Question: Does anyone know why in some scenes with Malfoy and Crabbe that there's a tall, skinny, nasty looking kid accompanying them instead of Goyle? Did Cuaron think the actor who plays Goyle was looking too cuddly and teddy bear-like?
Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
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Question: During The Ride of the Rohirrim, after Gothmog (Pink Orc Captain) shouts "Fire at will", you can see a black haired and black bearded rider wearing a suit of chainmail with a long axe in the front of the shot (only for a second or so) I think this is Peter Jackson but I am not sure, does anybody know?
Answer: I can see who you mean, but I'm pretty certain that it's not Peter Jackson - the resemblance isn't really that close. Besides, I strongly suspect that the studio would be dead set against anything that put their director (scriptwriter/producer/etc) on a horse in the middle of a charge - I've never read anything to indicate that Jackson is an experienced rider, and there are risks in what's being portrayed in that scene.
Question: Why in the end credits does it say 'featuring' Sean Bean and Ian Holm? Why are they separate from the rest of the characters who are just plainly listed?
Answer: The 'featuring' credit is often given to an actor who plays a role that could be considered lesser than what they'd normally play. Sean Bean and Ian Holm are both associated with major roles in films, whereas, in these films, Bean appears as a relatively minor part of an ensemble, and Ian Holm also plays a very limited part.
Question: When they board Air Force One, Bill Pullman tells the pilot that they are ready to take off. He then says something to a female flight attendant, she nods and then walks away. Could someone who has subtitles please tell me what he says to her?
Answer: "Could you please get a blanket for my daughter?"
Question: Did Jesus really invent the table? I don't remember that in the Bible.
Answer: Um, no, he didn't. The Egyptians had tables (that wouldn't look that out of place in a modern house) around 2000 years before the birth of Christ.
Answer: I believe Jesus was just helping his Father Joseph who was a carpenter.
Question: In the book, Lupins fear (the boggart) is a Silver ORB, It never says anything about the moon besides the fact that every full moon he transforms. In the movie, it turns to the moon with clouds and everything, was it supposed to be a moon in the book?
Question: How is it possible that at the end of the film, when the helicopters are arriving to New York, many people are coming out of the buildings. Aren't they supposed to be frozen?
Answer: The people in the library were able to survive by making fires and so on - obviously these other people were equally resourceful.
Question: At the end of the end credits, a song called "Let's Bounce" by Chic and Erick Sermon plays. I have checked everywhere for this song, but it is not featured anywhere. Does anyone out there happen to have the song, or does anyone know where it can be bought?
Chosen answer: It can be found over on http://www.nilerodgers.com/ playing as the intro music, and also available on there for free download.
Question: Why doesn't Styles just carry a fake ID when he is trying to purchase the keg of beer? Although they aren't foolproof, its a bit smarter than resorting to bribery or using a fake gun.
Chosen answer: Fake ID's are hard to come by. Its also difficult to make one look realistic by yourself.
Styles is Mr. Popularity in a small town. Even if he did have a fake ID, chances are just about everyone knows who he is.
Question: Why did the treasure chest given to them at the end have "Deus Ex Machina" written on it?
Chosen answer: "Deus Ex Machina" means "God out of the machine." It's from Greek plays, wherein a god would appear at the end of the story to solve a problem. Nowadays it basically means that a totally new plot element appears out of nowhere and solves everything. It's an easy (and cheap) way out.
Question: Why does Harry's scar hurt when he looks at Professor Snape for the first time? Obviously this is to arouse suspicion around the teacher, but later, when it gets revealed that someone else was really the host of You-Know-Who, *that* is when Harry's scar hurts again...although Harry looks at that person numerous times - even talks to them, and nothing happens all those other times. What's up with all this?
Chosen answer: Remember how You-Know-Who is on the back of someone else's head? Well, it is You-Know-Who in the hall who causes Harry's scar to hurt - you can see 'someone else' is facing away from Harry so You-Know-Who would be able to make his scar hurt.
Question: Why does the TV repairman chastise Bud's date for taking an apple off the tree to give to Bud? Even though it's a humorous biblical reference, it doesn't make sense that giving a fresh piece of fruit to someone would be inappropriate in Pleasantville.
Chosen answer: The repairman wanted things to stay the same in Pleasantville, and Bud's date was supposed to be dating Whitey, not Bud. The repairman doesn't like that Bud is changing Pleasantville.
Question: In at least one scene of the NYC mayor's office/residence, the flag on the other side of her desk from the U.S. flag appears to be the flag of Mexico. Is this correct?
Chosen answer: That's the flag of New York City - see http://flagspot.net/flags/us-nyc.html. While it does look similar to Mexico, the Mexican flag is green, white, and red instead of blue, white, and red.
Question: Did that animal in Crematoria's prison (during the "feeding") have his eyes change (start glowing) after his contact with Riddick? I thought maybe I had missed something, but it looked like he/it had eyes like Riddick's after.
Chosen answer: The animals appear to be somewhere between a minor-class mimic of their surroundings and emotionally-triggered chameleons. As a sympathetic gesture towards Riddicks' dominant nature, it may have been altered purposely, or it was the animals' native eye color, when unstressed.
Question: Why was the ship that stopped in the front of the library empty? Did the crew abandon ship? Or was there something more sinister?
Chosen answer: Hard to tell why, it was not depicted. During heavy storms, most people would be on call, attending watches in the engine room and bridges. They probably died during the storm (several causes, as such heavy trashing, being swept away, the cold) etc., but their bodies were not shown, as it was irrelevant to the plot.
Question: I am told that the film is satirizing Catholicism, what aspect it is satirizing?
Chosen answer: Many different aspects. For example, George Carlin's character portrays a grandstanding Cardinal who postures for the public. Rufus claims that, as a black man, the Church chose to ignore his role in history, as well as the fact that Christ was black (historians say this is more than likely, but it has never been acknowledged by the Church). The Mooby scene can also be seen as an analogy of the modern Church, obsessed with appearances and maintaining its image more than with the worship of God. Even at the climax, the action that solves the movie involves euthanasia of a terminally ill man, an action that the Church strongly believes is unethical for dogmatic reasons rather than Scripture. There are many more, too many to list here.
Question: I understand that Faramir and Aragorn are both Rangers, but what is a Ranger as depicted in the "Rings" trilogy?
Chosen answer: Not as simple a question as it sounds, as, while Faramir and Aragorn are both described as Rangers, they're actually different types of Ranger. Faramir is one of the Rangers of Ithilien, a Gondorian group who specialise in using guerrilla tactics against the forces of Sauron in the land of Ithilien, between the Anduin river (which runs through Osgiliath) and the Mountains of Shadow that form the western border of Mordor. Aragorn is the current chieftain of the Rangers of the North, who came into being after the fall of the northern kingdom of Arthedain, ruled over by Isildur's descendants. After the loss of Arthedain, the people survived in the wild as the loose-knit organisation known as the Rangers. The two groups are related - both originate from the Dunedain, the long-lived descendants of the survivors of Numenor - but have been seperated for around 3000 years.
Question: How does Smeagol over time becomes the hideous-looking Gollum? Did the One Ring radically changed his appearance? Also, what kind of Hobbit was Smeagol?
Chosen answer: Smeagol was believed to have been a Stoor, a branch of the hobbits known for being quite large and strong (by hobbit standards). His mutation is because of the Ring - precise reason unclear, but almost certainly related to the fact that it has prolonged his life far beyond a normal hobbit span (Gollum is around 580 years old when he dies, easily five times the normal lifespan)- note that Bilbo, who, while old, is still within a normal hobbit lifespan, looks physically normal. Smeagol, through use of the Ring, has been influenced by the wraithworld, in exactly the same manner that the kings of men who were given the nine rings ultimately became the Nazgul - in time, he would presumably have become a wraith-like being like them. Gollum's current appearance may be some intermediate stage.
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Answer: The character that you see is actually Blaise Zabini and he is standing with Goyle not Crabbe. Harry turned into Goyle in Chamber of Secrets and Ron turns into Crabbe. The actor who played Crabbe was actually arrested for growing marijuana in his home so the director had to replace him.