Answered 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: When Cary Lowell arrives at the religious compound run by Wayne Newton to "donate" money, they don't let her in at first. She begs and says "But I came all the way from Wichita Falls." Being from Wichita Falls, Texas (a city not real well known throughout the US since it's relatively small) I'm curious as to how this line got into the film. Does someone working on the film have some connection to Wichita Falls?

Answer: Just why they chose this city is not known. It was probably chosen for an inside reason, i.e. one of the writers or producers was from there, and they wanted to give a nod to their hometown.

raywest

Question: There are two prisoners wearing chains and only underpants inside the prison; they were dancing and the guitar was being played. Can someone please tell me how the men who have chains on their legs remove their trousers for washing, them and their trousers?

kh1616

Chosen answer: Either the guards removed the chains so the prisoners could take the pants off to wash them or this is a movie mistake.

raywest

Answer: In the novel, Donn Pearce gives quite a detailed description of the method that the chain wearing prisoners went through to remove their pants without removing the chains. It is a very difficult procedure to follow but it was probably true as his account is based on serving time on the chain gang depicted in the movie.

Question: Queen Victoria made Phileas realize that he won the wager because it was still day 79. If she knew that Phileas arrived a day early, how come everybody else in London, including Lord Kelvin, thought it was actually day 80 and that he lost the wager when the tower bells began to ring?

Answer: In reality, it would be impossible that so many people would make this mistake. However, it serves the movie's plot for the error to be discovered by one person at the last moment because it provides an unexpected upset to a perceived outcome. In this case, it was by Queen Victoria, which added an additional twist.

raywest

Chosen answer: There was no explanation about why she did not attend.

raywest

The Euclid Alternative - S2-E5

Question: Though it comes up in other episodes as well, this one is focused on Sheldon needing a ride everywhere he goes because he can't drive, not to mention his not being welcome on the bus. Of course, this story element would be nonexistent if there was a simple answer, but it does beg the question: Does Pasadena not have taxicabs?

MFWills

Chosen answer: It does. The variable cleanliness of the cab and the habit of taxi drivers to engage customers in small talk would be too much for Sheldon to handle, and not an option for him.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: Sheldon DID finally use a taxi when going to the airport to see and propose to Amy in New Jersey.

Question: How did Ramirez know who the DNA on the Joker card belonged to (the commissioner, the judge, and Dent), considering that their DNA would have had to be in the system for comparative analysis? My understanding is that only criminals are in the system. The obvious answer is she had insider information but the bigger question is why would Gordon or any respectable police agency not question this fact?

Answer: It's possible that the Gotham Police Department works differently and most citizens of Gotham are in the system. It's also quite common that everybody involved with the police (commissioners, and former policemen included) has a DNA sample taken in case of accidental crime scene contagion. The judge could be in the system simply because she had her DNA taken as a youth for a small offence.

lionhead

Question: At the very end, how did the predators not know that their wounded rescuee had an alien inside of him? After all, he was able to see one inside Miller before he was shot by Alexa.

Answer: They simply didn't scan their fallen comrade for a xenomorph. Mostly because he was wearing his mask and they didn't know he had taken it off and been incubated.

lionhead

Question: I have seen the movie several times, but I cannot figure this out. Why does Jim want to steal items from his own house in order to get money for a car? If the plan had been successful, his father would probably find it strange that he had money for a car after their house was robbed. Especially because Jim's father is aware that Jim wants a car, since Jim complained about his father being too "cheap" to buy him one. Would it not make more sense to rob another person's house?

Answer: If the robbery had been successful, Jim would have been able to accuse Edward of robbing the house with his friends backing him up. Jim probably would have kept the car at a friend's house to avoid suspicion. Since the house belongs to Jim's father, nobody would question him going inside. If Jim and his friends tried to rob someone else's house, there would be the chance that somebody would be home or that a burglar alarm could go off and alert the neighbors and the police.

Answer: Jim also quotes "we could a lot of money off this thing" stating he could steal the car, sell it and get enough money to buy his own car without suspicion.

The question covers this. Jim's father probably *would* be suspicious. Jim was complaining about wanting a car, so it would be strange if there was a robbery, and then he got a car. His father would probably wonder how he paid for it.

Answer: Cast Away was filmed on an island called Monuriki. It's part of a group of islands called the Mamanuca Islands, in Fiji.

Question: What is the song at the end of the film when they revealing how they stole the egg on the train? It was an homage to in-a-gadda-da-vida (the keyboard/bass solo bits). It is not the song on the soundtrack called "the real story" nor any other song on it. Thanks.

Kenneth Brown

Chosen answer: "Rito a Los Angeles" by Giuseppe de Luca.

Bishop73

Question: When Jim tells Kim to ask Edward to help them break into his house, Kim says asking him wasn't fair. What did she mean?

JohnShel91

Chosen answer: Kim knows that Edward loves her and will do anything that she asks of him. She is hesitant to ask him to commit a crime. Edward will know that the robbery is a bad idea, but will go through with it anyway, if it will make Kim happy. She knows this and does not want to take advantage of him.

Question: Why did the people want to kill the governor in the first place?

Answer: Her husband wanted her dead so that he could further his own political aims and step in as her replacement. She was unpopular enough that he was able to find plenty of co-conspirators to go along.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: When being questioned by police at the beginning, Tony says he did time for 'buying dollars'. Does this mean he traded for US dollars, and if he did, what did he hand over in exchange?

Answer: It meant that he was buying US dollars from tourists or businesspeople and selling them to refugees who are willing to pay far above the normal exchange rate to have American money for when they attempt to flee Cuba to America. At the time, the Cuban Peso was supposed to have an exchange rate of 1:1 with the American Dollar, but offering someone 2-3 Cuban pesos per American one, then turning around and selling the American ones for 10-20 pesos each adds up. It's a "safe crime" to tell them he was in prison for, rather than being a killer.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: With all of the technology in the "Star Wars" universe, could Padme and Anakin really not know that she was pregnant with twins? Even our real-life technology usually makes women aware of this before the pregnancy is half over.

Answer: The level of technology within the Star Wars franchise is never fully explained within the films; also, most of the technology depicted deals with non-medical applications. Padme was also trying to keep her pregnancy secret since Jedi were not allowed to marry or become parents at the time this film is set within the Star Wars canon, so it's likely she rarely, if ever, saw the SW equivalent of a doctor during her pregnancy.

zendaddy621

Answer: Given that she gives birth at the end there is a 9 month time frame to work with. The pair could have easily seen a doctor and learned of the twins. Since it is not really the primary focus of this film we can pretty much assume anything.

This seems very unlikely. Anakin refers to "the baby" throughout the movie. And until the incident on Mustafar, there is no reason why Padme would pretend to only be pregnant with one baby. She doesn't even believe that he changed/turned until she goes to Mustafar.

Show generally

Question: I know that this is a cartoon, but could Hank and Peggy really produce a blonde son, with both them having brown hair?

Answer: Parents, even if they each have brown hair and brown eyes, can produce a blonde, blue-eyed child if they both carry the recessive genes for those traits.

raywest

Answer: In addition to the answer by Raywest, some children have blonde or dark blonde hair that turns brown as they grow. My own brother was like this. His hair was more of a dark blonde, then turned brown in his late teens.

Question: Near the end, when Nux flips the War Rig, the Doof Wagon smashes into it and the guitar is flung forward. What happened to the Doof Warrior that was playing the guitar?

Answer: Presumably he is killed. He is attached to the truck with bungee cords and has no protection from the force of impact in the crash, which is sufficient to break the rig into pieces. There is no way he could have survived the crash.

Question: In Dana's bedroom, after she's possessed, there's a picture next to her bed. Is that Reagan from The Exorcist?

Answer: I watched clips from both movies to compare the images. The picture of the little girl next to Dana's bed looks a little like Regan from the Exorcist, but the hair styles are different enough to conclude that it is not. Regan had longer and straighter hair while the girl in the photo has shorter and bushier locks.

raywest

Question: How is it that Rodan flew supersonic speeds but you only see him flap his wings to take off? Also how did he leave a vapor trail at high altitude?

Answer: The movie was made in the 1950s when special effects barely existed and were primitive at best. This is also a Japanese-made movie, and their film industry, at that time, was far less sophisticated than Western movies. Audiences then were expected to employ a "suspension of disbelief" while watching a Sci-fi movie, accepting that what they were seeing was implausible or crudely done, but it told the story. Audiences know that Rodan could not have taken off at supersonic speeds merely by flapping its wings or left a vapor trail at high altitude, but just accept that it adds to the overall illusion of what is supposed to be happening.

raywest

Question: Robbie's soldier friend (I think his name was Nettle) was so calm and compassionate with him. He said that the hiding place was in reality the beach cottage and he protects Robbie from the angry soldiers. Did he do that because he saw how sick he is and probably knew, deep inside, that Robbie will not survive the night until the evacuation, and wanted to give him a peaceful end? Why does he take Robbie's letters and pictures with him?

Answer: I think he realizes that Robbie most likely won't make it. He takes the letters so that he can get them back to his loved ones. He probably knows that there is a last goodbye to someone (his girl/his mother) in them. And, if nothing else, even if his body doesn't make it back to them, they have a piece of him to cherish.

Chosen answer: The med pod was intended for Weyland's use after he was awakened from being in stasis.

raywest

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