Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: In the book version the character Lex has short hair that's pushed under her cap. In the film version she has a longish plait. I know that the film makers change many things for many reasons, but does anyone know why they changed this?

Answer: Probably because there was no reason in the plot for Lex to have short hair. It simply did not matter whether it was long, medium, or short; if the actress playing Lex had longer hair, then the film makers must have felt that fit the character just as well as a shorter cut.

raywest

Question: I'm fairly positive that one of the African-American female terminated employees, who has a very small but significant role in Up in the Air(trying to avoid spoiling the plot), is Elise Neal. Elise Neal was D.L. Hughley's wife in The Hughleys and also starred in Hustle and Flow. Any reason why she is not credited on the film? imdb.com and other sites do not list her as a cast member.

Answer: It's not Elise Neal, it is Tamala Jones.

jshy7979

Answer: It is not unusual for actors to appear in films in uncredited cameo roles. There's many reasons. Their appearance is not significant enough to warrant a film credit, it is a surprise for the audience, they do it for fun or as a favor to the director or producer, it avoids contract obligations, and so on.

raywest

Question: Do someone know where can I get a clear picture of Elektra's charm? I want the pic or a replica of the charm that she wears that is in Braille. Please help me! Thanks.

marianella

Chosen answer: There is a replica of the one she wears at these two websites: http://www.moviereplicasdirect.com/marvel-elektra-pendant-prop-replica-from-limited.html. Also http://www.amazon.com/Elektra-Pendant-Replica-Jennifer-Garner/dp/B000RJ76XI.

LorgSkyegon

Question: SPOILER: Is Eli blind or just visually impaired? There are many signs that he's not in fact blind. For example, in the first house he finds, he wakes up just as the sun hits his face. He also knows his way around unfamiliar territory all too well for a blind man - well for a sighted man, in fact. He's able to follow the road without a cane. He's also able to tell the difference between day and night. If he were completely blind he could travel at night and need less water, etc.

Answer: No. Eli is not blind. There are moments where you could construe he was blind only after you decided he was. In the first house Eli holes up in, he looks at the mouse, he roots through his bag, while moving his head to see better into the bag. He looks out the window the next day, moving his eyes to and fro to take in the situation. He can see the Pawn Shop owner's finger on the trigger. He is able to find the Pawn Shop in the first place, even though he's never been there. Eli has several conversations with people while looking right at them. No one reacts as if he is blind. Eli closes his eyes every time he reads the Bible in order to more focus his sense of touch and cut off the visual stimuli. He can see that the pawn shop owner hasn't detached the battery leads. He and Solara exchange a "What the...?" look when invited to tea by the old cannibals. The man can see, at least to a certain extent.

He has normal vision throughout the film. He looks directly at people on several occasions, and his eyes are normal. The point of the story is that he WAS blind (hence his ability to read braille, heightened senses, ability to fight in the dark, etc.), but was given his sight back so that he could complete his task. By the end of the film, he's completed his task and is dying, and so he returns to being blind, and his eyes are cloudy.

He wakes up in the morning because he feels the sun on his skin and it's warm. Not because it's bright. He found the pawn shop because when he open the door we see and hear the bell ring. Your eyes moving are involuntary reflex. You notice he does not look at the mouse until he hears the mouse.

With all due respect, the whole point of the film is that he was blind. In every situation where he it appears he navigates through trouble as a sighted person would, there are clues (usually audible clues) that he uses. I can't list them all but there are several articles online that explain how he gets through each situation. Eli is most definitely blind.

He is blind. God gave him his sight until he completed his task.

Answer: He can see, but not by light. He walks by faith, and not by sight.

It's a correlation to the bible. Making the blind see. He walks by faith, blind faith.

Answer: He is blind or at least partially blind. He mentions he can smell the salt in the air and mentions that Solara's mother's perfume smells nice when he was a foot away from her; when you lose one sense, such as sight others become stronger. If he could see, he would write the bible that he has memorized, himself instead of making the old man write it for him. He literally quotes "we walk by faith, not by sight" which is definitely some obvious foreshadowing. Also he doesn't see the 'no trespassing' sign at the cannibal's house because he literally can't see. There are many other indicators in the movie that prove he has visual problems if not fully blind.

Answer: I believe he is physically blind, but he "sees" through faith. His faith helped him to find a "way" to achieve his mission. Eli found a "way" to compensate for his blindness by immensely heightening his other senses, predominately hearing. Other evidence of blind behavior I observed during the film include his occasional bump into a table or other obstacle here and there; and most significant to me, his light kick to locate the step at the entrance to the cannibals house.

Answer: He is only blind at the end, where he is channeling the words to be written.

I agree he can see. He looks at his reflection in a bowl of water then disturbs the water as if not liking his reflection. Not to mention the constant eye contact.

Question: When Buzz is first being introduced to the other toys, Mr. Potato Head says that he is from Playschool. What does Rex say after this?

Answer: Rex says "And I'm from Mattel. Well, I'm not really from Mattel, I'm actually from a smaller company that was purchased in a leveraged buyout."

Tailkinker

Question: We're told that Davey Jones, himself, cut out his own heart, unable to withstand "that which vexes a man's soul, a woman." Will Turner's father, Bootstrap, savagely removing the heart after he is already dead doesn't make any sense. It is repeatedly said that the Dutchman must have a captain, but what about the moments just prior to? And why did the crew come back to life? It is only told that Bootstrap would be free and that Will would sacrifice eternity as Captain. And how did he "honeymoon"? It hasn't been 10 years. He hasn't ferried any souls yet. Right on? Unnecessary. I agree with audience. Confusing. Please explain.

Toofastfourluv

Chosen answer: Will stabs Davy Jones' heart (with assistance), which, as far as can be determined, gives him the captaincy of the Dutchman at that moment. Exactly why Bootstrap has to cut out his heart isn't clear - presumably something about the ritual Jones used years before makes it a necessary part of the role of captain. The crew don't come back to life, because they're technically not dead - their lives are tied to the Dutchman. Their aquatic appearance is because of Jones defying his orders - with a new captain at the helm, one who will do the job properly, they revert back to their human appearance. As for Will getting his "honeymoon", couple of possible reasons. Technically the job hasn't started yet - could be that, as Will's still in the real world, he can get his day on shore before he goes off to ferry souls. Probably more likely is that Calypso wanted him to have his "honeymoon" - he did, after all, take on the captaincy under less than ideal circumstances. While Jones chose to take on the position, Will had no real choice in the matter. Calypso's something of a romantic, so it would be entirely in character for her to allow Will and Elizabeth to consummate their marriage before he has to leave for ten years.

Tailkinker

Answer: Will also mentions, whilst on the island with Elizabeth, that it's almost sunset. This suggests that his role as captain didn't begin until sunset that day. So he was able to honeymoon that day only.

Question: At one point, Carl asked Russell why he called Phyllis (Russell's mother) by her first name. Didn't Edward Asner, the voice of Carl, say this a lot on some old show?

Answer: Yes, it was a running gag on the Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970). Ed Asner played Lou Grant, who always asked Bess (played by Lisa Gerritsen) why she called her mother Phyllis (played by Cloris Leachman) by her first name.

Question: Pixar usually shows Pixar characters in the next Pixar film into the films (like the Nemo in Monster's Inc, The Mr. Incredible doll in Nemo). Is there anything from Toy Story 3 in Up?

Answer: Yep, there is. As Carl's house initially flies away, there's a shot from inside a child's bedroom where they watch the house flying away. In that shot, next to the bed on the very far left of the screen, there's a small pink-ish teddy bear, who's a major new character in the upcoming Toy Story 3.

Tailkinker

Question: In the Iowa bar where Kirk meets Uhura, he says something about her being from another world. Is Uhura from another planet, other than Earth? I can't remember anything from the original series that states this.

Answer: Kirk's never met Uhura - he wouldn't know where she's from. When he asks her name, she says that her name is "just Uhura" - Kirk's expecting to hear two names, first name and surname (just as he introduced himself as "Jim Kirk"). As such, his first question is to ask whether they don't have surnames on whatever world she comes from. As it happens, she is from Earth, she just doesn't want to tell him her full name; he doesn't know that, so he's making assumptions that are, in this case, completely wrong.

Tailkinker

Question: In the "Diamonds are a girl's best friend" scene when Satine dances with Christian. Why doesn't the Duke realise that she went up to someone else entirely and asked them to dance and why didn't he realise that she was dancing with someone else when it was supposed to be him?

Answer: During "Diamond's Are A Girl's Best Friend" Toulouse accidentally bumped into a waiter and spilled a drink on The Duke. The Duke left shortly afterward, so he never was there for Satine to offer a dance or see her dance with Christian.

Question: What's the title and the author of the painting that is covered with the mirror when Ruth dies?

Answer: The title is "Cherry Ripe" by the 19th century pre-raphaelite author John Everett Millais.

Question: Children could have been a good extra to the film. You could have had maybe Christian or Satine having a younger sister or brother and the Duke having a niece or nephew both about thirteen or twelve and instead of Tolouse finding out about the duke killing Christian, the Duke's niece could have talked to Christian or Satine's sister and the Duke found out that his niece or nephew had told and done something to her and then Satine or Christian's sibling could have gone to find them and had to rush to try to save Satine and Christian from going away from each other entirely. Maybe they could have had a little love story too within Christian and Satine's. What do you think? Why couldn't children have been put in the film?

Answer: It simply didn't happen. Why SHOULD they have done it. Just because it COULD have happened, doesn't mean they made a big mistake by NOT doing it. It's like saying "I really liked Star Wars, but why couldn't they have made it about a little guy with hairy feet who wanted to destroy a ring?" That just wasn't the plot they went with. But, on a more practical level, there could have been people complaining about children present hanging out with 'ladies of the night'.

Garlonuss

Show generally

Question: Does anyone know which episode it was when Steven decided to grow a beard, or why he decided to grow one? I never watched the show in order and still can't figure out why he suddenly has one in the second half of the show's run.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Steven Keaton (Michael Gross) did not grow the beard for an episode. He grew it between season 1 and season 2 as a character he was playing in an Off-Broadway play. When the show began taping for season 2, it was decided to have him keep it. It never was a plot point on the show.

jairodrigue

Chosen answer: Nope, nothing official was ever said. There are very few truly original film storylines these days; a close examination of most films would allow one to swiftly note plot similarities to any one of a number of preceding movies. Both Cars and Doc Hollywood fit neatly in a very standard storyline of an outsider coming into an unfamiliar cultural group, which they learn to appreciate and benefit from, while their presence likewise benefits the group they encounter. While the two are unusually similar, no comment on the subject was ever made.

Tailkinker

Question: When Venkman is on the phone with Egon, he says that he shot Dana/Zuul up with 300 cc of Thorazine. Since Thorazine is a powerful anti-psychotic drug, it's unlikely that Dana had some in her medicine cabinet. If she didn't already have some on hand, then where did Venkman get it? He said that he has a PhD in psychology, so is he able to prescribe medications for anyone?

Answer: They're all three doctors in that field, so it's not unlikely at all that they could acquire the medication. The question then becomes: why did he have it on him at the time?

Phixius

Indeed, it's hilarious when you ask yourself that question, and the movie does not have any of the characters question that! Which would have been comedy gold. As the original poster said though; Venkman has a PhD in Psychology, so he can't prescribe the drug, and the other 2 are physicists, so no, I wouldn't say they are doctors in the field?

Sammo

A Psychologist could have studied medicine. If you have a medical licence you can prescribe medicine to a patient. This doesn't automatically make a Venkman a psychiatrist, but he is more likely more trained in the actual clinical practise. Doesn't make it less unethical though and if anyone finds out he would have his license revoked immediately.

lionhead

Question: This applies to both Madagascar movies. Does anybody know why Sasha Baron Cohen (Julian the lemur) never shows his face and is barely mentioned in the DVDs for these movies?

Answer: Sacha Baron Cohen is a very private man; he is rarely seen in public, and when he is in public, he is usually dressed as some of his other movie roles (Borat, Bruno, etc.) He has even mentioned once that he wants his characters to be famous, but he wants to live a normal life, so he is rarely interviewed by press.

Chosen answer: Jake and Neytiri were holding hands and Neytiri had her hair unbraided. It is also possible that when Na'vi mate, their appearance changes slightly in a way that only other Na'vi could see.

Question: When Woody and Buzz are at Sid's house, at one point the baby with the spider legs taps something in Morse code to Sid's other toys. Is he really tapping something in Morse code or is it just a random jumble of dots and dashes?

Answer: Baby face taps RR TOYS COME OUT. Telling the other toys to come out from hiding. Pixar stated this in their Toy Story character overview.

But why "RR"?

"RR" is shorthand for "Message Received." Babyface is telling Woody that he understands Woody's problem and then taps out to the other toys to come out.

Question: I know I already asked this, but my question wasn't answered correctly. Supposedly, some member of a band lost a bet and appeared as one of Hook's pirates. It definitely was not Phil Collins, David Crosby, or Jimmy Buffett, but definitely somebody else. The best I can come up with is that it was a band from either the 70's or 80's, but even that fact is pretty pointless considering the movie was made in 1990. It is quite possible that this person could have had no lines or was uncredited, but I know for sure that I'm not making this up. Can somebody find out for me?

Answer: I don't know how you can say it was answered incorrectly when you don't know the answer yourself. I also don't know how you "know for sure" when you also say it "supposedly" is true. In any case, I can't speak to any kind of bet... but along with Phil Collins, Genesis band members Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford appear in the same scene. Perhaps if you reference the initial source of this information someone might be able to help more.

JC Fernandez

Question: Jake's paralyzed legs really look small and thin and weak. How did they make the actor's legs look like that, since he's not really paralyzed? Or did they edit a pair of fake legs in?

Mithcoriel

Chosen answer: It would have been done with digital effects.

GalahadFairlight

Answer: They used prosthetics.

Indeed. They used prosthetics, the mould of which was taken from a real paraplegic person.

Sammo

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