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: Andy Dufrense sent the accounting ledger to the Portland Daily Bugle, this is how they found out about the fraud schemes, but how did they find out about the murder of Tommy Williams? It was in the headline "Corruption, Murder at Shawshank"

Answer: The information about Tommy's death was in the letter that Andy sent along with the ledger. In it, he explained everything that was happening at Shawshank. He sent the accounting ledger as well because he knew that: a)without proof, the letter would be ignored and: b)that the fraud and corruption would be the only thing that would actually get the warden and Hadley arrested as there was no proof of Tommy's murder.

Guy

Question: What is the name of the song playing during the opening scene?

Answer: Perfect Day by Hoku.

Bobbert

Question: What exactly is Bob's job at the start of the film? I know it's something about insurance.

Answer: Bob works in the claims department, dealing with clients who are making a claim on their insurance policy, deciding whether their claims are valid and paying out (or not) accordingly.

Tailkinker

Question: Can anyone explain to me the scene in which Wayne is pulled over by a cop and shown a picture? I know it's supposed to be funny, but I don't get the joke.

Answer: You presumably haven't seen Terminator 2. The actor playing the cop is Robert Patrick, who played the shape-shifting T-1000 in that movie, who masqueraded as a policeman for most of the film. The T-1000's mission was to track down and terminate a boy - hence the "have you seen this boy" line that he says to Wayne.

Tailkinker

Question: Why do Wolverine's previously healed wounds open again after he 'lends' his power to Rouge to save her life, and why don't all the injuries he has sustained throughout his life open up again?

Answer: These are the wounds that he's sustained during his fight with Sabretooth - while his healing power has closed them up, they're not fully healed yet. As such, when the power goes to Rogue, they're able to open back up. Earlier wounds have had the time to completely heal, so they don't reappear.

Tailkinker

Question: Why did they change the geography of Hogwarts (Hagrid's hut, Whomping Willow, etc.) if it would just annoy people?

Answer: They didn't do it with the assumption that it would annoy people; like anything, they knew some people would like it and others wouldn't. But that was one of the things they decided could be changed when Alfonso Cuaron took over as director. His vision was different from that of Chris Columbus, and it was now Cuaron's movie.

Krista

Question: If you go to "Index" on Disc one of the DVD, it lists that on Disc Two there is a feature called "Vowellet : An Essay by Sarah Vowell." However I have searched and searched Disc Two, and I can't find it. Can someone tell me how to find it?

Hamster

Chosen answer: It is in the 'behind the scenes' chapter.

Dr Wilson

Question: Towards the end, just after we find out the Eliza Dushku changed herself a bit too, after she says "no kidding" to Dizzy, what does he say? I can't make it out, and that line's not subtitled on the DVD.

Jon Sandys

Chosen answer: He says "I owe you one" in Albanian, like Eliza's character did earlier in the movie.

Question: When the guards appear at Shrek's door, they are all lined up and blowing their trumpets. When they are finished, one of them on the end starts playing a tune. The leader goes to him, slaps him and says, "Quiet, Reggie." Does anyone know what this refers to?

Paul Pepiton

Chosen answer: The music he's playing is the main them from the seventies television serie "Hawaii Five-0". The name is just a random one.

Dr Wilson

Answer: The name "Reggie" as well as the joke comes from a Fred Astaire film "Damsel in Distress" in which a character named Reggie breaks out into jazz during fanfares repeatedly in the film.

Question: Sid Hudgens uses the phrase "Off the record, on the q.t., and very hush-hush." What does "q.t." stand for?

Cubs Fan

Chosen answer: "QT" is slang which literally means "quiet" and it is also used as a police radio term which means "secrecy required regarding location."

Super Grover

Chosen answer: Yes, Dudley Smith was Irish.

Mark English

Question: I was startled by the authentic-appearing emotion on Hugo Weaving's face at the coronation scene when he told Arwen to "Go to him." Is he that good an actor, was there a real emotion running through the scene, or was he simply exhausted by the whole thing?

scwilliam

Chosen answer: According to commentary, they reshot this part of the scene and these particular shots were done in pickups, long after the shoot in New Zealand ended, so exhaustion had nothing to do with it. Hugo Weaving is simply a good actor, receiving direction from a good director.

Super Grover

Question: I know that the infamous third arm shot in the helicopter can be explained by being able to morph another arm, but has James Cameron or any of the actors from the film ever commented on the extra arm?

Lummie

Chosen answer: A member of the production team mentions on the Ultimate Edition DVD commentary that this was indeed an intentional effect.

Question: My gripe is why did the doctor cut off his foot to get to the phone/gun? He was of mind enough to use his shirt to tie around his leg - why not use his shirt to retrieve the phone/gun. Also can't mobile phones set to receive only still make calls to directory enquiries and emergency services?

Answer: It is doubtful there can be a precise correct answer to this, unless you happen to be the screenwriter. However, it can be presumed that the doctor resorted to the skills he had down cold, almost automatic, as opposed to attempting any further creative problem-solving because he was at his wits' end, in a very traumatic situation. He knows how to tourniquet and amputate.

Rooster of Doom

Answer: Dr Gordon had been mentally abused for close to 8 hours by this point. As the situation got more grave he resorts to more drastic (and quicker) methods to try and win his game to save his family. We are shown throughout later films that FBI agent Hoffman (who doesn't appear on screen until Saw 3) is working with Jigsaw at this point already, so has access to high end tech. Enough to manipulate a phone's abilities.

Ssiscool

Answer: So he could escape.

The question wasn't why he cut off his foot. It was why he didn't use his shirt to retrieve the gun.

Question: They talk about how Nightcrawler may accidentally teleport himself into a wall. What would have happened if he did?

Answer: If he appears within the wall, he would die. The structure of a wall is solid so his body including his organs and so on would only appear (or materialise) within cracks and gaps within the wall. Something could not "instantly form" within a solid area.

Baz94

Question: What was the significance of Frank wearing the rabbit suit? Was it because the face was supposed to stick in Donnie's mind so he'd remember what he had to do? I can't think of any logical reason why he'd have to wear the suit to accomplish his mission.

Answer: According to the DVD special features, people who die in the alternate universe (the Manipulated Dead) have more power and self-awareness than those who live throughout. The supernatural force that appoints Donnie to end the alternate universe adopts Frank's face because a) he wants a form that Donnie can interact with and b) as a Manipulated Dead Frank has more understanding of what is going on and maybe wants to help. The costume is necessary because it's an essential part of Frank's character as a dead person - it's what he was wearing when he died - and also because it's so alien Donnie will understand that he's dealing with things beyond normal ken.

Phoenix

Question: Why does Creasy almost kill himself in the beginning of the movie? How does Creasy die at the end of the movie?

Answer: Creasy was a contract assassin for the CIA. His downfall was his drinking because it affected his reaction time and so forth. He had a lot of bad memories he was trying to live with. He considered this bodyguard assignment to be a blow off assignment. This and his bad memories combined with his drinking problem, made him severely depressed. This is why he considered killing himself. At the end of the movie, you see Creasy being taken away in a car. His gunshot wound from the "Voice's" brother, along with his prior gunshot wounds that were never properly treated, had finally gotten the best of him. He was bleeding the whole last half of the movie because he never fully recovered from the gunshot wounds. So, to answer the question of why he died, he bled to death.

Answer: He wanted to kill himself because of his past. Hence- "will God ever forgive us for what we have done?" His friend answered "no"

Question: My son and I believe that, in Harry's photo album and the magic Mirror, Lily and James Potter are played by J.K. Rowling and a friend of hers named "Sean" who is said to be the inspiration for Ron Weasley's character. Can anyone confirm/deny?

Answer: According to J.K. Rowling on her official site (www.jkrowling.com), the filmmakers asked her to play Lily, but she felt she "would have messed it up somehow". IMDb credits Geraldine Somerville as Lily and Adrian Rawlins as James.

Kathy Tjarks

Question: Why did Pussy Galore join the good side? Was she a American undercover agent?

Answer: If I understand correctly Bond and Ms. Galore had a romantic encounter and during that Bond explained the full intent of Goldfinger (killing all the innocent people at Ft. Knox)to her. Apparently willing to go along with the theft of the gold at Ft. Knox, Ms. Galore was unwilling to go along with mass murder.

Mark English

Question: Does anyone know what that thing is that Dr. Scott examines intently while he's sitting in the Zen room?

The Doctor

Chosen answer: It's a joint that is clipped in a "roach clip."

wolfchild

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