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 noticed on the box set cover when I bought this movie that it said "and introducing Tom Hardy" instead of "starring Tom hardy" as normal. Any particular reason for this? Was it just because Hardy was a relatively unknown actor in the more widespread showbiz community?

Answer: That's exactly it. Hardy had only a couple of small parts before his starring role in Nemesis. Robin Wright Penn was credited the same way for The Princess Bride, her first major role.

Guy

Question: Now for people who have mastered the art of nearly light speed travel, wasn't it odd that they could not have destroyed the tree of souls with missiles launched from a distance? Dropping explosives seems so primitive.

Answer: This is answered in the movie itself. The Flux Vortex area in which the Tree of Souls sits interferes with the instruments of weapons and aircraft, rendering them imprecise or unusable. This is why every time the pilots flew into the Vortex, the had to navigate by sight alone.

Guy

Chosen answer: Tim Curry (as Wadsworth) states he knew about the secret passages because the house belongs to a friend of his. Tim Curry (as Mr. Boddy) says at the end of the movie that they "Could stack the bodies in the cellar and could all leave one by one." Which infers that Mr. Boddy has no intention of returning to the house. Either way, there is no definite way to tell who the house belongs to considering all the lying going on.

columbonet

Question: Can anyone explain why Crispin Glover was almost completely edited out of this film? True, his character wasn't that important, but even in 2015 (when he was hanging upside down after throwing out his back), his character was played by another actor.

Answer: Crispin Glover is not in the BTTF sequels (except where footage from the first film was recycled). There are some contradictions as to the whys depending on who you talk to (salary dispute, Glover uninterested in reprising the role, Zemeckis uninterested in working with Glover again, etc.).

JC Fernandez

Answer: To be honest Glover didn't like the end of part I because the McFlys were rich and love was a better reward, however he complained about not getting as much money as Christopher Lloyd and the others, even Fox. He then sued Universal for using unlicensed footage of him.

His lawsuit was for violating his right of publicity, not for using footage of him. Prosthetics were applied to Jeffery Weissman using an old mold of Crispin Glover to make Weissman look like Glover.

Bishop73

Answer: Glover had a reputation for being difficult to work with. This may not be the official reason, but may have been a factor.

Question: When the marines are being briefed before going down to the planet, I've two questions about those that Hudson asks. A) He asks something like, "Is this going to be a stand-up fight or another bug-hunt?" By "bug-hunt" does he mean they've fought some other kind of alien enemy before? It's made clear they've never encountered the signature aliens of the movie before. B) He asks, "How do I get out of this chicken-sh*t outfit?" What exactly does he mean by this? Is he referring to his team as the "chicken-sh*t outfit" and if so, why? None of them appear in any way concerned or afraid of what danger they may be heading into. Ripley in particular seems annoyed by how lightly they're treating the whole situation.

Answer: I would say that he says bug hunt because it isn't the first time Space Marines have had a report of alien life in the universe and had to investigate finding nothing. 2nd questions is that Hudson says that because he doesn't take that outfit seriously. They are Marines and want a confirmed fight not a "bug hunt" sounds like they are just being used to do stupid missions.

Answer: For the first question, he means "will we be actually fighting a real enemy (will this be enjoyable) or are we just going in to wipe out some helpless creatures (like an exterminator wipes out bugs)". For the second question, he is referring to his unit as the chicken shit outfit, but he's just making a joke; a humorous reversal of the truth referencing the fact that no one is afraid at all.

Phixius

Question: All the creatures in Avatar are six-limbed but the Na'vis are four-limbed. Isn't it a fault in an evolutionary point of view?

Ragze

Chosen answer: Not really. It simply means that the Na'vi split off from the common Pandoran ancestral tree much earlier in their development, before six limbs became a common element. This could also explain why the Na'vi only have one sensory appendage while most of the other life forms have two.

Guy

Question: When Aslan and Peter are discussing the prophecy, Aslan lets slip that he's as concerned for his own family as Peter is for his siblings. I don't recall the books ever mentioning that Aslan had any relatives, so who is he referring to?

Answer: Aslan is referring to the Narnians as his family.

Phixius

Question: Why do the beavers accuse the red fox of being a traitor? He seems perfectly dedicated to the side of good.

Answer: I think it's because foxes and wolves are related, both being members of the dog family. Since the wolves are on the side of the Witch, I don't think it's much of a stretch for them to assume the fox is, as well.

Cubs Fan

Question: A question about those sticky bombs they use in the last battle to blow the tracks of the tanks. Were there ever really any bombs made like that from socks, grease and explosives and used for such a purpose or was it something they just made up for the movie?

Answer: There were actual "sticky bombs" used in WWII. Developed by the British, they were nitroglycerin-filled glass spheres, coated with a sticky adhesive, and covered by a protective metal sheathing that was stripped away before being thrown. Designed as anti-tank weapons, the bombs were often more dangerous to the user than to the tank, occasionally getting stuck to the person who was throwing it, or even igniting while being handled or during transport. In addition, Britain trained their Home Guard units in the making of improvised sticky bombs, the most common being glass containers of nitroglycerin inside a bag soaked in the glue compound, and dropped onto enemy tanks from rooftops. The G.I. may have learned of the improvised method, as actual sticky grenades only made it into the hands of very few combat units.

raywest

Question: What causes the change in the condition of Vader's helmet in the final battle? When he's taunting Luke it's at its normal mirror clean finish yet right after his hand is cut off it's all dusty and scuffed.

Answer: The fight is quite protracted, and several times during the fight, lightsabres are cutting through materials, which logically would cause the dust you describe on Vader.

GalahadFairlight

Show generally

Question: What is up with all of the random clips in the intro to the show? Only a select few appear in the show, and they all look like they were recorded using a camcorder which has been held up to a TV screen. Most have nothing to do with the show whatsoever. One involves some Japanese cartoon, another involves some kind of suit closing around someone's head, another shows someone skiing down a ski slope while on fire. Why?

EpicFishFingers

Chosen answer: Wikipedia has a list of all the references from the opening.Since children are more impressionable, they tend to remember certain aspects of different things. The bits you see may indicate the scattered thoughts of youth, and how things can go by in a quick flash, whilst only remembering significant parts (in this case, it seems to be violence-orientated).

Jeimi

Question: Is Tony really in danger when Pepper pulls out the copper ring? The screens behind him light up, and he acts like he is in danger, but his reaction once the process is complete leads one to believe that he may have just been messing with Pepper. Also, why does Tony go into cardiac arrest when the copper ring is pulled out? The magnet is keeping the shards out of his heart, not keeping his heart running, even though they state in the movie that it is powering his heart). Perhaps I am just confused about what is actually happening with the device.

oldbaldyone

Chosen answer: The movie interchangeably refer to the device as keeping the shrapnel out of his heart and keeping it beating. The latter is supported by both this scene and the comment by Dr. Yinsen that the arc reactor could "run (his) heart for fifty lifetimes. The opening exposition in the cave explaining the danger of the shrapnel explains that it takes "about a week" for it to kill its subjects. Given how fast he started dying both in the scene with the copper ring and when Obadiah forcibly removed the arc reactor, it's entirely possible that the system is also acting as an admittedly very fancy pacemaker.

Alex Montenegro

Question: Were all Josie's class virgins? I get the impression that they were because in the sex education scene, where Anitie asks, "Are there any questions?" they all put their hands up.

Answer: Given that Anita isn't a real sex ed teacher the class was probably confused by her bizarre little 'sex talk' and had some questions to ask her regarding that.

Answer: It's quite likely that at least one or two people were not virgins. A non-virgin could still have questions that they want to ask an older adult, who has more sexual experience.

Question: I guess I wasn't paying much attention, but who is the girl he is talking to at the end about killing her parents? More so what I mean is, who are her parents, and when did he kill them? I have no idea what he is referencing and don't remember him killing a male and a female at any point.

jtoomey534

Chosen answer: That's Irena Neski, daughter of Vladimir Neski, who Bourne assassinated for his first assignment. This is what Bourne was flashing back to in the hotel.

Brad

Question: Was there only one It? If It/Pennywise, was an alien or something, how come there wasn't more of them?

Answer: There was only one "It". It was a single entity, not a species; a being from "outside" our universe, the living embodiment of fear and destruction.

Phixius

Answer: It is a shapeshifter.

Answer: Depends on what you mean by "kiss". There are two ways one can describe his motives when he moves in on her. 1) he simply wants to give her a platonical good night kiss. 2) he wants a kiss that leads to something more. Commodus' signals toward Lucilla throughout the movie shows very strong passionable attraction from his side. Either way, whatever motives Commodus' "kiss" was, Lucilla despises her brother so much she leaves. And the conclusion, yes, he was going to kiss her.

Mortug

Question: The new element created -- what is it? And why does Breast Padiumul end so quickly?

traian078

Chosen answer: He created a new element more powerful than palladium that doesn't end quickly - likely Vibranium, but that's never referenced in the movie. Palladium was burning out quickly because of the continuous use of the Iron Man suit.

Anastasios Anastasatos

Answer: It was meant to be a type of Vibranium before Captain America came out, so it's left ambigious in the movies.

Question: When Chick's pit crew insults Guido, he yells back something in Italian. Can someone translate to English?

Answer: Guido says something like "Who do you think you're talking to? Who are you talking to?"

Question: What are the clothes and types of chucks Sodapop wears? I know they are plaid shirts but does anyone know the entire outfit when the boys are going to the rumble?

SodaPopLuver9

Chosen answer: Simple question, simple answer. Throughout the movie, and on the way to the rumble, he wears a (different colored) plaid shirt, white tee, blue jeans (on the day of the rumble he asks Darry "and where are my jeans?), and worn out tennis shoes.

Question: In the Thailand fight scene, the Thai fighter makes a big move and does a flying kick towards Topper, but Topper just looks at him and he stops just before connecting and falls to the floor. Is this from a specific movie?

Knever

Chosen answer: The whole fight scene in Thailand is supposed to be a homage to Rambo: First Blood Part Two, and the fighter falling is just typical ZAZ humour.

GalahadFairlight

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