Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: Has anyone tried to really find out what era it was to have taken place in? The Apprentice thing blares obvious, almost intentional. The rest of the comments about the monitor in the hospital and stuff also seem to date the time period. The bigger items that make it seem like the 70's or early 80's are the cars and the phone that Frank has which is very 70's/80's at best. In 2004 hospitals are so far advanced in every part of the country. I believe things like monitors tied into nurses stations and alerts not being able to be turned off locally within it notifying someone can't happen. That has been the case for some time.

Jason Etter

Chosen answer: It takes place in modern times. The hospital room is in a smaller hospital or in a wing specifically for people who need assistance living, so there's no need for all of the extra equipment found in an ICU or ER hospital room. The screens are all latest-technology and can't be more than 5 years old.

Answer: The film's sets from the cars, corded telephones (not even cordless landlines), and women's dress and hair styles, point to a 70s-80s time frame, but the Hill-Rom hospital bed in Maggie's rehab hospital is probably top of the line 2004 (when the movie was filmed) with built in alarms which were the envy of this author's hospital unit, which was still primarily fitted with the electric, alarm-less, air-less, adjustable foam mattress style beds which would have been more fitting for the setting of the movie. Given the outside-of-the-hospital setting, it would seem logically set around the time of the 1976 New Jersey Karen Quinlan case, and the 1980 Texas court right to "reject medical treatment" (https://doi.org/10.1080/08998280.1995.11929931). In other words, the movie makes a point of a patient's rights regarding treatment, but it would have been much nicer if they'd dated the setting.

Question: One of the deleted scenes shows a number of politicians discussing with Padme how they wish to form a rebellion. One of the characters is played by Ahmed Best. In Episode II, Ahmed Best has a cameo at the night club on Coruscant. Had the scene of the discussion of the formation of the Rebel Alliance not been deleted, would Ahmed Best's character have been the same between the two movies?

Matty Blast

Chosen answer: It's unlikely. Best's appearance in Episode II was fleeting, to say the least. Had he been intended to be a character with greater significance in Episode III, then he's undoubtedly have been given more than just a brief shot in the middle of a crowd. The character being referred to in the question is in fact Giddean Danu, Senator for Kuat and he was played by Christopher Kirby not Ahmed Best.

Tailkinker

Question: Is there anywhere where I can get the music from the Pleasantville trailer?

Hamster

Chosen answer: Some of it was taken from the soundtrack to "Homeward Bound II: Lost In San Francisco" - the rest was specifically composed for the film.

Tailkinker

Answer: I haven't been able to find any information on its whereabouts so my guess would be that ended up like most movie props do. Either as a souvenir for one of the people attached to the movie, (actor, director, etc.) in storage (in case it could be recycled as a prop in another movie) or simply discarded when it wasn't needed anymore.

Andreas[DK]

Question: I know this film is supposed to be set in 2004-2005, but does anyone know why the clothes and some of the music seems to be quite old (like 20-30 years ago)?

Answer: The reason the styles and such are so out of date is to signify that the town where "Napoleon Dynamite" takes place is a very small town that is out of touch with current fads and trends. The aged styles also serve to create a sense of nostalgia to the majority of the viewing audience.

Sarah Van Winkle

Napoleon dynamite is set in 2004 but, like some other commenters have said, many of the town's inhabitants are way behind the times, Uncle Rico living in 1982 and proudly proclaiming it, Deb living in the early 1980s with her side ponytail, and the faculty at the school being with a lot of the town's backwardness by playing 1984 songs "Forever young" and "Time after time" at the school dance. However, some of the other townspeople are much more updated with their styles such as Summer and her friends dressing and acting much more up to date, because they're the cool kids who have been able to keep up with America's more modern trends than a lot of the town's being stuck in the past. Also, Summer and her friends may've also travelled like to Los Angeles or some other bigger city more than the others and have been more exposed to the modern world. And because they're the cool kids, they've cared more about that. Alot of the rest of the town, Rico, Deb, school faculty, Napoleon's family, etc., they've either not learned or not cared about getting modernized, probably some of both.

Answer: Shopping for Napoleon's "tuxedo" at a thrift store would explain the old clothes. As far as the music goes I think we all have listened to music from the 80'-90's at one point.

Question: In the Extended Edition, the scene with Saruman, why is Merry sitting on the back of Éomer's horse? The two had not met earlier and Gandalf has room for a hobbit on Shadowfax.

Answer: Most likely, because Gandalf suspected that Saruman would put up a fight and concentrate his magic on him. Placing Merry with Éomer got him out of the direct line of fire, so to speak, and left Gandalf free to concentrate on Saruman.

Twotall

Question: What was the name of the song playing in the Yahoo only trailer? It starts when in says "this January" and goes through to the end. I really like this song and it is driving me mad.

Answer: Yellow brick road - Elton John.

Question: I heard somewhere that Much Music VJ Devon Soltendiek appears in the film somewhere, can anyone tell me where?

Answer: He plays one of the reporters.

Boobra

Question: When Ray and Charlie are in the bathroom, they sing part of a song. What is the song they sing?

Answer: It's "I Saw Her Standing There," written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, released November 1963. In addition to the Beatles, the song has been covered by Elton John, The Grateful Dead, Tiffany, and many others I'm sure.

Matty Blast

In December 1963, Capitol Records released the song in the United States as the B-side on the label's first single by the Beatles, "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

Question: Which Python sings the song "Christmas in Heaven"?

Question: When Jigsaw tells the victims, from one of the tapes, that the order of the combination is 'over the rainbow', what does he mean or how does it work?

Answer: Each of the numbers on the victims' necks are a different colour. If these colours are then put into the order of the colours of the rainbow, the corresponding numbers will be the correct combination.

Kayleigh Green

Question: After watching "Donnie Darko" I watched another film which also featured a character identical to Frank. He too appeared in the dreams of the lead role and had all the traits of Frank. I am pretty sure it was not the film "Harvey", as I do not believe it was a film as old as that. Can anyone help me identify what the other film was?

Answer: I believe this film may have been 'Sexy beast' starring Ray Winstone. It's a British film, and is even listed on the IMDb as similar to Donnie Darko in this sense. In 'Sexy Beast' a human height sized bunny rabbit stalks the dreams of the lead character, played by Ray.

Question: Has there ever been explained why the blood effects were done so weird?

Answer: Quentin Tarantino has stated that he deliberately went over the top with the blood effects, as a homage to a lot of old Oriental martial arts movies in which the spurting of blood was also (unintentionally) over-exaggerated.

Manky

Question: What is the meaning of the scene with the hooded blond woman throwing her child in the street? Frankie sees her, starts yelling, and the scene creates a mysterious mood, but I don't really see any connection to the plot.

Answer: Earlier in the movie Frankie thinks she's pregnant and is contemplating abortion. Hence the throwing the child away reference here.

edelian

Question: Do the actors actually sing or are all of the songs voice overs?

Answer: They actually are doing their own singing.

Boobra

Question: At the end of the film, Lestat bites Malloy, then offers to turn him into a vampire, much the same way he did to Louie. Does Malloy agree to become a vampire, and if he does, what kind of "life" does Malloy live then on?

Answer: In the books, Daniel Molloy isn't attacked by Lestat at the end of the film - Lestat doesn't appear at all. Molloy began a quest to locate Lestat, a quest that fails, but he does meet Armand instead. For some years the two travelled together, with Armand occasionally granting Daniel a sip of vampiric blood, but refusing to fully turn him. Daniel would frequently run away and sink in an alcoholic despair, but the two would always link up again in the end, usually when Daniel had really hit rock bottom. Eventually, Daniel's alcohol abuse did such damage to his body that Armand was forced to turn him into a vampire to stop him dying altogether. The two seperated shortly after, no longer able to tolerate each other. Daniel vanished for some time, eventually resurfacing, having lost his mind, in the care of Marius. What happened to him after that is unknown, although Marius stated that his insanity was only temporary (although precisely what 'temporary' might mean to the 2000-year-old vampire is anybody's guess).

Tailkinker

Question: On disc 2 of the DVD version of Star Wars Revenge Of The Sith, i noticed as i watched the trailers that, in some of them, when Darth Vader's platform that he is lying on is being lifted up, that in some trailers his hands are bolted down pointing upwards, but in the film they are pointing downwards, would this be a deliberate mistake or just something they hoped people won't notice?

Answer: It's something that was changed from the time the trailer was made until the time the film was released. Since the shot with his arms up was not in the actual movie, it is not a mistake.

K.C. Sierra

Show generally

Question: I've never seen the show myself, but I was wondering what kind of a name "Inara Serra" is. I'm assuming Inara is of Portuguese origin, but mostly because the actress was born in Brazil. Can someone please help me with this?

Answer: Inara is actually Arabic in origin; it means "ray of light" or alternatively "heaven sent". Serra, on the other hand, is Portuguese and means "mountain range" - derived from the same word in Latin, where it means 'saw' (as in the cutting implement, which a mountain range might resemble, rather than the act of seeing).

Tailkinker

Question: What is the song played at the credits (the one that is also played when Charlie travels with Irene from Rhode Island), and who sings it?

Answer: It's called 'The world ain't slowing down' by Paul Ellis.

Question: Was there ever a name provided for the character who was dancing with Ivy when she heard the children's screams? He also was one of the men carrying the sacrifice of meat, and might have been the Villager in the tower in the opening credits. He is tall and bearded, and seems to be the "go-to" guy here in the Village.

scwilliam

Chosen answer: There was no name, and I was not under the impression he was indeed the "go-to" guy. Other than dancing with Ivy and participating in the meet ritual, he was not seen in the movie at all.

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