Question: The scene in the movie with everything about Saruman is not true to the book, and even though there will be more scenes in the extended version, all this is not correct. Saruman's palantir and staff are actually taken by Gandalf, and Saruman is let out by Treebeard. Saruman later dies in the Shire, after the fellowship sees him on their way back home. Why is all this info being changed, couldn't they have put all this in the extended version? If all this was not filmed for the movie, why wasn't it?
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: What is the "million dollar wound" Forrest says he he got while rescuing Lt.Dan?
Answer: He's refering to being shot in the butt. They called it a million dollar wound because it didn't do any real permanent damage, but the solider would still be taken to a hospital and sent home from Vietnam. It was a great relief to get a million dollar wound rather than be killed or permanently maimed.
Question: Who does the voice-over at the beginning of each episode?
Answer: According to the IMDB, the voiceover is provided by Steven Zirnkilton, who also provided the oppening voiceovers for the other Law & Order series, as well as for the 2003 revival of Dragnet.
Question: When Gandalf is talking Pippin to Minas Tirith, he says it is 'three day's ride, as the Nazgul flies', but how did he know that the Nazgul are now flying using the Fell Beasts to find the ring?
Answer: After Gandalf's resurrection, or whatever the right term is, according to the books, he was rescued from the mountain peak where he fought the Balrog by Gwaihir, the Eagle who helped him escape Isengard (and who subsequently shows up at the battle at Black Gate). Gwaihir is Lord of the Air and is going to be pretty well informed about anything that occurs in his realm. It seems extremely unlikely that he wouldn't know about the Fell Beasts, and, as it's a pretty significant piece of tactical knowledge, he would undoubtedly have informed Gandalf of this new development.
Question: Can someone please explain to me the whole intern class of 2003 thing, and the fact that it said Elle's law school class was the class of 2004?
Answer: Elle was in the Law School class of 2003 which graduated in Spring 2003. She became an intern in Fall 2003 thus 2003 Intern. At the end of the first movie, she is signing up new students for the Blonde Legal Defense Club under a sign that says "Welcome Class of 2004", but this is at the beginning of her second year - the new students are 2004, she is 2003.
None of that happened in any of the movies. I'm confused. Elle graduated the class of 2004 in the first movie, but the second movie takes place in 2003.
Question: Just to clear something up. Dietrich and Sasha are meant to be brother and sister, so what does the kiss mean? (In Dietrich's loft apartment, during the shootout, just after Dietrich is shot in the neck). Are they actually brother and sister, or is it a sham? Or does the "You look like you just f***ed your mother" joke to Castor Troy have hidden meaning (i.e incest?) Or is it just a last goodbye between siblings?
Answer: It's suggestive as even Archer in the interrogation room when dealing with Dietrich, said "I could talk to your sister again" as he knew it would strike a nerve. This in turn causes Dietrich to make reference to Archers dead son. There's definitely an unsettling under tone with the two.
Answer: Is just a good bye kiss between siblings, nothing more.
Question: I understand that certain changes need to be made when adapting a book to the screen, but can anyone tell me the reason why they so radically changed an ending which would have worked fine as it was in the book?
Answer: The only reason I (and anyone I asked) could find was that, as usual, they discarded the ending though emotionally intense for the sake of another climax full of physical violence after the belief that this is the type of endings people prefer in the movies. Really sad indeed.
Question: The war between humans and machines started because machines needed a source of power and created the Matrix to hold humans in bondage while they were used as batteries. Now that humans are free to leave the Matrix, won't the machines start losing their source of power, causing them to force humans back into bondage, restarting the war?
Answer: The war didn't start because the machines needed a source of power; it had been running for quite some time by then. It was the humans who began the war because they weren't prepared to share a world with sentient machines. This is explained in the animated film "The Animatrix", or also in the supplements on the second disc of the "Matrix Revolutions" DVD. And while it is true that humans are now free to leave the Matrix, there's no guarantee that everyone who is given the choice will choose to leave. Remember Cypher from the first film? He preferred to stay IN the Matrix rather than live in the real world. Many others may do the same. And further still, it may be that most humans WILL choose to leave the Matrix and the machines may break the peace because they are losing their energy source. The Architect alludes to this when he says "How long do you think this peace will last?" and the Oracle responds "As long as it can." There are a myriad possibilities now.
Question: I have heard a rumor that Gibson plans to produce both a prequel and a sequel to The Passion. Does anyone know if this is true or have any information?
Answer: There is going to be another movie; The Resurrection, which could shoot as early as the summer of 2018, the release date will be some time in 2019-2020. I previously watched this movie and felt it left on a cliff hanger, (tho I already know what happens in the end) I figured there has to be another one coming.
Answer: No idea about a sequel, though the only "prequel" idea I know about is the story of the Maccabees (the story of Haunakah (sorry for the spelling)).
Question: During the opening sequence, there are side shots of the incoming choppers that make the choppers appear to be flying backwards. When you see the choppers from the ground, they are flying forwards. Was this intentional?
Answer: The first shot, that looks like the helicopter are moving backwards is a shot within a helicopter. The helicopter that is filming is moving faster than the others making it appear that the others are going in reverse.
Question: Is the clan language American sign language, some other sign language or made up?
Answer: Completely made up. It was too difficult to teach all the actors ASL.
Question: When Jet Li and his wife are in their house after he gets shot after meeting his alter ego that first time, they speak Chinese. what are they saying?
Chosen answer: After he says he will go to the hospital, his wife says "ni shuo de" which simply means "you said so" (so now he has to do it).
Question: Is there any truth in the rumors that there is a subliminal message in the movie for American Express?
Chosen answer: Well if there is it's too subliminal to notice - so no.
Question: Can anyone explain the origin and function of the spectral compass and pendant that Hellboy uses in the graveyard scene? They obviously didn't come through with him, but they're never shown before that in the movie - I figure they must be from the comics.
Chosen answer: Just like the artifact that Abe gives Hellboy, the compass is one of the many magical/supernatural items that the BPRD have aquired over the years. As to function, I would assume that it's used to find bodies that they can talk to (bodies with spirits attached, or who can be contacted on the other side.
Question: Did anyone else see the reflection of an alien's face in the window of the pickup truck as Dreyfus puts up a map against the window right before all the electrical stuff goes out in the car?
Chosen answer: I own the original (not special edition) DVD and I can always freeze the film and point out to people where the alien is and they see it too, but I can never see it when it's on TV or on my friends VHS copy, maybe it's just a 'gift' for the DVD owners?
Question: At the beginning the tracker is quite determined to catch the girls. Later it seems that he deliberately misses their tracks (out of admiration for their cleverness and courage?), but then again he is seen all by himself trying to follow them. Is there any evidence from the book that he wanted them to make it home?
Chosen answer: The Tracker didn't actually want to catch the girls, he only had the job so he could stay close to his daughter in Moore River. He has a lot of admiration for Molly's cleverness, how she covers the tracks and so deliberatly misses the tracks to give the girls a chance.
Question: How can hyperspace work without hitting or going through stars? The Spacecrafts don't turn, so how does it work? This is a problem with most movies with a hyper drive scene.
Question: In theaters, some film reels have subtitles for the scene where Elrond gives Anduril to Aragorn and they say a couple elvish lines - "Onen i-Estel Edain. U-chebin estel anim." - and other film reels do not have subtitles for the elvish. I am wondering what the reason for this would be.
Answer: I encountered this when I saw FOTR the first time in theaters. What happened is that the projector was aimed down too far on the screeen, effectively cutting off the subtitles. They are there on all of the prints, but due to bad projector setup in some theaters, many people didn't get to see these.
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Answer: The entire Scouring of the Shire sequence was never filmed. This was a deliberate choice by the film-makers to prevent the ending of the film from becoming overlong - the climax to the tale is, really, the destruction of the Ring and the fall of Sauron. The theatrical release of the film goes on for at least half an hour after that - to include all the necessary scenes would lengthen the ending of the film to probably around the hour and a half mark - the Scouring is a complex sequence - which is untenable in cinematic terms, even for an extended version. As such, in their version, Saruman dies at Isengard (apparently still at Wormtongue's hands) - this will be seen in the extended cut.
Tailkinker ★