how it really went and I think it was true to the real story. Overall, I liked the movie, and it was not hurtful in any way to me at all, as a Russian. Sincerely, Anastasiya Yakovlev-Burke.
Question: The scene where Lucy is at the mental institution and she's drawn Henry a million times, did that actually happen?
Answer: Yes, it did happen: right as it did in the movie. Henry was on the boat, thought that Lucy remembered him, turned around, went into the hospital, and saw the paintings. But the movie then skipped many years into the future and showed Lucy and Henry about, maybe 5 years later on the boat in Alaska. It was shown like this so you would know how they got back together, but they also wanted you to see how they ended up. Hope this helps, it took me a while to figure this out anyway!
Question: In at least one scene of the NYC mayor's office/residence, the flag on the other side of her desk from the U.S. flag appears to be the flag of Mexico. Is this correct?
Chosen answer: That's the flag of New York City - see http://flagspot.net/flags/us-nyc.html. While it does look similar to Mexico, the Mexican flag is green, white, and red instead of blue, white, and red.
Question: Why did the treasure chest given to them at the end have "Deus Ex Machina" written on it?
Chosen answer: "Deus Ex Machina" means "God out of the machine." It's from Greek plays, wherein a god would appear at the end of the story to solve a problem. Nowadays it basically means that a totally new plot element appears out of nowhere and solves everything. It's an easy (and cheap) way out.
Question: When are heroes encounter the Merovingian in the club, what is it he says to them in french?
Answer: He says Quel Grand Surprise which translated means what a big surprise.
Question: I read that the character of Arwen is different in the film adaptation than from the books (including "Fellowship of the Ring"). In what ways? Second, did director/screenwriter Peter Jackson gave a reason why he expanded Arwen's presence in the film adaptation? Was it done for marketing purposes as some fans had claimed?
Chosen answer: Well, Arwen in the books really doesn't do a great deal - she's an extremely minor character. The first reason for increasing her role was simply to remove some of the myriad other characters from the book - for example, the elf Glorfindel, who, in the book, is the one who brings Frodo to Rivendell, then never appears again. Considering the sheer number of characters in the tale, it makes a certain sense to combine them occasionally. The second reason, and why they chose to use Arwen at this point, is that it fleshes out her character a bit, giving us a glimpse of her strength and power and allowing us to get a better glimpse at her relationship with Aragorn, making it clearer why he would love her. It has also given the tale another strong female character, which, yes, isn't bad for marketing purposes, but that consideration wasn't the primary reason for doing so.
Question: Lord Denethor is not the king of Gondor, but a steward, a caretaker of the throne according to Gandalf. Does this means that he is acting as a regent?
Chosen answer: Effectively, yes - the Stewards rule in the absence of the rightful King of Gondor. That being said, the Stewards have now ruled Gondor for 26 generations of their family and believe the bloodline of the King to be destroyed, so, as we see with Denethor, they pretty much consider themselves to be the true rulers of the kingdom these days. As such, while they are technically fulfilling the role of regent, they might not actually consider that to be the case any more.
Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo - S10-E23
Question: When the fish offers Bart 3 wishes, what is that a take off of?
Answer: Pretty much any fairy tale where somebody gets offered wishes by a genie or other similar character. It's always three wishes (and, nine times out of ten, the last one gets used to undo the damage caused by the first two).
Question: I read somewhere that Dolph Lundgren, who was Grace Jones' boyfriend at the time, has a small part in the film, however I can't spot him. Can anyone tell me who he is?
Answer: He plays a KGB agent helping General Gogol. It's real "blink-and-you-miss-him" stuff.
Question: Did any of the actors know how to play their instruments? Because sometimes Harry Shearer seems to know what he's doing on the bass, particularly during 'Big Bottom' but the two leads sometimes look as though they're playing air guitar.
Answer: The actors are all good musicians - it's them playing.
Question: Is there any more significance about the tree of Gondor other than what Pippin saw in a vision?
Chosen answer: Quite a lot of significance, yes. Okay, deep breath, here goes. Back before the First Age, there was a time referred to as "The Years of the Trees". At this time, before the sun and the moon, the domain of the Valar (local godlikes) was lit by the radiance of two revered and mystical trees. The elder tree, called Telperion, was known as the White Tree. Destroyed by Melkor, the first Dark Lord, shortly before the beginning of the First Age, its image was preserved by the Valar in a second tree, Galathilion, in the elven city of Tirion (and Telpirion's last flower was set in the sky, the light now known as the moon). Seedlings of Galathilion was the source of many trees throughout the kingdoms of men and elves. One of the most famous of these was the tree Nimloth that grew in the royal courts in the prosperous human kingdom of Numenor. Sauron's influence ultimately allowed him to take control of Numenor's government, and he had Nimloth burnt, seeing it as a link to the Valar, his enemies. However, Isildur saved one of the fruits of the tree and took it with him to Middle-Earth after the fall of Numenor. He planted it there, in the Gondorian citadel of Minas Ithil (later to fall to the Nazgul and become Minas Morgul). Seedlings from that tree was planted in Minas Tirith, and, since that time, a White Tree has always grown there. So the Gondorians see the tree as a link to their founders, to the fabled kingdom of Numenor and ultimately to the Valar themselves.
Question: What is the difference from Hobbiton and The Shire? Is The Shire a village, and Hobbiton the region where the Hobbits live?
Chosen answer: Actually, it's the other way around. The region is called Shire, the village Hobbiton. There are several other villages in the Shire, for example Buckland.
Question: Admittedly the sound on my copy of this movie is lacking somewhat but when Paul is researching Arrakis and Gurney et all enter I swear I can hear the trailer for the movie playing in the background. Am I correct on this?
Answer: No. At least, not on the DVD I have. It does play the title tune in the background, though.
Answer: The beginning narration is playing softly, as if it's coming from whatever computer Paul was doing research on. Like he was watching a movie about the world he is living in, which is sort of odd.
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Answer: It stands for either National Intelligence Department, or National Intelligence Division, although it's never expressly stated on the show.