Question: I don't understand why Persephone let one of the guard go, instead of killing both of them when they're saving the Key Maker. Wouldn't they have made a clean escape that way?
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Shibboleth - S2-E8
Question: Right before Toby asks CJ if she wants to come over for Thanksgiving, he calls her Toscanini. What does Toscanini mean?
Answer: Arturo Toscanini (1867 - 1957) was an Italian born conductor who was well known for being authoritarian and a bully. Perhaps this is a reference to CJ's commanding nature?
Question: Was it always Lucas' original plan to have Darth Vader be Luke's father?
Answer: The short, short answer to this is "Yes... from a certain point of view." The long answer is complicated and depends completely on what timeframe you mean by "always." If you're going back all the way to the early rough drafts of the early-mid 70s (which actually resemble Episode I more than they do the Star Wars of 1977), you'll find there's a cyborg father figure protagonist that makes a heroic sacrifice, and then another character that is a "black knight" villain that eventually turns to the side of good near the end. Just to make things more complicated, there is yet another character, a villain by the name of "Darth Vader" that is a human Imperial officer like Grand Moff Tarkin. It may be a stretch to count all that as "Darth Vader was always the father" but the pieces were all there, at least.
(1) Now the earliest explicit mention on any documented material that Darth Vader is Luke's father comes from notes Lucas made outlining the general story of the trilogy and its place in the larger Star Wars saga. These were found in the archives for The Empire Strikes Back, but they are undated and we don't know if they were written before Star Wars (1977) and carried forward, or if they were written afterward. These were found fairly recently (made public in 2010) and as far as I know Lucas has never commented publicly about them.
(3) One thing we know, at least, is that Lucas had come up with the idea of Darth Vader the father before starting work on The Empire Strikes Back. Something incredibly odd, though, is that the first draft written by Leigh Brackett does not feature the twist (and in fact introduces Anakin himself as a ghost); for a long time many fans took this as proof that Lucas hadn't thought of the idea at all by then, but after the series outline was discovered it was made apparent that Lucas simply hadn't told Brackett for some reason. Perhaps he wasn't sure yet that he wanted to go through with it, or maybe at that point he was thinking of revealing it in the third film. Either way, Lucas would write the second draft himself, and that's where the twist first appears in script form.
(2) Something that must be understood about Star Wars (1977) is that it was an ALTERNATIVE to his original plans of a saga. By then he didn't think it was realistic that he would be able to make a long series of many movies, so he came up with a "Plan B": he crammed the general story of the trilogy into one movie. So we know that when Star Wars (1977) was filming, Darth Vader was NOT Luke's father, because this one movie was IT, that was the whole story. But what we DON'T know, is whether that means Lucas had abandoned the idea of Vader being the father in order to simplify the story, or if Lucas simply hadn't thought of that at all just yet.
(2, cont.) On a side note, you can tell by watching Star Wars (1977) how it has condensed the story of the trilogy. The middle portion has the characters trying to escape capture from the Empire while one of them loses a duel with Darth Vader (like The Empire Strikes Back) and the third act is a final battle against the Death Star above a forest moon (like Return of the Jedi). The first act features a member of royalty on the run while a couple of protagonists find the main hero on a desert planet, resembling the original drafts and by extension Star Wars: Episode I. Because of this we've arguably never actually had a "pure" first chapter to the original trilogy, even though Lucas eventually had the film serve this purpose anyway.
Answer: Yes, however, he didn't want anyone to KNOW about it. In fact, the original script said "'Obi Wan never told you what happened to your father.' 'He told me enough... he told me YOU killed him!' 'No, Obi-Wan killed your father'" Even Hamill was only told the real line just before shooting, so his reaction is somewhat natural.
Question: Maybe I've missed the reason, but why is the film called Friday the 13th? I'm sure there is never any reference to that date, so why be titled this?
Chosen answer: Just after the credits, there's a bank sign that says "Friday, 13 - 7:01 - 60 Degrees". Then the DJ says "It's 7:01 on Friday the 13th of June." and goes on to say some more about it and lists some other bad luck superstitions. At two other points in the movie, two characters (Ralph and Tierney) say "it's Friday the 13th". So there are at least four references to the fact that the movie takes place on Friday the 13th.
Answer: Sean Cunningham was the one who had an idea for a horror film called "Friday the 13th", because he really felt like it was a can't miss film title. He got with Victor Miller about making a horror film similar to "Halloween" and Miller began writing a script. Miller had titled the first draft "Long Night at Camp Blood", but he admits he's never been good at coming up with titles, so this was just a working title. Cunningham had called Miller and told him he wants to name the film "Friday the 13th" and Miller said "That's great. Unfortunately, there's no reason for that." To which Cunningham replied with "Stick one in." (Which is why there's a few references to the date in the film.) Cunningham was so sure of the film's title that he put an ad in Variety magazine in July before any sort of production of the film had begun.
Answer: Another reason is in the scene where Pamela is talking to Alice she mentions that today was Jason's birthday, Friday the 13th.
Answer: I do not recall any answer, definitive or otherwise, been given to your question. Originally the film was to be called 'Long Night at Camp Blood'. I have no idea why it was changed. Or why the new title was chosen. However the film is set on a Friday the 13th. And it is mentioned as such after the credits when Annie is walking through the town. On the radio, the DJ says as much.
Answer: After Barry and Claudette was killed by young Pamela in 1958, it then flashes white to Crystal Lake and words in the bottom saying "Friday June 13 The Present." Present means the year 1979.
Question: Producers are currently unsure as to whether Martin Sheen is returning for another season. Even if he does though, in due course he'll have to be replaced, unless they include a constitutional rewrite into the script giving him 3 terms of office. I've heard reports that in the coming season a few characters will be introduced who might replace him as president. My question is, wouldn't the incoming president have his own principal staff, meaning that the current cast would need to be almost entirely replaced, not just the president?
Chosen answer: The current 'Inside Scoop' is that Bingo Bob would become Prez, keeping at least Will (Joshua Malina) in the show. It could be extrapolated that the producers will offer the main cast to continue with the show, and work out a storyline where Bingo Bob would offer them to stay with him.
Question: If the Predators are so big on honor and the hunt, why do they always fight with the cloaking devices, wouldn't it be more honorable to meet an enemy head on?
Answer: It's almost always a single Predator against hordes of armed enemies without backup of any kind; there's nothing in the honor code that says that a Predator should be suicidal. Even with prey exempted from the code (pregnant mothers and ill or disabled prey), they are honorably killable if they become a threat to the Predator.
Question: When Nathan fights the samurai on the battlefield, he cuts them down like grass with his cavalry sabre ao he appears to be quite a good swordsman. But later, when he has been captured, he's practicing with the Japanese sword and he fights like an amateur. Is there so much difference between fighting with a cavalry sabre and fighting with a samurai sword?
Answer: Several reasons. Number 1: while on foot, a katana is typically used with both hands, while a sabre is used with one. Number 2: The katana and sabre are weighted differently. Number 3: The sabre, for a cavalry officer, was a last resort weapon, rarely used. For a samurai, the katana was used quite often.
Question: When Jason Bourne is running from the Hotel Brecker, he runs under a bridge over a main highway. The bridge is on a diagonal and it looks like the bridge Lola ran under in 'Run, Lola, Run' which was also set in Russia and starred Franka Potente. Was the same bridge used in both movies, and if not, what are the names of the two bridges?
Answer: "Run, Lola, Run" was not set in Russia, but in Berlin, and was shot there. Parts of "The Bourne Supremacy" were shot in Berlin, too. So chances are, it's simply the same bridge. I seem to remember seeing the same bridge in "Wings of Desire" (Der Himmel ueber Berlin). Perhaps it's just the most accessible for filming.
Question: This is probably ridiculous, but why did they alter the plot so much? I think they could have made the movie relatively true to the novel without controversy.
Answer: I know they changed it from Big Tobacco to guns because that storyline has already been done in The Insider.
Question: This might be regarded as some as an obvious question, but I can't figure it out. In the first movie, when Neo is rescued, it is 1999 in the Matrix, and Morpheus tells him that humankind was taken over by machines sometime in the near future of the Matrix. Now, obviously the machines don't want the humans to find out about this, and they've kept history pretty much accurate so far (with minor alterations to explain the existence of 'agents,' 'rebels,' and so forth) so obviously they can't cycle too far into the future. But they can't stay where they are (if people were born, aged, and died in the space of a few calendar years a lot more people would reject the Matrix) or 'reset' things (same outcome.) They presumably have a way of dealing with this problem; what is it?
Answer: There is no reason to assume that history inside the Matrix would bring about the exact same events as happened in the real world. Even if the humans did start to make the developments that, in the real world, gave rise to the mashines and the Matrix, the machines can simply avoid that end result inside the Matrix. For all we know, the machines were planning to have the humans in the Matrix follow the timeline presented by Star Trek rather than what actually happened. Bear in mind too that the Architect mentioned previous Ones and Zions - every time the matrix is reloaded they start at the same point.
Answer: We're not sure yet - most people believe it is because Anna Morgan made a deal with the devil to have a child. She shouldn't have been able to have children.
Question: At the beginning when the werewolves begin attacking people at Club de la Lune, what is the song being played as people run for the door and who plays it?
Answer: The Hardest Head by Skinny Puppy.
That was the second attack scene song. When they force themselves to change. The first song they play at the first attack when Saraphine first changes. That song is not on the soundtrack and I can't for the life of me find it even years after the movie. No idea what its called.
Question: Someone said Tim and Lex were altered so that they played equal roles. So Lex got age and computer skills and kept sport interest, and Tim got belief in qualities he did not possess. Plus, in the second movie, the boy kid was ruled out, even though he saved them many times in the book. Where is the equality?
Answer: In the book, Tim had the dinosaur knowledge and the computer skills, whereas Lex had nothing. Since she was the rather useless scardey-cat in the movie, they gave her the computer skills so she could help out at the end. In the second movie, both kids were ruled out; they essentially just had cameos.
You missed what he was saying. There is a boy in the second book who is kinda like Rain-Man and saves everyone's hide on multiple occasions. Just like how Dodson was supposed to be the one trying to get the dinos off the island, not more Ingen people.
Question: At the time that this movie was made, nobody knew what made a werewolf, what could kill a werewolf, or when a werewolf would appear. Who decided that these things could happen?
Answer: Werewolves as a concept date back many years - this film originated many of the current conventions though, so the simple answer to your question is "the writers of this film". See the Wikipedia for more info - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werewolf.
Question: Jack made me think of this; was there any sort of class action law suit filed against White Star Liners by the survivors and the family members of those that did not, and what was the total amount of money awarded, if any, to any individual claims?
Answer: A lawsuit against White Star Line was brought on behalf of the Titanic survivors. The steamship line was exonerated. Survivors did recieve a small amount compensation. If any good came from this disaster it would be the addition of life boats to all ocean going passenger vessels.
Question: What does Moses' birth mother say in Hebrew as she's getting him ready to take to the river?
Answer: "Yal-di ha-tov veh ha-rach (my good and tender son) Al ti-ra veh al tif-chad (Don't be frightened and don't be scared) My son, I have nothing I can give, but this chance that you may live, I pray we'll meet again, If He will deliver us!"
I was wondering that. Thanks.
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Answer: Persephone wants to really stick it to her husband, the Merovingian. By letting one of the guards go tell him she is assuring that he will find out what she did, but it will be too late to stop her.
Nick N.