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: After the Wanderer leaves Rita at the train station, there's a quick clip of the train out in the open country. It is obvious that the train is quite a distance from the station. but in the next instant, the roof of the passenger car opens up and she falls into the chair. How does anything explain that?

Answer: As soon as the train left the station, she ran after it, jumped on and climbed onto the roof, most likely hoping to stowaway, but James heard her footsteps.

Answer: I would explain it as this being a movie that deliberately bends reality and logic. There is a fantasy element to it, and the characters actions and the plot align with that.

raywest

Question: Why did the task of assassinating Padme keep changing hands? Nute Gunray wanted her dead, so he requested help from Dooku, who hired Jango Fett, who in turn recruited Zam Wesell to do it. Why couldn't Jango just kill Padme himself? He killed Zam from a distance and the Jedi were unable to pursue him, so he could have killed Padme in the same manner and then escaped.

Phaneron

Chosen answer: This all done to cover their tracks and make it difficult for the Jedi to implicate them. Nute Gunray didn't want to be implicated so he hired Dooku, Dooku didn't want to be implicated so he hired Fett, etc.

lionhead

Question: In the Mummy, when we first meet Evie, after knocking down multiple bookshelves, the "Egyptian Librarian" is scolding Evie. He mentions her parents then says, "Allah, rest their souls." This leads us to believe that he of Muslim faith. In the next sentence though he says, "Clean up this meshiva." My first thought, the word sounds Yiddish. The only reference or definition I could find was to a new Final Fantasy video game. There were several Yiddish translator and terminology websites included in the search engine results, but the closest reference I could find was for meshugah. Did they make up a word just for that part in the movie? Was it a mispronounced and missed in editing? Could it be Yiddish slang? And my last question started all of this; why is an Egyptian of Muslim faith using Yiddish terminology or slang?

Answer: He's a scholar, probably knows many languages. Why wouldn't he use foreign expressions or words regardless of his own religion? Many multilingual people interchange expressions and words all the time so it's really not that odd.

Answer: The word "meshiva" is Hindi, and it means simply "mess."

Answer: The word is indeed "Meshuga" (various ways to spell it) meaning craziness, and is simply Hebrew. You gotta remember the order he is part of is way older than the Muslim faith and even the Jewish faith. I'm sure the order turned to the Muslim faith at some point in time and probably Jews have been part of it as well, anyone who can help keep the mummy secret. They all probably have mixed faiths and believes along with the ancient task to protect the mummy.

lionhead

Mishugash is yiddish. And yiddish is a combination of hebrew and german... so not exactly something you would expect from a person native to the mid east.

It's used in both Yiddish and Hebrew.

lionhead

Question: When the 2 tour jeeps arrive at the Tyrannosaurus fence, they bring up the goat. Anyone wonder how they got the goat there, how they feed and care for it to stay healthy and alive? Did they dig an underground tunnel for miles through rough hills just to walk the goat through? Would they risk the other side of the fence in T. Rex territory with a goat? It's such an odd possibility because it's just not possible without extreme costs, risks and efforts, just to get the goat there.

Answer: The goat was not how the T. Rex would normally be fed. The keepers put it there as bait to lure the T. Rex to that specific spot at that particular time in order to present it to Dr. Grant and the others. Hammond invited them to the island to evaluate Jurassic Park so he could then assure his investors that it was safe. Hammond is pulling out all the stops to impress them. Also, the paddock would have to be designed to have designated zones that can be opened and closed off and have tunnels running throughout so the keepers can have access to it for maintenance and to corral the animal when needed.

raywest

Question: Why is the character called Shazam instead of his original name, Captain Marvel? The character first appeared in DC comics in 1939 so, shouldn't the name belong to him and not the Marvel universe?

Answer: Fawcett Comics originally published Captain Marvel, not DC. DC sued, claiming the character was too similar to Superman, and Fawcett stopped publication in 1953, and sold the rights to DC in 1972. But in the intervening period Marvel had started their own "Captain Marvel" character and got the trademark for it, as Fawcett's had expired. So while the character remained technically called Captain Marvel, DC used the trademark "Shazam" in marketing, and in 2011 renamed the character to Shazam officially, as people generally thought that was his name anyway.

Jon Sandys

Question: How were the special effects of the miniature people in the glass displays accomplished?

Answer: From "Behind the Camera - Bride of Frankenstein": "Special effects experts John Fulton and David S. Horsley spent two days shooting Dr. Pretorius' miniature beings. The actors were placed in full-sized bell jars set against black velvet. These shots were meticulously lined up to match them with shots of Ernest Thesiger, Colin Clive and the interior set."

Question: How did others find the trident's location? We know Arthur is the first person to see the clue to the trident's location, so why are there dozens of skeletons of past victims, how did so many others magically stumble across the trident?

Answer: You said it yourself some might have stumbled upon it, others could have used the map, which is why it was hidden in the first place.

How could they use the map when Arthur was the first to find it...quite frankly to stumble on it is impossible, you would have to randomly travel to the trench, go through the entire kingdom, see a tornado of death and decide to go in, get spat out and not eaten, get to shore, check behind a waterfall and follow it down...bit much?

Question: How old is Atlantis? They say king Atlan was in charge at a time when most thought the earth was flat, well that's less than 2000 years ago, however the Sahara has been a desert for a whole lot longer than that and it was said to be home to one of the 7 kingdoms, but them the Karathin says it has guarded the trident for 1000 years, so which is it? 1000, 2000, 10000?

Answer: No, Vulko said they had unlocked the secret of unlimited energy whilst the rest of the world still thought the earth was flat. Atlantis was already old by then, so it's definitely older than 2000 years. Atlan ruled over Atlantis for thousands of years. To say Atlantis is over 10000 years old is probably the most accurate.

lionhead

Question: Dora Skirth briefly mentioned to Eddie Brock and Carlton Drake about her family. Did she have a husband and/or children? Was she worried about what The Life Foundation would do to them? If she had a family, did they get compensated for being killed by Drake?

Cody Fairless-Lee

Answer: She told Eddie that she couldn't go to the police out of fear for her family, and Drake had kind of ominously mentioned her children when she said they weren't ready for human subjects. If it could be proved that Drake murdered her, they might have grounds for a lawsuit, especially if they could prove he was acting on behalf of the Life Foundation.

Brian Katcher

Question: Why did Meg's mother want her to write an apology letter to Veronica after she left a mean note on her locker and call Charles Wallace crazy? It sounds like she's teaching her daughter that sticking up for herself and her family is wrong.

Cody Fairless-Lee

Answer: Meg's mother is actually teaching her to show compassion and to understand that there is reason behind Veronica's bullying. She suffers from extreme low self-esteem, and has developed an eating disorder as a result. She bullies others to validate herself. Just because Veronica is a bully is no excuse for Meg to retaliate in the way she did.

raywest

Question: Why did Arthur need to go to Atlantis to meet Vulko? We see Vulko coming to the surface multiple times, would it not have been easier to meet Arthur on land?

Answer: Because what they're looking for is in the ocean. The maps, the ancient texts and markers leading to the trident. It would seem odd to search for Arthur on land then return to the ocean.

Answer: Just because they were lousy at parenting and treated him badly doesn't mean you want them dead or aren't upset they are murdered.

lionhead

Answer: Alice "borrowed" her father's car without permission and was driving without a license at age 12. She didn't want to get caught, but Joe - the deputy's son - saw her and she was afraid that Joe would tell his dad. Joe said she could trust him and his father would never know. Alice may have already liked Joe or spending time together made his attraction grow. They also had something in common that caused them sadness and could relate to - neither had a mother around anymore. They apparently were an "only child", which was not relatively common in 1979; both were left "home alone" when their fathers were at work or elsewhere, signifying they may have been lonely and in need of a friend who could relate to these circumstances.

KeyZOid

Answer: Their initial dislike stemmed from their fathers' mutual animosity over the fatal accident that killed Joe's mother. Alice may have come to understand and accept why Joe blamed her father, who was indirectly responsible for his mother's death. This eventually allowed them to grow close.

raywest

I didn't get the impression that Joe and Alice initially disliked one another. In fact, Joe's eyes lit up with excitement when he found out that Alice was going to be driving them to film the movie - Joe was already infatuated with Alice. Moreover, I don't think that Joe initially knew that Alice's dad played an indirect role in his mother's death. Alice eventually told Joe that her father works at the place where his mother worked and later told Joe that her dad was supposed to work the day of the accident but called off (and Joe's mother filled in for him, thereby putting her in the position to have an accident at work when it was supposed to be her day off).

Question: What's the name of the song the woman is singing at the restaurant in Stony Creek?

Answer: It was either Southern Night or Boogie Woogie Saturday Night.

Question: Where did the Hawks go to high school?

Answer: The fate of the Hawks after the first movie is never mentioned, besides of course Adam Banks.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: Carlton Drake's The Life Foundation was being sued for unethical testing on human subjects. Ann Weying was one of the foundation's defense lawyers. Ann's fiance, Eddie Brock, an investigative journalist, happened to see some of her documents related to the case.

raywest

Question: Where is Eden Hall filmed in Minnesota, as in what school did they use?

Answer: Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault, Minnesota was used for the fictional Eden Hall Academy. The Columbia Arena in Fridley, Minnesota stood in for Eden Hall Academy's ice rink.

raywest

Answer: Probably because Luke is such a health freak and partly because they wanted it.

Answer: If you mean how did he afford to pay his bills, he makes money from his security firm.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Online.

Jon Sandys

Question: Why were members of John's former team given new identities?

Answer: Possibly so any surviving enemies they encountered on previous missions and or tours of duty couldn't hunt them down and kill them for revenge.

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