Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Show generally

Question: Can someone please explain why Alistair's face is never shown, and why there is one actor who does his voice and another to portray him from the neck down?

Answer: It's just supposed to be funny. It's an old plot ploy that's been overused in recent years. The last time it was really funny was when Home Improvement did it with the next door neighbor. I think they use a different voice because they like the way that actor's voice sounds.

Allyson

Question: Does anyone have any insight as to where all the people in the Village came from? I understand the motivation in being there as expressed by the elders, who know of the outside world and are escaping it, but what about everyone else who seems ignorant of that other world? The group scenes show at least a hundred people there. Were they all brought as children and raised with the stories of the creatures to keep them out of the woods? Seems like a lot of children for 8 or 10 elders to bring. Are all the adults, not just the elders, "in-the-know", having brought their children and kept them deceived? Any thoughts, or official insight, would be appreciated.

Answer: As covered towards the end of the film, the elders met at a support group for the families of victims of violent crime (if you listen to the voiceovers, they all talk about how a loved one was murdered, and the photo shows them all standing in front of a consolation centre). At the end of the voiceovers, you hear Mr. Walker talk about how he "has an idea" if they are willing to hear him out. Presumably, this idea is to separate from society as they end up doing. It is assumed that all of the adults in the village are there by choice. As for the children and young adults, they were likely born there, or moved there when they were too young to remember the outside world. Given the clothes and surroundings in the picture of the group, and the fact that the guard at the end is reading a 2004 newspaper, we can assume they have been in the village for at least 20-30 years. The end of the film does a very good job of tying up loose ends. The newspaper and radio reports in the guard shack reinforce the idea of the violent society they are escaping. The conversation between the guards establishes that a wealthy benefactor is both paying them to protect a "wildlife preserve," as well as ensuring the government does not allow flights over the village, which would spoil the illusion. The fact that Walker mentions that his murdered father was an excellent and wealthy businessman, coupled with the fact that the area surrounding the village is called *Walker* Wildlife Preserve, leads us to believe that his inheritance is financing their secret. All in all, it's a tidy bit of storytelling.

Gabbo

Answer: That's the rub of why it's a movie. You are exactly right - if the original 9 elders, who were already all probably in their 40s in the Counselling Center pic, even had 3 more offspring each that would have made the village approximately 30 people. The village wouldn't have increased from there for another generation. Also, if you are astute, you will see that Lucius is an infant in the Counselling Center pic, so he would have been the "oldest" non elder, which would have probably made him be in his early 20s. All that being said, I absolutely LOVE this movie, because this actually "could" happen - escape this horrible world by pretending it's maybe 150 years earlier and act like it. Fascinating.

Answer: The guard reading the newspaper mumbles, that a group of people, ex hippies, became disillusioned with the modern world and pooled their resources and established a quiet simple way of life. The Phantom creatures are to put fear into the young ones from getting to curious about venturing beyond the forest.

Question: There are two scenes in the movie when the Hulk talks. Who did the voice for this?

Answer: That is an altered version of Eric Bana's voice.

Question: I would really like to know - is this picture of Saruman definitely his final fate?(http://www.councilofelrond.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=My_eGallery&file=index&do=showpic&pid=5639&orderby=hitsD). I thought that Wormtongue was going to stab Saruman on Orthanc in the extended ROTK and does it not seem a bit graphic for a LOTR film?

Answer: A bit graphic? We've had heads and limbs lopped off and fingers bitten off - doesn't seem like this is significantly worse. Until the Extended Edition comes out, there's no way to tell (unless you're on here, Mr Jackson) whether this is the real deal or not - that being said, what we see here doesn't actually preclude Grima doing his bit. As I understand it, during the final confrontation between Gandalf and Saruman, Saruman is standing on the peak of Orthanc - and presumably, in order to converse with Gandalf down below, Saruman will be standing pretty much at the edge. It's not an implausible sequence of events that Grima stabs Saruman, leading to the wizard falling from the tower, to be ultimately impaled on his own devices (as we see in the image).

Tailkinker

Answer: No, look here for an extensive history of the character http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/w/watsonparkermaryjane.htm.

Myridon

Show generally

Question: Have Matt Groenning or the producers of the show had any problem due to the humor based in the constant references to the religions?

Answer: The Simpsons creators get annoyed messages all the time from people who hate the language to even the religious jokes. I don't believe any religion has specifically bad-mouthed them for their jokes, because most people recognise they're just that - jokes. Scenes with Catholic & Protestant Priests fighting are just jokes, and are very clear.

Question: I'm not sure, but do the security guys, especially the one behind the desk, know about the people inside the village?

Answer: It isn't very clear, but the movie does give the impression that the guard in the shack (played by M. Night Shyamalan) probably knows, while the younger guard definitely did not. However, the young guard probably knows now... he obviously believed that Ivy lives in the sanctuary, and when he asked her name, he almost definitely noticed that she shares the same last name as the sanctuary (as seen on the guard vehicle).

Gabbo

Answer: Aha! It makes sense now...both the elders of the village and the older security guard represent the "old way" and the younger guard meeting Ivy was innocence coming together to help one another. Which is what the village wanted to preserve.

Question: Where exactly does it say the school's family motto?

Answer: Hogwarts' motto ('Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus' - 'Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon') is never overtly stated in either the books or the films. It appears on the title page of all the books however, as part of the school crest.

STP

Question: What is the significance of the dead 7-year-old boy in the opening scene of the movie? Does it have anything to do with the 7-year-old mentioned on Shyamalan's newspaper?

Answer: No, they establish early in the movie that the boy died of a disease. The reason Lucius keeps requesting permission to go to the town to get medicine is to prevent someone else from getting the same thing. They are very effectively cut off from the outside world. The purpose of the newspaper report and radio news heard in the guard shack is to lend credence to their motives for establishing the village (ie, to escape a violent society).

Gabbo

Answer: I had a thought about this. The main elder let his daughter go to get medicine because he loved her. That was not supposed to be allowed to happen, but he made an exception because it was for his daughter. I wonder if the boy that died at the beginning could also have been saved by outside medicine. So, was the main elder OK with this boy's death but couldn't bear his daughter's fiancé to die?

Question: When the Rohirrum surround Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn, Eomer gets offended when Gimli says, "Give me your line, horsemaster, and I'll give ya mine." In the book, Gimli says that Eomer has little wit which causes him to reply by saying the bit about Gimli's height. Why didn't Peter Jackson leave that line in. It would have made much more sense as to why Eomer lost his temper.

Answer: It's actually 'give me your name, horsemaster...' but that's beside the point... The 'little wit' comment was made as a direct result of Eomer being dismissive of Galadriel, and Gimli firing up in her defence ('you speak evil of that which is fair beyond reach of your thought, and only little wit can excuse you') - for reasons of simplicity, and not making the scene overlong and complicated, PJ & co decided to have the tension between Gimli and Eomer based simply on pride.

STP

Question: Does anyone know what the music is called that is used in the blooper reel on the second disc of the DVD?

Answer: The makers did not give it a name.

Question: This may seem like a silly question, but I was wondering where I can get a black catsuit (with the matching boots) like the ones the girls were wearing during the bank heist scene?

Answer: Frederick's of Hollywood or Victoria's secret might carry them.

Grumpy Scot

Question: When Storm is talking to Nightcrawler about his scar art, and the conversation is led up to anger, why did she walk out of the room just after he asked her how she could be so angry and beautiful at the same time? Did she have to do something, or was she just leaving for the sake of leaving? (Although if a guy told me I was beautiful, I would stay around...).

Answer: Well, I don't know what version of the film you're watching, but, in my one, she doesn't walk out - there's a couple more lines of dialogue (about anger helping you survive and about faith). Jean then calls Storm, telling her that she's picked up a comm beacon, and only then does Storm leave - which is to be expected, as she's heading back to the controls.

Tailkinker

Question: In one of the trailers for King Arthur there is a scene with Arthur kneeling on the ground on his knees in the field with all the mounds, holding Excalibur and saying 'Lord, guide my hand and Excalibur' (you can find it in the new trailer on the 'King Arthur' website), but this scene never appeared in the film, why?

Answer: This often happens. The director chooses scenes for the trailer, then decides to cut them from the theatrical version of the film. Look for it in the deleted scenes section of the DVD when it is released.

Question: It was mentioned that a deleted scene/shot featured a raptor escaping the ship as it crashes into the dock. What was supposed to happen to the raptor? Were there scenes planned with the raptor attacking people in the city? Was it a feeble attempt at setting up for sequels?

Answer: In the book, the raptor was not discovered by the crew. It was spotted by Tim and Lex back on land. The y radioed to the crew and the boat turned around. And this scene actually coms from the book "Jurassic Park," not "Lost World."

Question: Hey, what do we know about Nightcrawler's past? I know he can't remember the whole Stryker experience, but before that? Like, when he was in Germany?

Answer: From the movie, very little, other than the circus references. From the comics, quite a bit. Kurt's actually Mystique's son, his father, according to a recent storyline, being some sort of demon-like mutant who dated back to biblical times. Abandoned by Mystique at birth, when she was chased by a mob, the baby Nightcrawler instinctively used his teleporting to escape. He was taken in by a gypsy witch, who raised him as her own son. She ran a travelling carnival, in which Kurt appeared - an obvious parallel to the circus mentioned in the films. Ultimately, Kurt decided to strike out on his own - a decision that ended with Charles Xavier having to rescue him from a mob and recruit him into the X-Men.

Tailkinker

Question: I know this might seem kind of silly, but I'm just curious - if the Ring makes its wearer invisible, why didn't it make Sauron invisible?

Answer: Because Sauron has power over the ring, not vice versa. The ring has many more powers than invisibility. That is just the only one that most people can take advantage of. It is a way of showing how the ring is so powerful that it will obscure all those who can not control it. In the book, it didn't make Tom Bombadil invisible because his magic is older than the ring itself.

Garlonuss

Question: What exactly is Anthony Kiedis doing on his bed when Keanu Reeves looks in the apartment before the big shoot-out? Is he listening to music, shooting up heroin or (as my pals suggested) is he jacking off whilst watching the woman in the nearby shower?

Answer: He is listening to music and just getting getting really into it.

Toolio

Answer: Neither do Cosmo's random comments, but they're funny.

Question: Did or didn't Sonny kill Lanning? If he did, how did he do it? What was the promise he had to give?

Answer: Sonny killed Lanning. Lanning had designed Sonny with the ability to opt out of the Three Laws when he deemed it absolutely necessary. Lanning forced Sonny to promise to do Lanning a favor, then told him the favor was to throw Lanning out the window. Forced to keep his word by Lanning's own programming, Sonny overrode the Three Laws and tossed Lanning out the window.

Phoenix

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