Question: Why does Eddie's mom look the same after 27 years?
TedStixon
7th May 2021
It (1990)
Question: Why didn't Harry Manfredini compose a soundtrack for this movie?
Answer: From what I understand, he basically did little-to-no work on "Part VII: The New Blood" due to scheduling conflicts. A majority of the score for that film was composed by someone else, although Manfredini was credited since some of his compositions and themes were used. When "Jason Takes Manhattan" rolled around, he simply wasn't asked to return, presumably because they assumed he would be too busy like he was with "Part VII." (Which makes sense, as he had four other credited projects he worked on the same year that "Jason Takes Manhattan" came out).
8th Sep 2021
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Question: Was Warren's story about general Smithers' son real, or he was merely making it up in order to provoke him?
Answer: It's honestly been up for debate ever since the film came out, and people still don't have any real consensus. So I don't necessarily think there's a "right" answer. I personally think there may be a kernel of truth to it, but that he also embellished the story greatly to provoke Smithers. (Ex. I wouldn't be surprised if the sexual assault was completely fabricated).
I think that this story is at least partially true because Warren knew the full name of Smithers' son.
13th Sep 2021
Curse of Chucky (2013)
Question: Why didn't Nica use the video cam footage to prove innocence?
27th Oct 2021
Saw V (2008)
Question: The MPAA rating for this movie lists among its reasons "partial nudity." Am I missing something, or was this reason categorically false? The only thing approaching brief nudity I could spot in this film are the crime scene photos and flashback of Hoffman's slain sister, in which she is wearing a spaghetti strap top, and even then, there's hardly any cleavage.
Answer: Honestly, the only other scene I can think of is the opening scene, where the victim is a man wearing nothing but underwear. I guess that would be the other instance of "partial nudity" in the film. In truth, the MPAA seems to really have it out for horror movies in general (just look at all the terrible stories about the "Friday the 13th" movies being butchered by the MPAA), so they were probably just purposely being over-harsh and considering people in undergarments to be "partial nudity."
9th Nov 2021
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Question: When she calls for her dad, and he comes to the door he has issues opening it. Is it me or are the handles on the wrong side of the door? The switch to the deadbolt is on the outside of the house. And if the locks are on the outside, why are they like that, and why does the dad not notice this to get himself in easier? (01:24:00)
Answer: Earlier in the movie Nancy's mother barricades the house to keep Nancy in. I believe the extra lock on the outside was part of her trying to barricade her daughter in.
27th Dec 2021
Halloween (2018)
Question: How did Michael get his boiler suit?
Answer: When Aaron and Dana are killed at the truck stop, at one point Aaron spots a dead body - a man wearing nothing but an undershirt and underwear. The fact he's only wearing undergarments implies that he was wearing the boiler suit and that Michael killed him and took it.
27th Dec 2021
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Question: After the failed robbery scheme at Jim's house, Edward reveals to Kim that he already knew it was Jim's house. Before, however, he seemed genuinely concerned when Jim pretended that someone had stolen things from him. He even suggested that Jim talk to the person's parents about it. Why did he act that way if he knew all along that they were at Jim's house?
Answer: It's been a while since I've seen it, but if memory services, Edward is helplessly in love with Kim, and is playing along with Jim's scheme because Kim is there with them and is a part of it. Edward wants to do "nice things" for her and her friends, so he basically plays dumb. When he later tells her that he knew it was Jim's house, he also explains that the reason he did it was because she "asked him to."
10th Jan 2022
Lorenzo's Oil (1992)
15th Jan 2022
Die Hard 2 (1990)
Question: Did Bruce Willis and Renny Harlin get along when working on this movie?
Answer: From what I've gathered, they had some creative differences and butted heads a few times over how McClane was portrayed (Ex. Harlin wanted more humor out of McClane while Willis wanted less), but mostly got along well behind-the-scenes.
20th Jan 2022
The Lion King (1994)
Question: I know that Mufasa was originally supposed to sing one song. Why was this song removed from the final version of the movie?
Answer: According to one website I read, it was cut because it was felt the song didn't fit James Earle Jones' singing voice. I'll also add that the song itself (which is available online) feels really redundant... it doesn't have much purpose beyond showing Simba that being a king isn't just fun and games, which is a lesson he learns anyway during the film. So I feel like it also may have been cut due to it feeling redundant in the narrative. (Although that's just my personal theory).
28th Jan 2022
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
Question: When Arne was in prison, Father Newman comes to Arne's cell at night and secretly gives him a vial of holy water. Arne tried to commit suicide with the shards from the vial at the end. Was Father Newman possessed too? I don't understand why Father Newman would give it to Arne at night in secret.
Chosen answer: It's been a while since I've seen the film, but I believe Father Newman was giving Arne the holy water to protect himself and use as a tool against the demon. I don't think there was any indication Newman was possessed. He probably gave it to Arne in secret so the guards wouldn't confiscate it, since it could be broken and used to hurt himself or others.
28th Jan 2022
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
Question: The woman who cursed David and Arne, is she a living human or a ghost? She seems to teleport like a ghost but from the way her father tells about her, she is still alive at that moment. I'm confused.
Chosen answer: She's basically a witch/occultist. She uses magic and curses and whatnot, which might explain why she seems to be able to do unnatural things. But she is most definitely alive and not a ghost.
11th May 2006
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Question: If the Buckets were very poor, then why do they even have TV? Why don't they use the extra money for food?
Answer: TV is kind of a necessity. Here in the UK debt collectors can't take a TV if it's the only one in the house. Also, they can't afford newspapers so how would they catch up on news? The TV will last for a while whereas it would only buy a few days worth of food, so the TV is a more sustainable option.
Answer: In addition to the other answer about TV basically being a necessity, there's also the very real chance that they got the TV for dirt-cheap or even free somewhere. It looks like a crummy old antenna TV anyways. They often get old TV's in things like thrift stores or flea markets, etc. I actually specifically look for things like old TV's and VCR's in thrift store and find them a lot since I enjoy collecting old analog media and devices. Plus, given that the grandfather used to work for Wonka, it's entirely possible that he bought it in the past before the family became so poor.
Answer: Don't they have to pay for a monthly subscription? Isn't cable paid for every month?
This was based on the book, not the timeframe of the movie. There was no cable for TVs when the book was written OR in the 1971 original film. Yes, cable was available in 2005 at this film's time but that's not the logic here.
18th Jan 2022
General questions
Is there a reason a weekly TV series wouldn't name their episodes? I can understand a soap opera that's on 5+ days a week for decades not wanting to name thousands of episodes, but some shows just list the episode number or use a #1.1 pattern. For example, I'm rewatching "Dark Matter" and each episode in season 1 is just the episode number while season 2 and 3 the episodes have names.
Answer: As for "Dark Matter," it was probably just a creative decision that they decided to change along the way. A majority of shows do have titles for episodes (whether or not the episode titles are ever onscreen... sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't), but I have seen a few that nebulously just have titles like "Chapter One/Two/Three/Etc." or similar things. Perhaps it's an attempt to keep storylines hidden, especially now when people over-analyze and over-scrutinize everything online? Maybe the creators simply feel it's more ominous to not have descriptive titles? Maybe if the show tells a singular concise storyline, simply listing the episode number is more appropriate since it's all one story? Etc. It really could be any number of things. It's just one of the many creative decisions that goes into making a show.
18th Jan 2022
General questions
I saw a movie or TV show back in the early 90's when I was a kid. I only remember one scene because it scared the crap out of me. I believe in the scene, an older man (probably 60's?) was fed feet-first into a shredding machine or large wood-chipper and killed. It was outside. The camera was inside it looking up. And I think there was a woman behind him who either pushed him in, or was trying to get him out. He was awake, shouting and struggling. Ring anyone's bell? (And it was not "Fargo.").
Answer: This might be from the TV series Friday the 13th. The episode is called "Root Of All Evil." The plot of the episode deals with a cursed mulcher. Anybody that gets thrown into it is killed and money is expelled from the other side. The richer the person is, the more money that comes out. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD9XnWh5Mx4.
Holy crap! I think that's it! Quickly scanned through the episode, and it seems to (mostly) match up with what I remember. Not exactly, but considering how young I was, I could just be misremembering it. Additionally, since I was born in '88 and probably saw it when I was 3-4 years old (so '91-'92ish), it would also line up because the show ran until 1990 and was likely still on the air in re-runs.
In fact, I'm 90% sure the death at 31:13 in the video is the exact scene I'm remembering. The only difference is that it's a man and not a woman who pushed him in, but that just could be my memory being dodgy since I only saw it once about 30 years ago. Thank you! I think you got it.
You're welcome.
Answer: I know there're several films where someone has died in a wood-chipper or similar device. License to Kill (1989), Bond is dangling over a shredder and Dario is standing over him. Pam shoots Dario and Bond pulls him into the shredder.
That's a good example, but it's not the scene I'm looking for. It's hard to give details due to the 500 character limit. But the scene seemed to be outside during the daytime (I think there were trees in the background), I think the old man who died was wearing a flannel shirt (that could be wrong), and I seem to recall him having like gray or white hair. I think the woman was trying to save him.
I don't know the film you're talking about, but have you tried looking up "woodchipper" or "body in a woodchipper" in IMDB's plot keywords? The latter has 13 movies listed.
Yeah, I've scoured IMDB for it, but the problem is almost everything I run into is either from the year 2000 or after (like I said, I saw this in the early 90's on TV), or just not the movie/show I'm looking for. I'm assuming it might have been like an obscure episode of a TV show or movie that might not necessarily have a plot keyword attached.
13th Jan 2022
General questions
If episodes of a TV show are still re-running, do the actors continue to receive some amount of payment?
Answer: It depends. Often the principal cast, producers, etc. will get paid for reruns. It's typically referred to as "royalties." Ex. The show "Friends" still brings in nearly $1 billion in revenue each year through reruns, DVD sales, merchandising, advertising, etc. And the six main cast members get a cut of that - usually around $20 million per year each in royalties. However, smaller players and bit-part actors don't really make much, if anything at all, from royalties. It can also vary depending on the contracts and whatnot. Ex. The cast from "Gilligan's Island" didn't make squat from reruns because they weren't contractually obligated to get royalties. But nowadays, it's pretty common for the principal cast to get royalties.
Answer: Yes and no. It depends on what show you're talking about, how long ago it was made, and what the actors had in their contracts. Many reruns do result in "residuals" for the actors involved (or what one might call "royalties"). But this (usually) only for "principal performers", and only if they're in the rerun. Often times when a movie or TV show airs, is sold (e.g. on DVD), or streams, there are residuals to pay. Some however, do not earn these residuals (which usually diminishes after time or set number of airings). The Brady Bunch kids made very little (if any) off residuals. Bob Saget made very little for "Full House" reruns and his co-stars even less. Whereas Kelsey Grammer, Ray Romano, and "Friends" stars make millions each year off residuals.
13th Jan 2022
Red Dragon (2002)
Question: When Will mentions that Lecter was given sodium amytal in hopes of finding the location of a student that Lecter killed, Lecter instead gave them a recipe for dip. How was Lecter able to lie? Wouldn't giving him the amytal have made him tell the FBI where the student was?
Answer: So-called "truth serums" don't actually work like you think they do. They are super unreliable. Sure, they can sometimes make subjects more open and willing to talk... but just as often (if not more so), they can make the subjects super suggestible, which can lead to things like false memories, altered memories, and even false confessions. Or they can simply have no effect on the subject whatsoever besides making them a little high and groggy. There's a reason they typically aren't used and aren't always trusted. It's possible that Lecter either wasn't affected by the drug, or was simply able to keep a sound-enough mind to not divulge information. Of course, there's also the chance that Lecter hid the relevant information in the recipe... as he likes to hide information out in the open, disguised as other things... (Which he did several times in "The Silence of the Lambs").
13th Jan 2022
Halloween (2007)
Question: Why did young Michael kill the nurse? She saw a picture of Laurie as a baby and complimented her. Why would this drive Michael to kill her?
Answer: To be fair, she also makes a snide comment about how the cute baby "couldn't possibly be related" to Michael, implying he's ugly. (At least in the unrated version, which is the most widely available version on home video. Not sure if this line is in the theatrical cut.) So she did also insult Michael. But the fact of the matter is Michael is psychotic, and felt compelled to kill her for one reason or another. Whether it be because she insulted him, because the picture of his sister set him off, or simply because he just wanted to murder her... he acted on his impulse to kill. I don't necessarily think there's always a rhyme or reason as to why he kills in the Rob Zombie films... he simply kills anyone who gets in his way or that he comes across.
12th Jan 2022
Batman (1966)
Question: What city was used for Gotham City?
Answer: There wasn't one singular city used. It was shot in and around various locations in California, plus on a lot of sets and backlots. Ex. Some scenes were shot in LA, some in Pasadena, some in Santa Barbara, etc.
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Answer: I think it's honestly just because they used the same actress. They tried to make her look a little older in the scenes set in 1990... but there's only so much you can do on a TV budget.
TedStixon