I read that Cinderella was made into a movie 58 times. Does anyone know if this is a record? Or has something else been made more times?
Tailkinker
28th Jan 2008
General questions
26th Jan 2008
Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
Question: I think there's some 100 years between this movie and "Alien", but is the little girl in the movie supposed to be young Ripley?
Answer: Given that Alien is set in 2122, I think it can be safely said that, no, it's not.
25th Jan 2008
General questions
Being an Australian, I'm unsure about American phone numbers. In American movies/TV shows, I always notice that people's phone numbers are '555' followed by four digits, but if every American's phone number was that, then it would only allow for 10 000 phone numbers. Please fill me in.
Chosen answer: The main reason for this is that a range of numbers within the American '555' area code have been intentionally left unassigned for fictional use, with the aim of avoiding the inadvertant use of a real phone number; there have been cases of members of the public receiving numerous calls when film or TV companies have not used a 555-prefix. Other countries have similar setups - for example, Ofcom, the regulating body of the phone network in the UK has set aside a large number of numbers within various area codes specifically for use in fiction. You may well find that a similar policy exists in Australia as well.
23rd Jan 2008
Alien Vs. Predator (2004)
Question: I may have missed this in the movie but where were the fully grown aliens to come from if the humans were not there? The predators knew the pyramid was under the ice so surely the could tell there were no humans to incubate the baby aliens. Even if they couldn't, when the predators got to the surface wouldn't they communicate with the mothership that no-one was about (if the team weren't there, I mean)?
Answer: The Predators would have a decent idea of the capabilities of Earth technology; they can hardly have missed all the satellites floating about. They relied on somebody detecting the pyramid's systems powering up and on curiosity to lead a team there to investigate. Which, as we see, worked perfectly. How they got humans there in previous centuries isn't clear. In 1904, handily there was a whaling settlement nearby; prior to that, who knows - possibly they abducted worthy humans from elsewhere and brought them there.
23rd Jan 2008
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Question: Lando mentions that he is made a general due to what he did at the battle of Tanaab. Does anyone know anything more about this battle, or more specifically, what Lando did that was so outstanding?
Chosen answer: The Battle of Taanab occured about five months after the destruction of the first Death Star when a group of pirates attacked the relatively undefended agricultural world of Taanab. With the planet's small defence fleet massively outnumbered, Calrissian, who was on-planet visiting a casino, bet his fellow patrons that he could defeat the pirates and took his freighter into the fight. Hiding his ship in an ice ring surrounding Taanab's moon, he waited until the pirate fleet was in range, then ejected his cargo, a large number of Conner nets, large electrified nets designed by the military to immobilise ships. With much of the pirate fleet incapacitated, Lando rallied the Taanab defence fleet and eliminated the remaining pirate ships with very few losses. The impressed Taanab government offered him a commission in their armed forces, which he turned down, but he became a hero to the population, a reputation which apparently led to his commission as a General by the Rebel Alliance.
17th Jan 2008
General questions
Im trying to figure out the title to a movie I saw in the late 90's. A woman is sent on a mission in space and she is only person going. She gets sucked into a worm hole and ends up at a planet with a beach-like setting and she sees a ghost of her father as an alien form. Can anyone help me out? I would greatly appreciate it.
Answer: This would be the 1997 film Contact, starring Jodie Foster.
16th Jan 2008
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: How much time has passed between the ending of the first movie to the ending of the third?
Answer: About a year passes between the first two films, with a gap of a few weeks between the second and third. So no more than about fifteen months total , unless you include the after-the-credits scene in World's End, in which case add on another ten years.
13th Jan 2008
The Goonies (1985)
Question: Does anyone know the latest news on a possible Goonies sequel? After researching on the internet, the latest I can find is a Youtube interview in November 2007 with Josh Brolin, confirming that it was going into production - however, the same source suggests that he was only joking.
Answer: While most of those involved in the original have shown great interest in the possibility of a sequel, at this particular point in time, Warner Bros, who hold the rights to the original film and any possible sequels have not given any indication that they like the idea of doing one. It's possible that this might change at some point; DVD sales of the original movie have been very good, which could obviously catch the eye of an executive or two, but at the moment there's been no apparent movement towards a possible production.
13th Jan 2008
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: Can anyone tell me the approximate year(s) during which the trilogy is supposed to take place?
Answer: According to the producers, the films are set somewhere between 1720 and 1750, although, as it's a fantasy, they didn't bother with precise historical accuracy. A tune played in the first film at Norrington's promotion ceremony was written in 1740, so you could consider that as an indication that the trilogy takes place in the 1740's.
13th Jan 2008
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: Can anyone explain why Calypso caused the maelstrom to appear? Other than provide really cool visual effects for the movie, it didn't serve a purpose. I would have thought she'd do something against Davy Jones and/or his ship in particular for betraying her in the first place.
Answer: It's suggested that, as she's pretty much equally annoyed at the pirates (for originally imprisoning her, even if it wasn't specifically those pirates) and at Davy Jones (for showing them how to do it), that she creates the maelstrom to make it an even fight - effectively telling them that she no longer cares for either side. The conditions within the maelstrom hamper the Black Pearl, the turbulence making it difficult to bring her superior speed into play, but the angle and extremely damp conditions also make it harder for the Flying Dutchman to bring her superior firepower to bear.
Wrong. As the Black Pearl was meant for speed, she would have a lighter weight than the Dutchman, and would require a pushing force to stay even. Furthermore, she was not hampered by the wind-she was aided, as Gibbs stated, "The wind's on our side, boys!"
Don't think weight had anything to do with it. The Pearl was heavier than the Interceptor, but had no issue catching up with it. The maelstrom took the Pearl's superior speed out of play because they were forced to circle one another. There was no advantage to be gained by outspeeding the Dutchman around the whirlpool, and coming up on its rear. Remember, the Pearl had no forward cannons.
The other side thought they had a favorable wind as well. All the air was being pulled toward the maelstrom in the middle so both sides thought it was at their back allowing them to control the engagement.
Both sides did have favourable winds but for a different reason. It's mentioned in Dead Man's Chest that against the wind the Dutchman is faster but with the wind the Pearl is faster. The Pearl had a favourable wind because it was blowing her sails from the back whilst the Dutchman had a favourable wind because she is faster against it.
The Dutchman is faster against wind because it uses oars to row. They menton to go deeper into the maelstrom to get into faster waters. Thats how they outran the Dutchman and got broadside. It's got nothing to do with the wind.
No, the Dutchman doesn't use any oars, you are thinking back to the first film when the Pearl is chasing the Interceptor and they use oars to go faster. Neither ship is fitted with a diesel engine so it has EVERYTHING to do with the wind.
Oh, you're right. I got confused in the 2. Not sure about the diesel engine though. May have one hidden in the back.
5th Jan 2008
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
Question: I'm confused, I thought 'Christ' was one of Jesus's names, but that makes no grammatical sense in the phrase 'The Passion of the Christ'. What does 'Christ' mean?
Chosen answer: While there is a not uncommon misconception that Christ is simply a surname, it is, in fact, a title. It's based on the Greek word "Christós", which literally translates to "The Anointed One". Via its Hebrew equivalent, "Mašíaḥ", we get the word "Messiah".
29th Dec 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: In the scene where Jack, Barbossa, Elizabeth meets with Beckett, Davy Jones, and Will on the little island. Beckett tells Jack that he honored their deal to bring him to the Brethren court and lure the pirates out, but then why does Beckett then hand Jack over to Davy Jones? wasn't the deal that he would keep Jack safe from Jones if Jack led him to Pirate's Cove? He even says "come collect your reward." was he just being sarcastic?
Answer: Beckett's ruthless and untrustworthy. He's simply not keeping to the deal. The reference to a reward is entirely sarcastic.
26th Dec 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: In the scene with Cutler Beckett, Davy Jones, and Will Turner, when they are discussing the brethren court and the first meeting, Davy Jones speaks to Beckett like he was there. Does this mean that Beckett was a former pirate and is this what Jack Sparrow meant by leaving his mark on Beckett?
Answer: No, Beckett is not a former pirate. The first meeting of the Brethren Court, from all indications in the film, was well over a hundred years before the events shown here, long before any of the human characters were born. Exactly how Jack left his mark on Beckett is never explained in the films; given Jack's ability to outwit people, Beckett may be referring to something psychological rather than an actual physical scar.
23rd Dec 2007
Tristan & Isolde (2006)
Question: This is a strange question, but is it possible that Isolde could sleep with both the King and Tristan so many times and not get pregnant? Was there any kind of birth control at this time?
Answer: Without going into detail, two possible birth control options would be the withdrawal method or earlier versions of condoms. It's unlikely that Marke and Isolde were using these methods, because Marke, as a king, would probably want children to be his heirs. But Isolde might have at least been taking precautions with Tristan, especially during the time that she was betrothed to Morholt. There would be trouble if she became pregnant while her betrothed was away. Also, as Tailkinker wrote, maybe she simply did not conceive.
Answer: Yes, it's entirely possible. Even in this day and age, with our relatively detailed knowledge of the processes and timing involved, couples trying for children can sometimes try for months or even years before a successful conception.
Answer: Three answers. ONE: Manuscript medical texts survive from Anglo-Saxon England. These describe folk wisdom and empirical medical tradition handed down from generation to generation. Herbs and herbal products were used as cures and prophylactics. These say little about contraception (they were written by monks or nuns who lived celibate lives) but it could be inferred that women used herbs and herbal products for women's issues (including contraception), knowledge refined over generations and handed down orally that has been lost or forgotten. TWO In the middle ages diet, nutrition and health conditions were such that, in general, people were not as healthy as they are today, so women may have been less "fertile" and less likely to become pregnant after sex. THREE: The legend of Tristan and Isolde is not accurate history. It began to circulate in the twelfth century, but even then it was a story, told to entertain, and this cinema version is a fictional, fantasy re-imagining of medieval life (similar to Game Of Thrones or Lord of the Rings) so such logical details do not necessarily apply.
24th Dec 2007
The Dead Zone (2002)
Question: Which episode aired first, "Unreasonable Doubt" or "Netherworld"? I have the season 1 DVD set, and "Netherworld" is listed as episode number five, but in episode guides I've seen, "Unreasonable Doubt" is.
Chosen answer: Unreasonable Doubt aired as the fifth episode, on July 14 2002, with Netherworld airing as the eighth episode on August 4th. One possible explanation is that the networks are sometimes known to air episodes out of their actual production order. In cases like this, the DVD release usually uses the production order, thus placing the episodes in the order which they were intended to be watched.
19th Dec 2007
Star Wars (1977)
Question: This goes for Episodes IV, V and VI. What are the little droid things that roll around on the ground in the Death Star?
Answer: These are the MSE (or Mouse) droids, who typically carry out minor maintenance or cleaning procedures but can also be assigned other tasks, such as carrying messages in the event that a comlink system is considered insecure, or leading individuals or groups to a particular area. Because of their occasional security related functions, they are designed to self-destruct in the event of capture, accounting for their somewhat nervous disposition.
10th Dec 2007
The Tudors (2007)
Question: Why does everyone call Jonathan R-M 'Harry'? Isn't he Henry VIII?
Answer: While Harry can be a given name, it is also a standard "informal" version of the name Henry. For example, in the UK Royal Family, the younger son of Prince Charles, officially named Prince Henry, is commonly referred to as Prince Harry.
5th Dec 2007
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Question: Does Legolas marry after the battle ends, and where were his kin throughout the battle? Does Gimli marry, and where were the other Dwarfs?
Answer: Sauron's assault on Middle-Earth took place on many fronts; it wasn't limited to the assault on Minas Tirith. The elven kingdom of Lorien came under attack, as did the dwarven realm of Erebor; the elves and dwarves were busy fighting their own battles. Tolkien never mentions whether Gimli or Legolas later marry, although both settled with their kin after the fall of Sauron, Legolas in Ithilien and Gimli in the Glittering Caves of Helm's Deep, so both had the opportunity to have done so before sailing into the West together after Aragorn's death in the year 120 of the Fourth Age.
1st Dec 2007
Apollo 13 (1995)
Question: Did anyone play him- or herself in this movie? That seems to be typical for many movies of this kind, but I'm not aware of anyone doing it in Apollo 13 (yes, I know Jim Lovell had a cameo at the end).
Answer: Other than a few individuals who appears in archive footage taken from the era, who could technically be said to be playing themselves, no, there's nobody. Too much time has really passed since the original events for anybody to be convincing as their younger selves.
Answer: Marilyn Lovell also played herself. She is in the viewing stands clapping.
Marilyn Lovell doesn't play herself, she just has a cameo (the same as Jim Lovell) where she plays on onlooker at the site.
Question: In the scene in the forge where Will and Jack are fighting, Jack asks "Do you think this wise, boy? Crossing blades with a pirate?" Then Will says "You threatened Miss Swann" I never got this, Jack says something after this, I have watched that three second bit over and over and I still don't know what he says, can anyone straighten this out for me?
Answer: He says "Only a little".
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Answer: The main problem with things along these lines are what actually counts. The Internet Movie Database listed 41 films and TV productions directly called "Cinderella", but there are many other productions that are based, to varying degrees, on the storyline, so it becomes rather questionable as to where you draw the line as what can be considered "Cinderella" and what's just too far away from the original storyline to be considered as a proper version of the tale. The most likely rival to the top slot, and it certainly cannot be disputed that Cinderella must be a good candidate for the position, would be Dracula, who has appeared in something like 200 films over the years. As with Cinderella, how many of those can be considered legitimate adaptations of the original story would be a matter of some debate.
Tailkinker ★