Questions about specific movies, TV and more

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Question: Was P.L. Travers left-handed, as Emma Thompson portrays her when she is shown writing?

Ear675

Chosen answer: It seems P. L. Travers was, in fact, right-handed. With just a bit of research, I found this YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeiEumLxTcM. At time reference 4:05, archive video shows Ms. Travers in her garden, holding a basket hooked on her left arm, and making clippings with a scissors in her right hand. Feeling convinced, I stopped, though I suspect further research (it's a six part biography) would yield other examples of P. L. Travers engaged in right-handed activities.

Michael Albert

Star Wars (1977)

Question: Was Vader aware that the stormtroopers executed Owen and Beru, his step-family? If so, what was his reaction?

Chosen answer: It's not covered in the movies, but according to the (non-canon) expanded Star Wars universe it was Vader who ordered the execution, so he was OK with it.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Question: Was any reason ever given as to why Gandalf chose Bilbo to go on this journey and not someone else?

Chosen answer: In the film, Gandalf tells the dwarves he chose Bilbo because hobbits are light on their feet, and because Smaug would not recognise the scent of a hobbit as he would a dwarf. Also Bilbo is the most adventurous of the hobbits in the Shire. This reason is not in the book but is from the story "The Quest of Erebor" in Tolkien's Unfinished Tales.

Sierra1

Grudge Match (2013)

Question: Right before the climatic fight, "Razor" gives a nod to Sally in the audience, then sees another guy in the audience who just smirks and flips him off. Razor just nods and smirks back at him. Who was that guy that flipped him off and why?

CCARNI

Chosen answer: He is the MMA fighter that Razor punched earlier in the film during one of the fight promotions.

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

Question: When Ralph returns to his game from Sugar Rush after betraying Vanellope, he obviously wears his medal. Did he or did he not get back into his game with the medal without being stopped by the Surge Protector?

Chosen answer: It is not shown in the film, so it is unknown.

MasterOfAll

The Mask of Zorro (1998)

Question: Who sang the closing song and what are the lyrics?

Chosen answer: Marc Antony and Tina Arena sang it. Lyrics at http://www.lyrics.net/lyric/5746519.

Hobbes

The Matrix (1999)

Question: In the first movie, in the theatre, I could swear that there was a scene of Zion. It was quick, but it was a modern, high tech view of what Zion supposedly looked like, deep within the earth, out of the range of the AI machines. I remember being disappointed when the 2nd movie came out, and Zion was instead portrayed as a smart but rough kind of camping out place, with obvious dirt issues. Can anyone confirm that they saw such a high tech scene of Zion in the theatrical release? I know the DVD doesn't have it. Things like this do occasionally happen - in the last original cast Star Trek movie, "Undiscovered Country" the Klingon who tries to kill the President and Captain Kirk at the end, and falls to his death, is "de-masked" to reveal a co-conspirator in the theatrical release and the first DVD release, but in subsequent DVD releases, including the Blu-Ray, this scene was removed.

jabdesigns

Chosen answer: I've seen The Matrix many times (20+) in the theatre, and I have not seen any such imagery of Zion. There is no artwork in the book "The Art of The Matrix" which shows it either and no mention in the shooting script. It seems unlikely that Zion would be "shiny" and high-tech as the appearance of Zion in the sequel films matches the decor and dress sense of the Nebuchadnezzar and her crew in the first film - grungy and "used". There are some modern looking Zion scenes in Reloaded with the traffic control operators, but they are working in a virtual construct.

Sierra1

The Abyss (1989)

Question: In the extended version, when Bud Brigman is met by the aliens, what were the images they were showing him?

Chosen answer: Most of it was television news coverage about the increasing tensions between the US and USSR as it was playing out earlier in the movie. Additional archival footage from previous years' wars implied that the NTIs had been on Earth for quite a long time.

The Big Bang Theory (2007)

Show generally

Question: Why does the show go out of the way never to show the names of sodas? IE, 'Cola' instead of 'Coke', 'Lime' instead of 'Sprite,' 'Zip' instead of '7up.' They don't seem to have a problem with showing names of other products, such as the snacks in the vending machine.

Brian Katcher

Chosen answer: Certain items are part of paid product placement. Those would be obviously named, as would things that can't go unnamed for simplicity reasons. Other things might be unnamed because of opposite product placement, i.e. Coke pays for it so they don't name Pepsi products.

Greg Dwyer

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)

Question: If Bella is a "shield" and vampire powers can't affect her how did Jasper use his mood/mind control on her? It was Bella's birthday and they were at the school. Alice was inviting her to a party. After Bella says yes, she said "Jasper, no fair with the mind control thing."

Chosen answer: Vampire abilities can't affect her mind. It's explained in the book that what Jasper does is physical. He loosens tense muscles and stimulates production of the appropriate hormones and helps the subject physically relax, thus stimulating a sympathetic mood change in his subjects.

Garlonuss

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Question: This question has been bugging me and I hope someone can answer this for me. I remember hearing that Viggo Mortensen did not want to reprise his role as Aragorn in the Hobbit movies, saying that the time between Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit would not make sense. Yet when I was watching LOTR there is a scene where Elrond says he was there 3000 years ago with Isildur (father of Aragorn?) to destroy the ring. Then, another scene where Arwen tells Aragorn he is not like his father. So, if Aragorn's father died 3000 years before LOTR, how old is Aragorn? It seems he's either too young for his father to have been around then, or old enough that he could appear in The Hobbit without any time issues. Can someone please explain this one?

Emanuel Perez

Chosen answer: Viggo Mortensen meant that Aragorn was a child during the time of the Hobbit. Isildur is not Aragorn's father (his father's name was Arathorn), Isuldur is Aragorn's long-ago ancestor. This is why Aragorn is referred to numerous times as "Isildur's Heir" rather than "Isildur's Son."

Phixius

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

Question: How is it possible that picture 25 was in Walter's wallet the whole time, when the picture is of him later in the movie after he had received the wallet?

Chosen answer: The picture was not taken afterwards - that spot is just a favorite Mitty likes to use to review pictures. That is why Sean O'Connell was quizzing Mitty's mum about his life/work habits, so he could take a picture of his friend for the last issue.

Kenneth Brown

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Question: I am wondering if the scene at the tree in Buxton where Freeman goes to keep his promise to Andy, is the same tree location used in the movie Robin Hood with Morgan Freeman? It sure does look to be the same rock fence and tree on a hill.

Mariellen Lamb

Chosen answer: Nope, while there is a similarity, the two locations are on different continents. The Shawshank Redemption shot those scenes in Ohio, while Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves shot almost entirely in the UK, with a few scenes shot in France.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Question: I've read all 4 books in the series of The Wizard of Oz. But I'm confused on the shadow puppet. A character? Or a story telling method?

SueW

Chosen answer: First off, there's fourteen Oz books written by Baum (the last two published posthumously). And secondly, what shadow puppet are you referring to?

Garlonuss

The Butterfly Effect (2004)

Question: When Evan ends up in the mental hospital, the doctor states that Evan invented the whole story about being able to change the past by reading his diaries. This implies that the Evan must have known that he could change the past throughout the entire timeline and talked to his doctor about it. But how could he have known about his abilities before the actual scene where he wakes up in the mental institution and realizes that he has killed Kaitlin by changing the past?

Chosen answer: In one scene the doctor is explaining to Evan's mother about what part of the brain had been changed to which Evan replied, "That's the part where memories are stored." Also every time he goes to one of his black outs he is essentially filing in the blanks. So when he fills in the blanks he is creating new memories. This would allow him to know of his abilities as a kid, he just didn't know until he unlocked his black outs.

oddy knocky

V for Vendetta (2005)

Question: How does V eat and drink? Can he take his mask off? Doesn't he have real pain because of his skin?

Chosen answer: Yes, V can take the mask off. Remember, we see him putting it on in his very first scene. He may have some pain, but the experimentation that was performed on him which gave him his enhanced speed, strength, agility, and intelligence also granted him a heightened level of pain tolerance. So if there is pain, he is able to mostly ignore it. This is why he was able to defeat an entire room full of enemies despite having been mortally wounded by a hail of gunfire immediately beforehand.

Phixius

V for Vendetta (2005)

Question: V has no real name, right?

Chosen answer: None given in the film. It is mentioned in a flash back that he does not remember his name.

Phixius

Bad Company (2002)

Question: When the Czech bad guy is reading out the numbers to set the nuclear device is he reading out in Greek, not Czech?

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Question: What is Mel saying when acting as the Sioux chief, as he is speaking to the future sheriff Bart?

Chosen answer: Shvartses! (Blacks!) No, no, zayt nisht meshuge! (Don't be crazy!) Loz im geyn! (Let him go!) Cop a walk, it's all right. Abi gezint! (As long as you're healthy!) Take off! Hosti gezen in dayne lebn? (Have you ever seen such a thing?) They darker than us! Woof!

Greg Dwyer

Frozen (2013)

Question: Why did Anna have to be shielded from all knowledge of magic? I understand that to save her, they had to remove her memories from the past. But what would happen if she found out before she did?

Chosen answer: Most probably because her parents didn't want Anna to think Elsa was some sort of freak or monster.There is evidence to suggest that people who can use magic are seen as such during Elsa's escape from Arendelle, where all the townspeople and, quite notably, the Duke of Weselton, were in a state of fear after Elsa accidentally showed everyone her powers. It makes sense, therefore, to hide the truth from a young Anna so that she would not start avoiding or fearing her sister.

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