Question: During Clu's "Toast" to his army, there is a closeup of one particular program that has been converted. For some reason, this looks like Gem to me, even though the impression is that she died in the End of Line club (though if the sequence happened in real time, there was plenty of time for them to escape the club before it blew) Is it supposed to be Gem, or another significant program, or just a cool shot showing Clu's reflection in the visor of the program?
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: I recently purchased the soundtrack to Rocky IV and one of the songs is called Man Against The World. The small pamphlet that came with the CD stated that this song was originally going to be in the movie but was eventually left out. Had this song been in the movie, what scene would this song have appeared in?
Answer: Presumably it would have been used in the scene where Rocky and company arrive in Russia. Burning Heart (also by Survivor) was chosen to be used in this scene instead.
Question: Was Sara Gilbert (Darlene) pregnant in real life when she was pregnant on the show?
Answer: No. Sara Gilbert has given birth to one child (so far) and that was in 2007.
Question: The part where Talia's mother gets attacked and the doctor forgets to lock the cell, why did he need to lock the cell, and why did they attack her? Were there no other women in the Pit?
Chosen answer: The prison had a very large male population. It didn't appear to hold too many women. Thus, though it is never stated in the film, she was obviously always in danger of being physically attacked or sexually assaulted by prisoners. Hence, her cell door needed to be locked.
Question: I don't quite understand the moving portraits. Are they alive, are they Horcruxes or pieces of the subject's souls, or do they just say previously-recorded things?
Answer: They are not alive, nor are do they carry any piece of the subject's soul (or anyone else's for that matter) Neither are they just playing out some manner of magical-programming. They are normal paint-and-canvas paintings that have been charmed with sentience and to behave exactly as the subject of the portrait would have behaved.
Question: If Hagrid was blamed for killing Myrtle, why was he allowed to join the Hogwarts staff as Gamekeeper? Surely parents of students and other staff would object to him remaining at the school.
Answer: Hagrid wasn't accused of killing Myrtle. It was wrongly believed that Aragog, the giant spider, was the monster that killed her. Hagrid was found responsible for having brought the creature into Hogwarts and keeping it hidden there. That is why he was punished by not being allowed to use magic, though he was later exonerated of any wrongdoing.
Answer: Dumbledore trusted him and gave him the job as gamekeeper.
Question: What kind of church is it that Ada is singing in, because I have never seen it with the hands like that on the music.
Chosen answer: The hand movements you refer to are called "time setting." The purpose is to maintain the beat of the song, and keep the singing on track, particularly in the old back-woods churches where there had rarely been instrumental accompaniment. It also has the added benefit of enhancing the energy of the musical experience for the participants. I am not certain if the denomination of the church was ever explicitly stated, but it was likely Pentecostal.
Question: When Doc and Marty go back to 1985, after going to 2015, they land and find out that it's an alternate 1985 wherein Biff is in charge. Someone said in a question that when they returned, shouldn't they have seen Biff's casino as they fly over Hill Valley - is them not seeing the casino there to mislead the audience into thinking nothing has changed or is it a mistake?
Question: Did Woody really drive the truck his son traded in at the end of the movie, or was he dreaming?
Question: I've always wondered what the significance is of the old Shasta TV commercial that they are watching. This is one of my favorite movies, but this has always bugged me.
Answer: It doesn't really have any significance but the one man thinks the commercial is to make people go out and buy the drink.
Answer: Seems to just be a jokey dig at conspiracy theories. The kids are looking to find books about aliens, etc., and the old guy says that he has seen 12 of the same soda commercial that day.
Question: Why does Colin not want his girlfriend's pictures out in the apartment?
Answer: Because he's a sh*tty boyfriend (as reinforced by purposely making a point of showing Costigan hanging it on the wall later on).
And Costigan also hangs her picture higher at eye level, making it more prominent.
Answer: Because he doesn't want her to be in trouble if he gets into trouble. Also he wants as little information about himself in the apartment. Another option is psychological issues. He had a hard childhood after all.
Answer: Colin is Damon, not a mixup. I agree that it is to protect her identity from someone who may enter the apartment.
Answer: My interpretation is to emphasize the divide between the two characters and show how the person one conveys on the surface could be vastly different from someone's true nature. Colin is a cop (arguably a good one who is granted his own team investigating organized crime). As a cop, society views him as a good, well-intentioned, selfless person who serves a greater purpose. Furthermore, we are shown that he is highly ambitious (pursuing a law degree and aspiring to a life in politics). All of this shows that on a societal level, he is a good fit or match for Madelyn. She is a doctor, therapist, university educated, decent person who would typically end up with someone in a similar social class and circle. This juxtaposes Billy, who despite the fact that he went to a prestigious and private private school, is extremely intelligent and we know from the beginning a good person, to the rest of society is simply a low-life murderer, criminal and thug and member of Costello's inner circle. This is not the kind of person that Madelyn nor society would pair her with. So, on the outside, the characters are written as such. But this small interaction with the childhood photo shows that surface interpretations are not an accurate representation of the true man. Colin isn't actually the right match on a more intimate level, and Billy, for all intents and purposes is more loving and compassionate to Madelyn's true self.
Question: In the scene where Sam is at the airport and catches up with Joanna, he says "Oh Jesus" and then "Here, I've got to run", before the camera cuts to the scene of him going back to his Dad. Did he talk to her during this time, or give her a note or something?
Chosen answer: It doesn't appear so. Joanna was surprised and impressed that he would risk so much just to see her before she left.
Question: How did Moira, Charles and the others get away from the island? They did not have someone who can teleport them away, the jet is broken and they had no possibility to communicate with the others. You can hardly expect the Russians or the Americans, who wanted to kill them a few minutes ago, to suddenly want to help them.
Answer: They do have the ability to communicate with the other mutants, via the powerful telepath Charles Xavier. He could also use mind control on the navy captains to make them rescue them, or any number of other possibilities.
Question: The star on the uniform patch (right sleeve) has five points and the star on the patrol car has five points but the actual badge has six points. Why the discrepancy?
Answer: There's probably no known reason for the discrepancy, and it's unlikely related to the story line. It may simply be that the show's props department were lax about small details like that. It could also be explained that Mayberry being such a small town with a limited budget may have acquired surplus badges and other second-hand equipment from some other town's police department.
Question: On the audiotape "Heed my warning: do not proceed" is spoken. But if the officer remained there, how would he get out of this place?
Answer: The police arrive some time after Strahm saves himself from the water box trap. If he had just waited in the room with Jigsaw's body, the police would have eventually found him.
Question: In the film credits for American Hustle, I have rewound it several times and cannot find Robert De Niro listed, or the character that he plays, Mr. Tellegio. Is there a reason for this?
Question: What kind of helicopter is that Alex was about to get into but didn't?
Answer: Sikorsky S-55.
Question: How is it that when Piper and Leo go to the past before Phoebe is born, Patty already knows about "the charmed ones"? I have been under the understanding that they are the only ones in existence, so how does she know about the concept of "The Charmed Ones'? Was it a prophecy or something?
Chosen answer: Yes, Melinda Warren prophesied that each generation of Warren witches would grow stronger than the next, culminating in the arrival of three sisters. Each having one of her powers.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Chosen answer: There's no indication that it's anyone we'd know. I'm pretty sure the shot was simply placed there for the visual it creates.