Gavin Jackson

10th Dec 2012

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Question: In Cars 2, it was decided not to bring back Doc Hudsen out of respect for the late Paul Newman. So why was slinky recast for this film? Didn't the filmmakers feel that Jim Varney deserved the same respect? Considering they didn't bring back certain characters like Bo-peep etc, I find it insulting that they felt so little of Varney.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Well, with all due respect to Mr. Varney, he's no Paul Newman. You respect different actors in different ways. Paul Newman is much more of a "remember in silence" type actor, when Varney's much more relaxed and silly style lends itself more toward celebrating the character over the actor, in which case removing the character would not necessarily be the best decision. I don't know if these were things the Pixar crew specifically thought of, but that's how I view it.

Garlonuss

22nd Nov 2012

General questions

I was wondering if anyone could back me up on this. When the James Bond films were in limbo between 1989 and 1995 and two studios were fighting over rights issues, I am sure I read articles which claimed that producer Joel silver was desperately trying to obtain the franchise with the full intent of casting Mel Gibson as Bond (despite Gibson repeatedly saying that he wasn't interested). I have found nothing anywhere online to back this up so I was wondering if anyone else had read this. Or it is simply my imagination?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: There were many actors who were considered for the role of James Bond during this period, including Mel Gibson in 1987. MGM suggested casting him, but producer Albert Broccoli rejected him because he was not British.

raywest

Question: I was hoping someone could clear this up for me. Did ET really die and somehow return, or did he simply fake his death to fool the authorities?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: First, it is hard to know whether he actually died and was revived, or possibly got so close to dead that the scientists simply assumed he had died and called it. But it was not a ploy. His link to the flower reflects his dying condition. As he died, so did the flower.

Garlonuss

8th Nov 2012

Psycho II (1983)

Other mistake: When Norman and Mary are at the swamp, the sheriff hands him the ashtray they found and bates explains that it belonged to Mr Toomey. Mary say "Who"? and the sheriff explains who he is. This makes no sense as Mary knew full well who Toomey was and had no reason to play dumb.

Gavin Jackson

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: She wasn't playing dumb. She says WHO because she didn't hear the name correctly.

Question: This has been a question that's always brought up. Was Ellie Grimbridge always a robot from the very beginning, or was she turned into (or exchanged with) one when she was held captive at the shamrock factory?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: She was turned into one when she was captured. The robots didn't speak and if you notice that after he finds her, she never says a word. As well, she displayed genuine emotion throughout the film before she was captured, something the robots also never did.

I agree, she was a real person until she was captured. If she were a robot, I think Chalice would have found that out when they made love. Plus, as you mention, she had real emotions until her robot replacement was rescued.

Answer: Another theory might be that Ellie has always been a robot but an advanced model that Cochrane designed to interact with the outside world.

19th Sep 2012

The A-Team (1983)

13th Aug 2012

Cool Runnings (1993)

Question: Could someone as overweight and unhealthy as John Candy's character really have lived in Jamaica? I would have thought the extreme hot weather conditions would have been rather dangerous for someone in his shape.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: It may not be the wisest place to live, but that doesn't mean that he's physiologically incapable of living there, even relatively long term. It's pretty dangerous being that size anywhere in the world, as Candy's sadly premature demise illustrates; living somewhere as warm as the Caribbean probably wouldn't make the situation significantly worse than it already is.

Tailkinker

Chosen answer: Most likely a coincidence. It's a common Middle Eastern name.

raywest

8th Aug 2012

Robocop (1987)

Question: When the Swat team leader is trying negotiate with the guy in the Mayor's office, he says to him "Hey no problem Miller. Let the mayor go. We'll even throw in a Blaupunkt". Could someone please explain what a Blaupunkt is? I've never heard that word and its not in my dictionary.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Blaupunkt is a major manufacturer of car stereos. Miller wants a car as part of his ransom demands, so the SWAT team leader is playing along with those demands telling him that they'll make sure the car he wants is fitted with a really cool stereo.

Tailkinker

8th Aug 2012

Con Air (1997)

Question: Why did Poe get back onto the plane when it left Carson city? I know he stayed on after the first stop cause Cyrus wouldn't let Baby-o off and Poe needed to get him his insulin shot. But he got his shot in Carson city and Poe had no reason to get back on (seemed even more ludicrous after he tied the plane up.but anyway).

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Poe is an ex-Ranger, and he wants to stop the criminals. Also he wanted to save the cops inside the airplane.

Anastasios Anastasatos

Chosen answer: A meal in the 80s would have cost 4 or 5 dollars. A bus ticket would have been around 50, or more, depending on where he was going.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: There's no evidence he could afford to eat. It's possible he was planning on working for a meal.

23rd Jul 2012

The Client (1994)

Question: When Reggie is negotiating with Reverend Roy and tells him that Marks mum wants a walk-in closet, Roy responds with "Walk-in. Is that hyphenated?" Although I gather that Roy was being sarcastic, I still have no idea what that comment means. Any help would be great.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: Meaning is the word walk-in hyphenated.... walkin or walk-in.

shortdanzr

Answer: I saw his question "Is walk-in hyphenated?" as a touch of humor.

21st May 2012

Titanic (1997)

Question: I have two questions about this film. Firstly who was the guy who tries to drown Rose after the Titanic sinks? I couldn't see his face properly and wondered if anyone knew who it was. Secondly, given how possessive Cal was of Rose, why didn't it seem to bother him when Jack leads her arm in arm into the dining room. It's almost like he just doesn't care in that scene.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: The guy who nearly drowned Rose was just a random panicked passenger who needed something to hold on to, like a life ring. As for dinner, at this time, it was actually customary in higher society for a man to escort someone other than his own wife or fiance to the table at a dinner party, and always arm-in-arm. Husbands and wives (and fiances) were also not seated next to each other at the dining table, primarily to mix up the group dynamics and stimulate conversation. Being as Jack is the invited guest for having saved Rose, it would be acceptable that he should have the honor of escorting her into the dining room. At this point, Cal would hardly consider Jack a serious threat to his relationship with Rose, and would have no reason to object.

raywest

4th May 2012

The Avengers (2012)

Chosen answer: As she was extremely pregnant at the time of shooting, which would have been impossible to hide, it's likely that her participation was never considered seriously. Given the desire to get the film out on their chosen release date, there would have been no question of delaying shooting to include her in what could only have been a minor supporting role at most.

Tailkinker

25th Apr 2012

The Howling (1981)

Question: Why did Eddie Quist give Chris his rifle back before transforming? Is it because he wanted to die, or because he (wrongfully) thought the gun would have no effect on him?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: The reason Eddie gave Chris back his rifle before transforming was probably because he thought the gun was loaded with normal bullets. Regular bullets (at least in this movie) do not kill werewolves. This is shown in an earlier scene with Eddie and Karen White when he confronts her about the police raid in the porno theater. The police shoot him down and it was thought that Eddie was dead. However, later it is shown that Eddie had escaped from the morgue. Also, right before transforming, Eddie digs the bullet out of his head. It was likely that Eddie was taunting Chris by daring him to shoot him, thinking that the gun would have no effect on him. What Eddie didn't know was that Chris had loaded the rifle with silver bullets, which are deadly to werewolves. If you look closely, you can see the shock on Eddie's face when Chris shoots him in the throat.

Chosen answer: Rusty was just being an ass. That's his character, him and his dad are usually going at one another. They really play up this relationship in European vacation.

Carl Missouri

Answer: Maybe, too, because he inadvertently killed her dog so maybe that killed her, too.

Kitty1019

4th Apr 2012

The Goodies (1970)

Kitten Kong - S2-E7

Trivia: On many recent specials and Live-shows, Tim has mentioned that in the scene where the Cat is dragging him face-down along the ground in the park a dog came out of nowhere and laid some do-do in his path. Since Tim didn't want to ruin the scene, he decided to continuously move himself right over it. Clearly it's something he hasn't forgotten.

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: It was said in the movie commentary that the drawing was the work of digital editing.

25th Mar 2012

The Hunger Games (2012)

Question: When Katniss is attacked by Clove after she takes the bag, why didn't she grab the knife she had (the one she cut the tracker-jacker nest's branch with) and use that instead of trying to fight her bare-handed?

Gavin Jackson

Chosen answer: In the book, she left it with Peeta in case he was discovered while she was away. Apparently she was meant to have done this in the film as well, they just neglected to show it, causing some confusion.

Phixius

Answer: She shows little to no competence with a knife. Katniss' ideal weapon is a bow, and she would not learn much on how to use a knife in the training time, especially as we have seen her do various other things in training. Though she could be able to cut off a still branch that in and of itself can't fight back, here she is dealing with a moving, killing opponent. She just might not know how to fight with a knife, or not be confident enough to do so.

18th Mar 2012

Godzilla (1998)

Continuity mistake: When Godzilla goes to eat the pile of fish, it only takes about 3 mouthfuls from the top of the pile before being chased off. In the later shot, all the fish have been eaten.

Gavin Jackson

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