Question: Who played the man who drew the penis on Alan's back when he was younger?
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: In the scene where Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, Mr. White and Nice Guy Eddie are driving to the meeting, Nice Guy Eddie calls Steve Buscemi "Mr. Pink." How did Nice Guy Eddie know that his name was going to be Mr. Pink before they went to the meeting?
Chosen answer: Joe is his father. They probably planned the crime together.
Yes, but why didn't Mr. Pink respond to that? At that time, Mr. Pink didn't know that his name was going to be Mr. Pink. If someone suddenly and unexpectedly gives you a name like that, wouldn't you be surprised?
He could have already been told that it was going to go like that so that he wouldn't tell Mr. White or Mr. Orange his name, and then once it was brought up at the meeting, he asked why he had to be that color.
Answer: Or, Why was he shocked to find out he is Mr. Pink later on if he was cool with it in the car?
Sounds like it was just a blooper/mistake.
Question: What sort of class is going on in the scene where Ron, Harry, and Hermione discuss dates (when Hermione reveals that someone already asked her to the dance)? Other teachers/staff are walking around, in addition to Snape, and the class appears to be larger than those in other scenes.
Answer: It appears to be a study hall or homework time.
Question: How is it possible for Reverse Flash to be aware that the timeline has changed? Furthermore, how does he know the exact details of when and how it changed as well?
Chosen answer: In the comic book this is based on, Reverse Flash was outside of time when the change occurred. He was aware of the exact detail because he was the one who murdered The Flash's mother. He was the one Barry stopped.
Question: Bill tells Kiddo that Pai Mei teaches "no one" the five point palm heart exploding technique, yet he teaches Kiddo, why?
Chosen answer: He probably trusted Kiddo more then his other students that she would never use it unless necessary.
Also I think that a man of Pei Mei's infinite wisdom (and old age) would have sensed that his end was near. Knowing that and given that Beatrix was his most determined and driven student who completely submitted to his teachings... He trusted her and knew she would never abuse his power. So he passed them down to her. Thus, the White Lotus would live on in her. Brilliant.
Question: Since Blue Falcon is an older character... Is Captain Falcon from the F-Zero games based off him? The similarities are great.
Chosen answer: No. Other then the color blue, and falcon in their names, there is nothing indicating Captain Falcon was inspired by Blue Falcon.
Answer: The Blue Falcon was a Saturday morning cartoon series that ran during the late 1970's.
Question: I have a question about the first patient Don and his boss go to see (the one trying to solve the Rubik's cube). I can find no information about him. However he seems like he plays an AIDS patient in a couple of other movies, with the same lesions, same gay act, etc. Is he really like this or do they seem to cast him in the part because he plays it so well? Or am I mistaken about him? Any info would help. It is driving me crazy.
Chosen answer: The actor's name is Stephen Spinella. He is listed in the credits for "And the Band Played On" as "Brandy Alexander." Though neither his given name nor his drag name is mentioned during the cameo, he does show a book with pictures of his female impersonation to the doctors. The "trivia" portion of his IMDb profile states: "Vaulted from obscurity with his frighteningly realistic portrayal of AIDS-ravaged Prior Walter in Tony Kushner's two-part stage epic "Angels in America." An openly gay actor, he has since played in a number of gay-related themes on stage, film and TV."
Question: Why does Wallace spit out the pain killer that the princess gives him?
Chosen answer: Just like he said, it would dull his wits and not leave him fully lucid the next day when he had to face the torture.
He wanted his full awareness so he didn't accidentally yell for mercy.
Answer: Because it's a reference to what his Father's last words to him were at the beginning of the film before he was killed, 'I know you can fight but it's our wits that makes us men'. That's why Wallace says to the Princess, 'It will dull my wits and I must have them always'.
Question: Who puts the 3 horns sticking out of the statue of Mary in the church? And what is it supposed to resemble?
Chosen answer: Regan did (as the demon). It was just meant to be a desecration.
Answer: The desecration in the church added grotesque, pointed breasts and a pointed penis to a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, smeared with red paint to resemble blood. Lieutenant William Kinde later realised that these grisly appendages were made of sculpting clay and paint of the same type that Regan used in her artwork.
Question: Although Tywin is Cersei's father, she is Queen Regent. Isn't she still in a higher place of power than him, and able to refuse to marry Loras?
Answer: As Hand of the King, Tywin is the second most authoritative person in Westeros behind only the king. The Hand's duties include sitting on The Iron Throne and dispensing order, justice and judgment, similar to what Ned Stark did in the Season 1 episode "A Golden Crown" while then-king Robert Baratheon was out hunting. It's also worth pointing out that Tywin's enormous wealth makes him the de facto most powerful person in Westeros, which he demonstrates in the Season 3 episode "Mhysa" when he sends King Joffrey to bed without his supper and remarks to Tyrion "You're a fool if you believe he's the most powerful man in Westeros. Do you really think the crown gives you power?"
Answer: The position of Queen Regent is largely a cipher as the Hand of the King is the actual regent for the king, handling day to day affairs and heading the small council. Tywin is still the leader of House Lannister and commands the army. Cersei's power derives from him, mostly. This is why she cannot truly counter Tyrion when he is acting Hand of the King or Master of Coin, both given by their father. She only starts acting like a queen when Tywin is dead.
Question: When Moody is demonstrating the Cruciatus curse in front of Neville, does he know who Neville is and that it'll cause a reaction? I'm only asking since Moody is Barty Crouch Jr (who tortured Neville's parents) at this point and surely he would have realised that the demonstration could have jeopardised his whole plan by causing conflict amongst the student body, which would have led to him being found out earlier by the teachers.
Chosen answer: Moody (Crouch) knew who Neville was and who his parents were because he was one of the wizards who tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom into insanity. The demonstration was geared more toward Harry than it was Neville, however, though Moody knew it could affect Neville the way it did. It probably wouldn't create conflict among most students, as most were dismissive and unconcerned about Neville. Most students would probably welcome being taught something they knew went against school policy. Only Hermione was really concerned about Neville.
Answer: Moody's demonstration was geared at Neville Longbottom. He needed Neville to get upset so that he could invite Neville back to his class for a cup of tea and give him the herbology book that describes gillyweed in it.
Question: If every former Hogwarts student who goes bad was in Slytherin, why has Hogwarts kept the house over the years? Why not disband it?
Answer: Because it is too firmly entrenched in wizard society and it wouldn't be allowed. One-fourth of the wizard population would probably revolt if there was any attempt to disband it. Ron's comment that every bad witch or wizard was from Slytherin was a child's over-generalization and actually untrue. For example, Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor and Prof. Quirrel was a Ravenclaw. Slytherin House itself is not evil, but those who are drawn to the dark side possess Slytherin traits in abundance, including resourcefulness, intelligence, cunning, ambition, self-preservation, exclusivity, and so on. These are not evil qualities, but they do help drive evil wizards. It is pointed out in the books that not all Slytherins are evil or support dark magic. Those following a dark path would likely do so regardless of what House they were sorted into.
Question: I've had arguments with one of my friends about this line in the film when Scarface says "the only thing in this world that gives orders is balls", my friend thinks he says "the only thing in this world that gives orders is BOSS" (which wouldn't make much sense). What does he say, balls or boss?
Chosen answer: You are correct. It's balls. You can find it in the script.
Answer: The official script says "Boss". It's a reference to Frank Lopez not being Tony's boss anymore. "Balls" is completely incorrect and out of context.
Question: What is the meaning behind both Snape and Lily having a doe as a Patronus? Why does Dumbledore *not* find it "curious" (during the scene after Harry's "death")?
Answer: Snape loved Lily all his life, despite her choosing another; his Patronus being the same as hers is a mark of how his heart always belonged to her. Dumbledore was well aware of Snape's feelings for Lily, so their shared Patronus comes as no surprise to him at all.
Answer: As mentioned, Snape's patronus took the same form as Lily's because he was in love with her. Dumbledore always knew what Snape's patronus was. He was just surprised by the continued depth of Snape's feelings for Lily, so many years after her death. Dumbledore asked Snape if he was starting to care for Harry after Snape expressed disdain over Dumbledore's always having known that Harry was destined to die. He cast his patronus to show Dumbledore that he is only motivated by his love for Lily, not Harry.
Question: Why did Professor Snape insist on teaching Professor Lupin's class about werewolves (when he takes over the class)? If he or any other staff members suspected Lupin of being one, it seems that they wouldn't want to cause any panic or distraction among the students.
Answer: Severus Snape hates Remus Lupin because he was best friends with Sirius Black and James Potter, who used to torment Snape when they were all students at Hogwarts together. Snape is teaching the class about werewolves in the hope that one or more of the students will recognize Lupin for what he is, tell their parents about it, and then Lupin will be fired from his position. Snape takes this roundabout course of action most likely because all the faculty had promised Dumbledore to keep Lupin's nature a secret from the student body for this very reason.
Question: I've read that all 5 children in the story represent one (or more) of the seven deadly sins. What is the exact rundown of this?
Answer: There's some debate over this one, but certainly there's some lining up between the characters in the movie and the seven deadly sins, although whether this was necessarily intentional is entirely open to debate. Some are pretty clear - Augustus Gloop is obviously Gluttony, Violet Beauregarde is Pride, Mike Teevee would be Sloth and Veruca Salt Greed. Charlie himself is Envy although unlike the other children he ultimately overcomes his sin and therefore escapes punishment. Wrath is less easy; Veruca Salt shows elements of it, as does Mike Teevee (especially in the Tim Burton remake), but arguably Wonka himself is the best representative, with his outburst at Charlie towards the end of the movie leading to him ultimately begging for forgiveness. Finally there's Lust, which, when interpreted as an intense desire for something rather than something strictly sexual, could readily be assigned to quite a number of the main characters or indeed the world in general, where we see people going to extraordinary and ludicrous lengths to find one of Wonka's golden tickets.
Question: In the scene where the children are singing 'So long, Farewell', Kurt sings in a very high voice 'goodbye'. Is he really singing this or is someone else singing this?
Chosen answer: Darleen Carr - the younger sister of Charmian Carr, who played Liesl - sang that line, according to Charmian's autobiography "Forever Liesl".
Question: Forgive me, I haven't read the books yet. Do they explain how new Hogwarts students are able stop going to regular school in the Muggle "world"? It seems unlikely that several children, year after year, could suddenly miss school at age eleven (when they start going to Hogwarts) without the Muggles noticing.
Answer: In the UK, the age of eleven marks the point where children leave primary school and move on to secondary school. They do not all go together; children from a single primary school will end up separating and going to several different secondary schools located in their general area or even further afield in some cases. As such, the age of eleven is a very good point for children to surreptitiously drop out of their local system to attend Hogwarts, which could be explained to Muggle relatives and friends as a boarding school or other special educational facility without touching on its true nature. Hogwarts draws its pupils from all over the country, with only a hundred or so per school year. Given that a large proportion of these will be the children of wizarding families, who are generally home-schooled, then we're likely only talking about at most one or two children from any given area, which would be highly unlikely to be noticed. In the event that somebody does somehow pick up on it, it would be a relatively simple matter for the Ministry of Magic to make them forget all about it.
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: He was played by Ian Puleston-Davies. He is best known for his role as Owen Armstrong in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.
LW