Question: If Severus Snape could probe Harry's mind during the private lessons in this movie, why didn't he know certain other things about Harry in the previous movies/books - such as the fact that Harry really did *not* steal gillyweed from his stores (for the second Triwizard Tournament task)?
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: The original couch changes skirts somewhere along the line. The new skirt is beige (does not match the overall material like the original) and appears to be a couple of inches taller than the original. I surmise either Rosanne or John have back issues and the couch legs were increased so to raise the level of the seating. What was the reason?
Answer: Clearly, the only person who could truly answer this question would be a set designer for the series, or someone else directly connected to the series who would have this kind of detailed information. I looked on IMDb.com and Cheryl Lanner is credited as set designer through 1997. I quickly found her Facebook page, and I directed your question to her. After some time, Ms. Lanner has replied as follows: "I decorated the last season 1/2 but after 9 seasons the sofa just plain got worn out and had to be repaired from 8 years of usage. There was a board put on the sofa but as I've said, it was due to so much usage. If they had back problems I was unaware of them, but you can be assured that if that was the problem it would have been fixed immediately. Take care Michael!"
Answer: One episode of season seven has a moment when Dan hops over the couch and breaks one end of it. The board was probably added so they could keep using it like nothing happened.
Question: Originally all 6 crew members were initially going down to check on Mars oxygen level (including Carrie Ann Moss) but she had to stay behind to manually orbit the 5 guys out. How were they all planning to make it back to their spaceship if she had tagged along in the first place?
Answer: The ship (Mars-1) was hit by a solar flare that damaged several systems including the launch system (which is why Moss Bowman had to stay behind to launch the MEV [Mars Entry Vehicle.] manually). The MEV's guidance system was also damaged, causing it to crash and resulting in further damage. So all going well, Bowman and Santen would have piloted the MEV there and back, but due to the flare they had to find another way back to the ship.
Question: Was Mrs. Collins' son ever found?
Answer: No. He was murdered at age nine. The movie uses creative license to bring up the suspicion that he could have somehow survived to create a dramatic hope in the end. Moreover, the killer was very unstable and retracted his testimony more than once. There is no solid proof of the boy surviving the killings. The police even found partial evidence of Walter Collins at the burial site. See the Wikipedia article for more information.
Question: When Bill asks Rufus why they didn't land in the San Dimas of tomorrow, Rufus said it's because they had to dial one number higher. Could someone please give an example of this?
Answer: Hard to give an example without knowing for sure how it works, but the best guess is say the number was 555-1234 then it may be 555-1235 or 666-2345. Just a guess.
Question: When Ambassador Standish fires his gun, causing himself to burst into flames, what happens to the bullet fired at Lord Blackwood from, what appears to be, roughly 20 feet away?
Answer: The gun was modified to where it would not fire a bullet. It remained in the barrel.
Question: Except for Remus Lupin in this movie, it seems as though the Hogwarts teachers do not use the Hogwarts Express. How do they arrive at and leave the school?
Answer: There's a variety of ways that wizards can travel including magical vehicles (like the motorcycle that Hagrid drove), broomsticks, port keys, or riding flying animals (like a hippogriff or the threstrals). They could also use floo powder if their fireplace was connected to the floo network like Umbridge had in her office. The other teachers can certainly travel on the Hogwarts Express, and some probably do but just aren't shown. In the book, "Half-Blood Prince", Professor Slughorn rode the train and some teachers live at the school year round.
Answer: They can apparate whenever they want (as seen in Half Blood Prince).
Some can Apparate, but it's tricky and uncomfortable. In one of the books, Arthur Weasley mentions that many wizards don't like to Apparate. They prefer other ways to travel. Broomsticks, port keys, etc.
Question: Just after Ripley finds out from mother "crew expendable", she has a run-in with Ash, but he doesn't hurt her - she hurts him - so why does she have a bloody nose?
Answer: The reason for the nosebleed was a deleted scene from the film. Ripley, in her attempt to escape from Ash, opened a hatch into a corridor which had been previously damaged by the alien (also a deleted scene) and wasn't supposed to be used. She suffered depressurization and retreated back and closed the hatch before looking for another escape route. That is what caused the nosebleed.
Chosen answer: Some people are prone to bloody noses without actually being physically hurt. Extreme emotional stress or physical exertion can trigger it by breaking small blood vessels in the nasal passages. She could also have bumped her head at some point off screen and had a delayed reaction.
Question: Has anyone ever tried zooming in on the various photographs on the walls of The Overlook, other than the final scene one? I bet Kubrick has placed crazy details in those too.
Answer: The pictures in Danny's room are pictures of bears. Going along with the motif of bears throughout the film.
Question: Why use a 1965 Lincoln with a 1963 front clip? No limo like that was made in 1963.
Answer: The front clip is from a 1961 Lincoln presumably to make the car more correct for when the story takes place. However, the limousine was made by Lehmann-Peterson which did not begin production of the cars until 1963.
Question: According to the Harry Potter Lexicon website (http://www.hp-lexicon.org/timelines/calendars/calendar_cs.html), exams would have taken place on June 3rd if Dumbledore had not cancelled them. But the students would go home on June 19th. My question is, what would students do between the 3rd and the 19th if there were no exams?
Answer: Swim in the lake, pack up their things, spend time with friends. As mentioned in later books, there are days when some students do not have exams while others are writing too.
Question: How and where did Quin get a hacksaw to cut the pontoons off the WWII plane that crashed up in the trees?
Answer: They were on the run from the pirates at that point, he didn't have his tool bag with him. I presumed he found it on the Japanese WW2 plane but I'm not so sure a hacksaw was standard issue to a Japanese WW2 pilot but eh who cares, love the movie anyway.
Question: How did Jason know where Jarda, the last treadstone agent, lived? How do they know each other?
Answer: Either they trained together or just felt some comradeship as Treadstone assets. Jarda says "Word in the ether was you'd lost your memory" to which Bourne replies "You still should have moved", implying that prior to Bourne's amnesia he knew of the safehouse where Jarda lived. Also, in the first film, Bourne accessed the safehouse in Paris where Nicky Parsons managed Treadstone logistics, there could have been data on agent locations there.
Question: How does the "timeline loop" with the kid becoming the mob boss (and looking to kill Bruce Willis 30 years later) start? If it gets started by "old" Bruce Willis killing the kid's (future mob boss) mother, and getting him very angry and revengeful, because Willis wants to revenge the death of its wife by the future mob boss... Then it is a chicken and egg problem.
Chosen answer: The first time the time-loop occurred it is not necessarily due to Bruce Willis' character killing her. She could have died in another way, instigating the timeline in which Bruce Willis is taken to close his loop. He knows who the rainmaker is and therefore attempts to kill him in order to preserve his happy future. This in turn creates a brand new timeline in which Joe kills himself to save Sara, who in turn prevents the rainmaker from becoming a crime lord.
Question: Which episodes feature the "Howling Dog" (usually used on outside shots of buildings)?
Question: So Batman rides the Bat-cycle into the alley in order to get to the Bat and fly away from the cops when he returns from exile. What happens then to the Bat-cycle? It doesn't seem like the Bat-pod has room to carry it and there's nowhere in the alley to hide it. Batman also doesn't set it to self-destroy (assuming that's an option as with the Bat-pod) so does he just leave it there?
Chosen answer: He hides it away, presumably in the modified shipping container that we see him retrieve it from later on, once he returns to the city from captivity. Having left the Bat there so that he can use it if necessary, it would make sense that he'd also prepare somewhere to hide the Bat-pod when he changed vehicles to avoid having to leave it for the police.
Question: There is a metal "something" on top on the radio in the living room of Ralphie's home. Can you tell me what it is?
Answer: It's a decorative metal bowl/vessel. They were fairly common in the 1930s. It's a bowing trophy bar set. I have one like it. http://garagesalin.blogspot.com/2010/08/bo-ling-or-happy-marriage.html.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: There are two possible answers to this question. A) Snape was so convinced of Harry's guilt that he felt it would be a waste of time to use Legilimens. B) It takes a lot of energy to properly use Legilimens so Snape decided it was not worth his effort to find out if Harry was telling the truth about trivial happenings around the castle.
kristenlouise3