Question: Where exactly is Empire Bay supposed to be located?
Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
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Question: At the beginning, why did Jo's dad try to hold the storm cellar door against the raging winds of a tornado when he could have just scooted them into the farthest corner of the cellar – and even shielded them with himself if necessary? It was almost foreseen what had happened when he held the door.
Question: How did the aliens drop down from their ships that were shown on TV? Did they land and drop them off, or did they have some kind of teleporting device? Also, why didn't the Air Force attempt to shoot down any of them?
Question: If all of the spirits in the mansion are now free to move on to Heaven, why didn't Madame Leota and the singing busts join them?
Answer: Madame Leote's spirit was encased in the crystal. The singing busts were inanimate objects brought to life.
Question: Why exactly didn't Ramsley want Master Gracey to marry Elizabeth? What would've happened to him, the mansion, or Gracey himself if he married her?
Answer: She was African American, most likely the daughter of slaves. He felt she would have brought shame and disgrace to the mansion and the family name.
Question: What were all the cities that were attacked during the invasion?
Answer: Most likely, coastal cities or cities near a large body of water.
Question: Is the Egyptologist's (Jonathan Hyde) name ever revealed in the film, or is he always referred to as just the Egyptologist?
Question: For the slightly crude ball-throwing game, why is Jennifer Love Hewitt the target?
Answer: In the late 90s and 2000s, she was reported to be dating several different men. She was often called a "serial dater."
Question: How could Chris have legally become sheriff? Wouldn't he have had to go to law enforcement school or academy before he could have been considered for a role as sheriff?
Answer: The role of sheriff is an elected, political position, and as recent US politics have shown, one can be elected to office with little or no previous relevant experience.
Question: During the Sheriff's car ride back to the Vaughn house, when the Sheriff was explaining the story of the previous Sheriff, is it hinted that the sheriff and the others killed him so he could take over? And if that's true, was that because the previous Sheriff was about to get in the way of Jay's criminal activities or was already doing so?
Question: Why does Darth Maul have almost no dialogue?
Answer: Probably because Ray Park, who portrayed Darth Maul, was not a professional actor, but a martial arts expert and stuntman who was recruited for the film. Another actor, Peter Serafinowicz, voiced what little dialogue there was.
Answer: The comment by RayWest is a good possible behind-the-scenes reason. Also, I think Darth Maul had been raised by Palpatine/Darth Sidious from a young age, unless that is no longer canon. Unlike Vader and Tyranus, who join Sidious as adults, Maul has almost no interests nor associations with others. He is focused on serving his master because it's all he knows. This could be why he says very little to others - he has no desire, nor much knowledge, about how to interact with them. But again, I am not sure exactly what is canon now.
Question: What happened to Officer Paski, Ray Reddy, Lionel Prichard, that girl from the pharmacy, and that army recruiter guy after the events of the film? Did they survive?
Answer: It's never revealed, so any answer given would be pure speculation. In truth, the answer is that it's up to your imagination. I'd assume a few were killed, but most people likely survived, given how short the invasion was. Of all of them, Paski and Ray Reddy are the most likely to have survived, as Paski is a cop and likely could defend herself, while Ray went out towards the water – the alien's weakness.
Question: Why didn't the Hess family have guns? Unless it was against the family's religious beliefs to own firearms, wouldn't the smart thing to do have been to bring guns and lots of ammo into the basement with you, just in case the aliens breached the basement? I mean, a pistol round or a shotgun blast would seriously ruin the aliens' day.
Answer: Less than half of American households have guns in them. They simply didn't own any guns and didn't prioritise buying any in the panic of what's happening.
Answer: He was a preacher and, like all men of God, didn't believe in guns or violence.
Question: If Edward Walker sent Ivy to go get help, why couldn't he have done so at night when no one could see him? Law enforcement outside the village could have just as easily detained Ivy and practically forced her to reveal the location of the village. Did Jay (M Night Shyamalan) know about the village? And why did Kevin (the younger, helpful guard) just sit there with his truck door open after presumably helping Ivy back over the fence?
Answer: All the elders, including Edward, swore an ironclad oath never to leave the village for any reason. That is why he sent the two boys to escort Ivy. Jay, the head guard, apparently does know about the village and makes sure the younger guard does not get too curious. As to why Kevin just sat there with the car door open is anyone's guess. He appears rather stunned by the whole incident and is probably wondering what is inside the reserve.
Question: What was the reason for the ceremony of meat, where they tossed it onto the rock? And why couldn't they have just walked over and put it there instead of the wind-up toss? That was kind of ridiculous.
Question: Any idea as to how long the creation of the village took? Those stone cabins look like they would've taken a considerable amount of time to build. Adding to that, the guard towers and such. Was it just the elders who built everything before the events of the film? Also, where did all the families in the village come from? Aside from the younger generations who were obviously born there, did they hear of Edward Walker's plan and decide to leave everything behind to join in?
Answer: Don't disagree with the other answer, but would add that Edward Walker was extremely wealthy, having inherited his father's corporation that still financially supports the village. He had the resources to buy the land, discreetly build the village, maintain and guard the preserve, etc. After his father was murdered, Edward joined a grief support group. That is where he met the other people who became part of the village. Everyone had lost a loved one through a violent act. Edward proposed the plan to live in an isolated village, walled off from violence. Because he was a history professor, he chose to recreate the 19th century, opting for a simpler way of life.
Answer: I'd presume it probably took a few years to get everything in the village set up and built, paperwork handled, etc. It's never explained who built everything, but it wouldn't be a stretch to guess that they may have had outside help getting things set up. And the implication is that the families are all people from the outside world who moved in when the village was created and were all likely people who simply wanted to leave behind their old lives for personal reasons, like trauma.
Question: What exactly was "The Flight of the Birds" that was mentioned during one of the elders' meetings before Lucius was first introduced?
Answer: The "Flight of the Birds" is a metaphor for the village elders. They fled modern society and established the isolated village to escape societal violence. In some scenes, such as when Noah finds an elders' costume under the floor - loose feathers are seen. The feathers are a clue and symbolise the elders.
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Answer: The fictional town is supposedly located somewhere on New York's coast, near the mouth of the Culver River, also fictional.
raywest ★