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: Carmichael died at his home. Was it his ghost or something else that John saw in the house as it was burning?

Answer: It was implied to be his "spirit" or "soul" that John saw.

TedStixon

Question: Where were Lonnie's friends from the first movie and why didn't they appear in the 1978 flashback?

Answer: The flashback occurs some time after the ending of the first movie. They likely just separated in the meantime.

TedStixon

Answer: It was hard finding information about this. Director Mark Lester fired Wings Hauser the first day of shooting because he didn't think Hauser clicked as a maniacal counterbalance to Schwarzenegger's larger-than-life portrayal of Matrix. Hauser claims he was not actually fired, which may technically be accurate. Last-minute cast changes are not unusual. A classic example is Michael J. Fox replacing Eric Stoltz in Back to the Future. Viggo Mortensen replaced Stuart Townsend as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings because Peter Jackson felt Townsend appeared nervous and unsure about the role.

raywest

Question: The Beast accuses Maurice of coming to "stare at the Beast", as if people know about him. So why do the townspeople not believe there is a Beast, until Belle shows them with the mirror?

Answer: It's doubtful the Beast was completely aware of what the villagers actually knew or believed about him. Typically, people become divided in their beliefs. Some may have been convinced there was a monster living in the castle, while others completely dismissed it as mere legend.

raywest

Question: This is more of a general question for the franchise. What happens if Jedi discover children who have Force ability, but they are in stable, happy families? We see situations where Jedi were found as orphans, i.e. after battles, or a parent is glad to give their child a better life, as Shmi Skywalker did. But this can't be the case for everyone.

Answer: Jedi don't only go for the ones that are orphans, but they are the most likely to be taken in by the order, since they offer them a home and goal in life. When a child is showing he or she is force-sensitive, any legal guardian could or would contact the Jedi to find out more, possibly allow that child to be trained to become a Jedi, but it is not required. The order is basically a boarding school, or military school; the younglings can still see their parents, but not for too long. It's the choice of the parents, and later the child itself, whether or not to continue with the training. During the time of the Republic, the Jedi order even checked children for force-sensitivity and consulted the parents about training to gain new recruits.

lionhead

Question: Is a witch or wizard basically powerless without a wand? If so, could a Muggle, maybe one who has a magical family member, perform magic if they picked up a wand and tried a spell?

Answer: They can perform magic without wands, though on a more limited basis. The books mention wizards and witches performing "wandless magic". Students even received some training in this. Also, a Muggle cannot use a wand to cast any spells. Only a witch or wizard can use magic. The wand just channels their powers.

raywest

Question: What place was the Beast a Prince of? Considering that Maurice had to inform the other villagers about a castle in the woods. The village is not extremely far from the castle, apparently. Belle gets there soon enough when she wants to return, after helping her father. Were the villagers not ruled over by the Beast's parents?

Answer: One possibility is that this property belonged to the Prince. This could explain why the witch asked him for shelter, instead of asking a parent.

Answer: It's never specified that the Beast's family were rulers. Until 1789, France was ruled by one king. Lower-ranking royals may have had titles and lived in castles, but it did not mean they held any political power or position. Some royals or aristocrats can hold a ceremonial or appointed role in a country's specific region. For example, Prince William of England is also the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry is the Duke of Sussex, but they do not "rule" those areas. Also, this is a fairytale, so details are deliberately vague and generalized.

raywest

Question: Otho says he was a paranormal researcher until "the bottom dropped out in '72." What does that mean - specifically, what happened in 1972?

Answer: He's probably referring to the 1960s Hippie counter-culture when people were into quasi-trends like the paranormal, séances, mysticism, occultism, ESP, astrology, Eastern philosophy, etc. Those fads faded by the early 70s, diminishing Otho's clientele.

raywest

Question: Why does Charles insist on referring to Delia as Lydia's mother, not stepmother? Even when he and Lydia are alone. (For example, the moment when he thinks Lydia is wearing one of the bedsheets, pretending to be a ghost.)

Answer: Charles is trying to force Lydia into accepting Delia as her mother, making his own life easier if his wife and daughter get along. Lydia resents Delia and does not consider her as family, and certainly not as her mother.

raywest

Answer: I think Delia actually is Lydia's mother, at least in this movie. They don't get along, so Lydia rebels by pretending that Delia is a stepmother.

Question: Given that they live down south in Mississippi and it's Summer, when the judge walks up to Atticus' porch, he's fanning himself and Atticus says, "It's rather warm, isn't it?" If so, why is Atticus wearing a suit (OK) and a sweater? I get the suit, it's his work clothes, but a sweater?

Family5

Answer: The film is set in Maycomb, Georgia. There's no explanation, so any answer is speculation. However, Atticus usually wore a three-piece suit, so it was a vest, not a sweater. The suit was likely a lightweight material and was a typical style of the era. Atticus probably considered it a more professional look for a lawyer. Most likely this was a movie wardrobe decision, giving Atticus a scholarly appearance and persona throughout the film, even if in reality, it wasn't practical.

raywest

Question: Why didn't Dr Grant hide the eggs somewhere where the raptors could've sniffed them out? It would've bought them some time as the raptors would then have spent their time looking for the eggs.

Answer: That probably would have made more sense, but it would have made for a less dramatic ending where the raptors confront everyone. The whole concept of the raptors hunting down a few missing eggs out of a large clutch is ridiculous. It's all about storytelling, not reality.

raywest

Question: When they return to the plane, Alan and Billy start questioning Paul about when he climbed the mountain and then realized that he was lying about Kirby Enterprises. How did they figure out he was talking a complete load of rubbish?

Answer: Paul had claimed that he and his wife often did adventure tours like the Galapagos Islands, the Nile, climbing K-2, etc. When Alan and Billy observed him awkwardly struggling to put his backpack on, they became suspicious and started quizzing him.

raywest

Question: Gaston tells Belle that she will end up as a beggar if she does not get married. I know this is a fantasy setting, but in similar settings, couldn't an unmarried woman still inherit property?

Answer: Gaston is trying to intimidate her into marrying him. If she did inherit father's home someday, it's likely that she could sell the property and go to Paris or another place with a larger population. Women could work a variety of low-paying jobs. Still not an ideal life, but better than growing old in the village and having very limited options.

Question: What was the point of changing "Twin Pines Mall" into "Lone Pine Mall"? This change doesn't affect the series' plot at all, so what was the reason behind it?

Answer: Just to show how actions in the past have had a knock on effect on the future, giving audiences a heads up that things have been changed. Alternatively just a fun thing for audiences to notice.

Answer: It's a small but noticeable change in the timeline as a result of Marty's time travel. The first we see when he returns to 1985, confirming that his actions have altered the present. It was originally called "Twin Pines Mall" because there were originally two pine trees; Doc reminisces about "Old Man Peabody" trying to breed pine trees on the land where the mall stood. When Marty travels back to the same place in 1955, it's Peabody's farm, and making his escape, he runs over one of the two pines (and we see the mailbox with the name "Peabody" on it). Therefore, when he returns to 1985 having destroyed one pine, the mall is now "Lone Pine Mall", because in the new, altered present, there was only one pine tree, not two.

Question: Charlie rings Lucinda's workplace and they put him through to her. But later he finds out she's just a temp called Jane, how does that work?

Answer: The operator put him through to "Lucinda" on the phone because there is a REAL Lucinda that works there and Jane (who posed as Lucinda) was her temp who filled in for her supposedly when Lucinda was away. So the operator simply patched Charles' call to Lucinda's office, and Jane answered. It was either lucky for Jane that Lucinda was away at the time, or maybe Lucinda was away on business for a given amount of time, and Jane took advantage of that.

Question: Spoilers. The end of the movie shows Meg at home, apparently surviving the ordeal. In the final frames, though, we see the eviscerated body of Meg wearing the same clothes she wore in the final fight. How did Meg get zombified? Every other zombie monster had to go through the breach machine to transform, but Meg was still human at the time the machine was destroyed.

Answer: Sorry, no answer here, but at the end I was left with the same questions. I gave this a watch because the music was supposed to be directed by a member of the Canadian band RUSH. I'm not a fan of zombie flicks, so I don't know the rules or conventions, but I do remember a long and tedious scene toward the end where the demented scientist was explaining to the sheriff how the breach device works and what he was trying to do.

Question: Why did King Triton initially dislike humans?

Answer: He doesn't know, trust, or understand humans, who would be considered a potential threat to the oceans and its inhabitants.

raywest

Answer: He has an arrogant, power-hungry personality. As the situation with the medicine gets worse, he doesn't want to lose admiration from the humans and other dogs.

Question: Why was Sam upset over Carl's death?

Answer: They were close friends. I also think Sam is more upset over Carl's deception and greed that ultimately destroyed both of their lives. Carl's death was also pretty brutal, which disturbed Sam when it happened.

Phaneron

Question: Surely the rest of the Mafia would seek revenge on Corleone for the death of Don Fanucci, right?

Rob245

Answer: Not really. It's more fully explained in a scene from the novel that was filmed but ultimately cut: Vito witnesses Fanucci get attacked by two street youths, who slit his throat from ear to ear (he survives, but with a scar). No one comes to Fanucci's aid and the youths are not hunted down, and Vito deduces that Fanucci is not well-connected at all, as if he was really a Mafia Don, no-one would dare attack him so publicly. This, combined with Fanucci's threat to report Vito and his friends to the police (something no mafioso would ever do, if they had real power), convinces Vito that Fanucci can be dealt with without retribution, and he is correct.

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