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: In the beginning of the movie when Elizabeth falls in the water with the medallion, it radiates some sort of enery...hence, this is how the pirates know the medallion is there. Right before the pirates Pintel and Ragetti find Elizabeth in the closet they say that "the gold calls to them". So my question is, how come they didn't find it 8 years ago when Will had it on his neck on the boat in the beginning of the movie...if the gold "calls" them? Wouldn't they know that the gold was now on the other boat? And why did the energy come out only when it hit the water?

Answer: They probably weren't looking for it until after it was safely locked in a secret drawer and inactive. Once in the water, the power of the gold was reactivated. It was about 10 years between the time Elizabeth found Will and the pirates refer to being cursed for 10 years and it taking them a while to figure out that being cursed wasn't all that great.

Nikki

Question: In one of the deleted scenes on the DVD, Elizabeth asks Jack if any of his stories are true. In answer he lifts his sleeve and shirt to show her lots of scars. Does anyone know how he might have got those scars or what stories Elizabeth is referring to?

Answer: No - it's not revealed. The references to stories and his scars are merely there to show that Jack has had an eventful career and gained a considerable amount of notoriety. The closest we get is the story about escaping from the island, which turns out to be untrue anyway, and the interestingly varied list of charges being read out at his execution - "impersonating a cleric of the Church of England" sounds like a particularly bizarre tale.

Tailkinker

Question: I don't understand the term "Davey Jones' Locker", who exactly was Davey Jones?

Answer: The phrase "Davy Jones' Locker" refers to the bottom of the sea, the resting place of drowned seamen. Origins of the phrase are deeply buried and there are many possible sources, ranging from "Jones" being a corruption of the Biblical name Jonah, who was swallowed by a whale, to a reference to a 16th-century pub owner named David Jones who had an unsavory practice of drugging unwary sailors and storing them in a locker till they could be pressganged aboard a ship. Still another reference suggests that David Jones was a fearsome pirate who frequently forced his enemies to walk the plank, thus having them end up at the bottom of the sea. The first clear usage of the phrase comes from Tobias Smollett, who wrote in "The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle" in 1751 that "...this same Davy Jones, according to the mythology of sailors, is the fiend that presides over all the evil spirits of the deep...". In any case, the real Davy Jones (if there was one) is unknown. Most of these tales are believed to be folklore but the phrase has still passed into the pirate lexicon.

Phil C.

Question: Is there a PotC sequel in the works? I assume the scene after the credits wasn't there for nothing...

Answer: The working title at present is: Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Treasures of the Lost Abyss, due out in 2005. So far the cast signed includes Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. Gore Verbinski will direct and Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio are the writers again.

Super Grover

Question: I saw this movie in theatres in Jakarta, Indonesia and my friends and I were surprised at how often we would see a boom mike drop into the scene, is it just me or did anyone else catch this? Was this done on purpose to keep the idea of a movie that depicts realistic imperfection?

Answer: No, this was not done on purpose. The projectionist in your theater simply did not frame the film correctly.

Nick N.

Chosen answer: The Architect says it is because he took the second door (to rescue Trinity) that no one else ever has before. This somehow (not explained in detail) gave him a connection to the machines.

Grumpy Scot

Question: In the scene near the end, Jack talks to Norrington about the strategy they should use to approach the 'unsuspecting' pirates. Then Jack goes on to say something quite confusing about how there is possible danger on the ship. We then see Elizabeth being forced to go into some room. She blames Jack and mentions something about the curse. She then unwillingly goes into a room on the ship, even though there may be possible danger on that very same ship. How is this Jack's fault? What does this have to do with the curse? If there is danger on the ship, why put Elizabeth 'safely' away in a room on that very same ship? What exactly goes on in this part?

Answer: In his plan, Jack expected the pirates to get to the Dauntless via the boats, remember in the cave with Barbossa he asks,"Not to the boats?" He also expected Norrington to go back to Dauntless and to 'blast the bejesus' out of the pirates. Thinking that Norrington would keep firing cannons at the pirates until the curse is lifted in the cave at the 'opportune' moment for Jack. It didn't occur to Jack that Norrington would stay with the small boats and that the pirates would walk under water, board and attack Dauntless unnoticed. He didn't want to risk Elizabeth getting in the way of any of his plans, he doesn't trust her and it was his small payback towards her, getting her 'protectively locked away'. Norrington and his men don't know about the pirates' curse, Gillette was just humoring Elizabeth when she blurted it out, as she was being put into the stateroom. Neither Elizabeth or Jack told Norrington about the curse because it wouldn't benefit either of their motives. Her motive is saving Will and his is killing Barbossa. She knew Jack's clever and that it was his doing that got her locked away.

Super Grover

Question: Can anyone explain the riddle the two guards tell Sarah (before she falls down into the helping hands). I know there's a certain question you can ask and the answer helps you figure out which door it is. can anyone help?

Answer: It is the same as multiplying. Two positives or two negatives make a positive and a mixture of positive Lets say right door and negative left door will always return a negative answer. To simplify further lets call the one door -X and the other door +X. -X (X) = -X So when done this way the answer you get back is always the negative. Then to switch polarity you just multiply by -1. Or for the more vocal learners out there the friend (+) of my friend (+) is my friend (+). The friend (+) of my enemy (-) is my enemy (-) and lastly the enemy (-) of my enemy (-) is my friend (+) or to explain with the doors The Liar and The truth Teller Produce/tell a lie when you have one answer for the other (multiply thier values). So you know the answer is the polar opposite or inverse value.

Answer: One Guard always lies, and one always tells the truth. This is absolute. So when Sarah asks Guard A to tell her what Guard B would say, she knows it will be a lie, no matter what. If Guard A were the liar, he would have to lie about what Guard B would have said. Since Guard B would have told the truth, Guard A would then have to tell the lie to Sarah. However, if Guard B were the liar, he would obviously have lied. However, Guard A would then have to answer the question truthfully which would be the lie from Guard B. Hence, no matter which guard is the liar and which guard is the truth-teller, the answer that Sarah gets would have one and exactly one lie in the answer. Knowing this, Sarah takes the other road.

Garlonuss

Answer: I still don't understand how Sarah's logic isn't incredibly flawed. Both guards can say yes or no depending where the right door is and I don't understand how she reached a decision with this in mind.

She figures out that the red guard is the truth teller because the blue guard saying the door behind Red leads to the castle truthfully is impossible since if that's true that would mean Red is lying but said the truth. So, Blue saying the door behind Red is to the castle has to be a lie, so that's the liar and the door behind Blue is to the castle. Basically she asks Red if Blue is the liar, and he said yes, which can only be the truth because a no would mean he is the liar but tells the truth about that. He can't answer no. In both cases (either the liar or the truth teller) the Yes means that the door behind Red is not to the castle.

lionhead

In no way does Sarah figure out which guard is the truth teller. She just forced the guard she spoke with to give her an answer that contains a lie. She didn't ask the guard which way she should go. She asked the guard what the other guard's answer would be. The liar would lie about what the truth teller would say, hence it would be a lie. And the truth teller would accurately report that the liar would lie, hence the answer would be a lie. Try it out with two of your friends. Have the two of them decide on one to tell the truth and one to lie, unless you change her question or one of them gets confused and answers incorrectly, the answer to your question would have to be a lie no matter who you spoke with.

Garlonuss

No it's more specific than that. She asked one guard if the other guard would say if this door would lead to the castle. That's different than asking one guard if the other guard would answer with a lie.

lionhead

I never said she asked if the other guard would answer with a lie. She asked a question that by its very structure has to be answered with a lie. She guaranteed that the answer would be a lie and then took the other door.

Garlonuss

No, again, it's more complicated than that. I was wrong about one thing though, she doesn't know who is the truth teller and who the liar is but she asked a question in such a way that it doesn't matter. The question she asks is indirect, she asks it in a way that both the truthteller and the liar would give the same answer. The Yes being the truth means the other door is to the castle, the yes being a lie would also mean the other door is to the castle. It is true she doesn't find out of who the liar and who the truth teller is, she only figures out which door to pick. In her logic she does conclude that the Red one is the truthteller but in reality she doesn't know that. But she is not wrong about which door to pick.

lionhead

Question: Why does the girl have writing on her eyelids? What is the joke there?

Answer: She has written "I love you" on them. It's why Dr Jones splutters his speech and focuses on them.

David Mercier

Answer: To clarify the other answer a bit. The female student wrote "love" on her right eyelid, and "you" on the left. The "I" in, "I love you," is her actual eyes. She has a crush on Indy.

raywest

Question: At the end, when Frodo attacks Gollum in the fires of Mount Doom, does he attack him so he can get the ring back or so he can push him over the edge, hence destroying him and the ring? This doesn't actually happen in the book, Gollum just falls, and I was just curious.

Answer: He's just trying to get the ring back, not destroy it. The filmmakers just made this scene a little more intense by adding the struggle.

Jack's Revenge

Answer: She was just unhappy with the screenplay and the development of the characters. In fact the screenplay was altered 15 times on her requests and those of Jonathan Demme (director of Silence of the Lambs) and eventually neither of them had anything to do with the film.

David Mercier

Question: Where is that stream of water coming from on the lower left of the screen, when Matilda is on the ground from being thrown out of the spa?

Answer: It was raining and it was that water from before just running down the semi-sloped road.

Question: What is the music used when the police are arriving at the school in the beginning, when the kids try to open the door, and during the end credits? Anybody know where I can get hold of it?

Answer: The Hole, by Cliff Mansell. No idea where to get hold of it.

Answer: Because the bomb exploded in a depression in the Mojave desert, which contains the radiation.

Show generally

Question: There is a "scratch" in the upper right corner in a few of the outdoor motion shots throughout the show, a falling black line, maybe going a twelfth of the way through the picture. I have seen this on more then one TV so its not a problem with reception, broadcast, or anything like that. I'm guessing this is something to do with the animation process or something. Does anybody know what this is?

MAC

Chosen answer: I can tell you that the Simpsons, even after 15 years, is still hand drawn and it takes 6 months to make each episode. So its highly unlikely something slipped by them. Its probably the way you are watching it.

Question: During the infamous lust scene, several times you see people's hands inside a bird cage. What is the significance of this?

Answer: Symbolism for trying to break free of her situation.

Larry Koehn

Question: They stop at a restaurant called 'Dante's Inferno', hottest food east of the Mississippi.' Is this a real place? Where is it?

Answer: No, at least not anymore. The building is located at 845 West 24th Street, Ogden, Utah, United States and is the home of a department of The American Legion Post 9 https://sites.google.com/site/alpost9utah/ There are several restaurants called Dante's Inferno, if any of the is related to one once located in that house, is unknown, I couldt find any information online.

Answer: In this link there is something about a restaurant called Dante's Inferno. If you look at the map, you can see that it lies on the 191. It lies in Montana, but I'm not sure that it is the same restaurant. http://chefmoz.org/United_States/MT/Big_Sky/Dante's_Inferno1029620067.html.

don_corleone

Question: Where was the civil war battle fought nearest Madison, Wisconsin?

Answer: The nearest one I can find listed was at Kirksville in northern Missouri.

Question: Why are there so many things that are upside-down in this movie? What is the significance of it?

Answer: Everything related to Samuel L. Jackson's character is upside down - to give a hint about his role in the movie.

Question: Maybe I missed something, but how exactly can The Penguin frame Max Shreck with the toxic waste and documents? In my opinion, I think that Gotham feared Penguin and would dismiss any evidence he had against Shreck. If someone could please enlighten me, I would be thankful.

Deidra Goins

Answer: He wasn't framing him, he was blackmailing him. Penguin had more than enough evidence to crush Max's Empire and put him away for a very long time. The toxic waste came from Shreck's plants, the documents were legit and shredded, Penguin taped them back together, plus he could tie him to the dead business partner for a murder conviction.

Chosen answer: If the evidence is convincing enough, the Gotham authorities would believe it, regardless of the source.

Tailkinker

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.