Question: I know that Mufasa was originally supposed to sing one song. Why was this song removed from the final version of the movie?
TedStixon
20th Jan 2022
The Lion King (1994)
28th Jan 2022
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
Question: When Arne was in prison, Father Newman comes to Arne's cell at night and secretly gives him a vial of holy water. Arne tried to commit suicide with the shards from the vial at the end. Was Father Newman possessed too? I don't understand why Father Newman would give it to Arne at night in secret.
Chosen answer: It's been a while since I've seen the film, but I believe Father Newman was giving Arne the holy water to protect himself and use as a tool against the demon. I don't think there was any indication Newman was possessed. He probably gave it to Arne in secret so the guards wouldn't confiscate it, since it could be broken and used to hurt himself or others.
28th Jan 2022
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
Question: The woman who cursed David and Arne, is she a living human or a ghost? She seems to teleport like a ghost but from the way her father tells about her, she is still alive at that moment. I'm confused.
Chosen answer: She's basically a witch/occultist. She uses magic and curses and whatnot, which might explain why she seems to be able to do unnatural things. But she is most definitely alive and not a ghost.
11th May 2006
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Question: If the Buckets were very poor, then why do they even have TV? Why don't they use the extra money for food?
Answer: TV is kind of a necessity. Here in the UK debt collectors can't take a TV if it's the only one in the house. Also, they can't afford newspapers so how would they catch up on news? The TV will last for a while whereas it would only buy a few days worth of food, so the TV is a more sustainable option.
Answer: In addition to the other answer about TV basically being a necessity, there's also the very real chance that they got the TV for dirt-cheap or even free somewhere. It looks like a crummy old antenna TV anyways. They often get old TV's in things like thrift stores or flea markets, etc. I actually specifically look for things like old TV's and VCR's in thrift store and find them a lot since I enjoy collecting old analog media and devices. Plus, given that the grandfather used to work for Wonka, it's entirely possible that he bought it in the past before the family became so poor.
Answer: Don't they have to pay for a monthly subscription? Isn't cable paid for every month?
This was based on the book, not the timeframe of the movie. There was no cable for TVs when the book was written OR in the 1971 original film. Yes, cable was available in 2005 at this film's time but that's not the logic here.
18th Jan 2022
General questions
Is there a reason a weekly TV series wouldn't name their episodes? I can understand a soap opera that's on 5+ days a week for decades not wanting to name thousands of episodes, but some shows just list the episode number or use a #1.1 pattern. For example, I'm rewatching "Dark Matter" and each episode in season 1 is just the episode number while season 2 and 3 the episodes have names.
Answer: As for "Dark Matter," it was probably just a creative decision that they decided to change along the way. A majority of shows do have titles for episodes (whether or not the episode titles are ever onscreen... sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't), but I have seen a few that nebulously just have titles like "Chapter One/Two/Three/Etc." or similar things. Perhaps it's an attempt to keep storylines hidden, especially now when people over-analyze and over-scrutinize everything online? Maybe the creators simply feel it's more ominous to not have descriptive titles? Maybe if the show tells a singular concise storyline, simply listing the episode number is more appropriate since it's all one story? Etc. It really could be any number of things. It's just one of the many creative decisions that goes into making a show.
18th Jan 2022
General questions
I saw a movie or TV show back in the early 90's when I was a kid. I only remember one scene because it scared the crap out of me. I believe in the scene, an older man (probably 60's?) was fed feet-first into a shredding machine or large wood-chipper and killed. It was outside. The camera was inside it looking up. And I think there was a woman behind him who either pushed him in, or was trying to get him out. He was awake, shouting and struggling. Ring anyone's bell? (And it was not "Fargo.").
Answer: This might be from the TV series Friday the 13th. The episode is called "Root Of All Evil." The plot of the episode deals with a cursed mulcher. Anybody that gets thrown into it is killed and money is expelled from the other side. The richer the person is, the more money that comes out. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD9XnWh5Mx4.
Holy crap! I think that's it! Quickly scanned through the episode, and it seems to (mostly) match up with what I remember. Not exactly, but considering how young I was, I could just be misremembering it. Additionally, since I was born in '88 and probably saw it when I was 3-4 years old (so '91-'92ish), it would also line up because the show ran until 1990 and was likely still on the air in re-runs.
In fact, I'm 90% sure the death at 31:13 in the video is the exact scene I'm remembering. The only difference is that it's a man and not a woman who pushed him in, but that just could be my memory being dodgy since I only saw it once about 30 years ago. Thank you! I think you got it.
You're welcome.
Answer: I know there're several films where someone has died in a wood-chipper or similar device. License to Kill (1989), Bond is dangling over a shredder and Dario is standing over him. Pam shoots Dario and Bond pulls him into the shredder.
That's a good example, but it's not the scene I'm looking for. It's hard to give details due to the 500 character limit. But the scene seemed to be outside during the daytime (I think there were trees in the background), I think the old man who died was wearing a flannel shirt (that could be wrong), and I seem to recall him having like gray or white hair. I think the woman was trying to save him.
I don't know the film you're talking about, but have you tried looking up "woodchipper" or "body in a woodchipper" in IMDB's plot keywords? The latter has 13 movies listed.
Yeah, I've scoured IMDB for it, but the problem is almost everything I run into is either from the year 2000 or after (like I said, I saw this in the early 90's on TV), or just not the movie/show I'm looking for. I'm assuming it might have been like an obscure episode of a TV show or movie that might not necessarily have a plot keyword attached.
13th Jan 2022
General questions
If episodes of a TV show are still re-running, do the actors continue to receive some amount of payment?
Answer: It depends. Often the principal cast, producers, etc. will get paid for reruns. It's typically referred to as "royalties." Ex. The show "Friends" still brings in nearly $1 billion in revenue each year through reruns, DVD sales, merchandising, advertising, etc. And the six main cast members get a cut of that - usually around $20 million per year each in royalties. However, smaller players and bit-part actors don't really make much, if anything at all, from royalties. It can also vary depending on the contracts and whatnot. Ex. The cast from "Gilligan's Island" didn't make squat from reruns because they weren't contractually obligated to get royalties. But nowadays, it's pretty common for the principal cast to get royalties.
Answer: Yes and no. It depends on what show you're talking about, how long ago it was made, and what the actors had in their contracts. Many reruns do result in "residuals" for the actors involved (or what one might call "royalties"). But this (usually) only for "principal performers", and only if they're in the rerun. Often times when a movie or TV show airs, is sold (e.g. on DVD), or streams, there are residuals to pay. Some however, do not earn these residuals (which usually diminishes after time or set number of airings). The Brady Bunch kids made very little (if any) off residuals. Bob Saget made very little for "Full House" reruns and his co-stars even less. Whereas Kelsey Grammer, Ray Romano, and "Friends" stars make millions each year off residuals.
13th Jan 2022
Red Dragon (2002)
Question: When Will mentions that Lecter was given sodium amytal in hopes of finding the location of a student that Lecter killed, Lecter instead gave them a recipe for dip. How was Lecter able to lie? Wouldn't giving him the amytal have made him tell the FBI where the student was?
Answer: So-called "truth serums" don't actually work like you think they do. They are super unreliable. Sure, they can sometimes make subjects more open and willing to talk... but just as often (if not more so), they can make the subjects super suggestible, which can lead to things like false memories, altered memories, and even false confessions. Or they can simply have no effect on the subject whatsoever besides making them a little high and groggy. There's a reason they typically aren't used and aren't always trusted. It's possible that Lecter either wasn't affected by the drug, or was simply able to keep a sound-enough mind to not divulge information. Of course, there's also the chance that Lecter hid the relevant information in the recipe... as he likes to hide information out in the open, disguised as other things... (Which he did several times in "The Silence of the Lambs").
13th Jan 2022
Halloween (2007)
Question: Why did young Michael kill the nurse? She saw a picture of Laurie as a baby and complimented her. Why would this drive Michael to kill her?
Answer: To be fair, she also makes a snide comment about how the cute baby "couldn't possibly be related" to Michael, implying he's ugly. (At least in the unrated version, which is the most widely available version on home video. Not sure if this line is in the theatrical cut.) So she did also insult Michael. But the fact of the matter is Michael is psychotic, and felt compelled to kill her for one reason or another. Whether it be because she insulted him, because the picture of his sister set him off, or simply because he just wanted to murder her... he acted on his impulse to kill. I don't necessarily think there's always a rhyme or reason as to why he kills in the Rob Zombie films... he simply kills anyone who gets in his way or that he comes across.
12th Jan 2022
Batman (1966)
Question: What city was used for Gotham City?
Answer: There wasn't one singular city used. It was shot in and around various locations in California, plus on a lot of sets and backlots. Ex. Some scenes were shot in LA, some in Pasadena, some in Santa Barbara, etc.
4th Sep 2021
Halloween II (1981)
Question: Why would Laurie ever go and visit Michael in the asylum?
Answer: Maybe she wanted to see her brother and was too young to "understand" the severity of what he did? Maybe her adoptive family thought it would be good for her to try and have some sort of relationship with her brother so they took her to visit him? Etc. Pick your poison. There's any number of valid reasons why the relative of a criminal might go to visit their family member in prison or an asylum.
Answer: She didn't, the movie picks up were the first one left off, on the same night. She went directly to the hospital and stayed there all night.
No I mean when she's in the hospital. She dreams that she's visiting him at Smith's Grove.
2nd Jan 2022
Back to the Future (1985)
Question: What is the significance of having four tardies in a row? Is there a special penalty of some sort for that?
Answer: In some schools I've worked at, 3 tardies equalled 1 unexcused absent. This school may have a similar policy, where a set number of unexcused absents results in detention.
Answer: Well first, it implies that Marty is irresponsible, and it also doesn't do any favors for his reputation since people already doubt him. And second, at least when I was in school, having too many tardy-slips or unexcused absences could get you into more serious trouble. (Suspension, etc).
When I was a kid, four tardies was grounds for detention. Marty might not have got a detention for being late four times since he's later seen with Jennifer after band auditions but there's always a possibility he might get detention or temporary suspension if he was late one more time.
His detention could also be on Saturdays, as was practised in Shermer Illinois in the 80's.
Question: Any reason why the new 2021 MVD Blu-ray is so heavily edited? Bought it online, and was extremely disappointed to see that virtually all the gore was edited out. Why bother doing a new restoration if it's going to be of the edited-for-TV version and not the full uncut version?
Answer: MVD posted on their Facebook page that they're looking into what happened. The master copy they were supplied was the Abridged Version. It may take them a couple weeks after the holidays to get an answer and see if they can get the original master copy and issue replacements.
Thanks! Honestly wasn't even expecting a response. But it's cool that they're looking into it, because the disc was otherwise really fantastic, and they did a good job with it.
14th Nov 2021
General questions
There's a movie or maybe TV show where at the end two little kids get adopted - a boy who's black and a blonde haired white girl. Someone crouches down to them, maybe in an airport, and asks if they want to come with them. Any clues what this is from?
Chosen answer: Something similar happens in one of the final episodes of the sitcom "30 Rock." Liz Lemon ends up adopting two children that she picks up from an airport - a black boy named Terry and a blond white girl named Janet - who humorously and ironically have almost the exact same personalities as her annoying co-workers Tracey and Jenna. Could that be it?
Aha, that's it! My wife sends her thanks, that was annoying her. :-).
5th Sep 2021
General questions
I am looking for an older movie with the plot of a high profile guy gets betrayed into thinking his loyal wife is having an affair with his best friend, and he kills them only to find out later that it wasn't true.
Answer: The episode was titled, "Three's a Crowd." Season 2 Episode 5 of Tales from the Crypt.
Answer: If memory serves, that's a subplot from the 2004 "Punisher" movie. Frank Castle plants false evidence that his enemy Howard Saint's wife is having an affair with his best friend. Howard kills both of them in a jealous rage, only for Frank to later reveal that he fabricated the affair.
Answer: Sounds like a Tales From The Crypt episode.
22nd Mar 2018
Child's Play 3 (1991)
Question: Why didn't Alex Vincent reprise his role as Andy?
Answer: The film makers wanted to make Andy older in the film so he could have a love interest and be in military school. At the time Alex was only 9, but they wanted Andy to be 16. So they recast the part.
Answer: To add to the other answer, the writers and producers felt that after two movies they had gone as far with child Andy as they possibly could have. They felt it would be too redundant to have a third film with Andy as a kid being pursued by Chucky. So they set this film years later when Andy was a teenager.
15th Aug 2005
Bride of Chucky (1998)
Question: Why is David known as "the gay friend"? There is no point in the movie where he or anyone else says he's gay.
Answer: When he and the girl are talking in the start of the movie they clearly reference a past boyfriend of his - she says "you loved him right", and the response was "but then his mother found our love letters and that was then end of that."
9th Jul 2021
General questions
I remember seeing part of the premiere of a show about 10 years ago. I don't know how long the show went on, but the scene always stuck with me. I think it was a show about court judges (maybe supreme court) and their associates. And there was a scene where an older judge said a cute rhyme about justice/court to a new person. There were also a group of judges in the scene, and they kept referring to each other as "Justice so-and-so." The scene was also set outside if IIRC. Ring anyone's bell?
Answer: There was a movie titled, "The First Monday in October," about the Supreme Court. It shows what happens behind the scenes. If it's a TV series, there are two, "First Monday," a spin-off series. The second is "The Court," also about the Supreme Court. Both premiered in 2002. They were dramas and both were cancelled after half a season.
It very well could be one of those. Unfortunately, I can only find a few clips from "First Monday" and can't find any clips from "The Court," so it's hard to tell if it's either of them.
7th Jun 2021
Jigsaw (2017)
6th May 2021
General questions
I remember seeing a "Star Wars" knockoff on TV years ago. I believe it was from the late 70's or early 80's. I don't remember much about it other than a scene that was copying the Death Star trench-run scene, where a couple spaceships were flying down this sort-of mechanical tunnel with really iffy special effects. I seem to remember the scene being overly red/orange tinted. I also think this may have been a foreign film (like Japanese), but I'm not 100% sure. Ring anyone's bell?
Answer: There is a Japanese one called Message from Space.
I looked it up on YouTube. This is the closest answer at this point because there is a somewhat similar scene, but I'm still pretty sure that's not it... it doesn't really match up perfectly with what I remember.
Answer: In 1978 there was a short film parody titled, "Hardware Wars," made on a very low budget and used carpenter tools as space ships.
Answer: OP here. Another detail of the scene that I remember is that the scene looked kinda like it was done with cut-outs. Like pictures of the spaceships instead of models, if that makes any sense. Like the ships all looked "flat." And most of the camera angles seemed to be either POV's of the "hero" ship, or shots from behind. If memory serves, there were also some enemy ships. The tunnel was more of a cylinder than a trench. Like it went completely around all the ships. And like I said, the entire scene had kind of a red/orange tint.
Answer: If it was blue light instead of red/orange, you may be thinking of Starcrash. Although I would think you would have remembered Caroline Munro wearing what the Mystery Science Theater crew described as "vampire lingerie."
I don't believe it was "Star Crash." I scanned through a couple movies looking for the scene in question before posting this and couldn't find it in that movie.
Answer: This could be "Spaceballs," the 1987 Mel Brooks film that parodies "Star Wars."
Definitely not "Spaceballs." This movie was probably made before it and wasn't a parody from what I can remember.
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Answer: According to one website I read, it was cut because it was felt the song didn't fit James Earle Jones' singing voice. I'll also add that the song itself (which is available online) feels really redundant... it doesn't have much purpose beyond showing Simba that being a king isn't just fun and games, which is a lesson he learns anyway during the film. So I feel like it also may have been cut due to it feeling redundant in the narrative. (Although that's just my personal theory).
TedStixon