Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
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Question: Little Adam is looking in a grass-filled jar at the beginning of the movie which has a label on it that says "Curtis". At the very end of the movie, grown up Adam (as a sheriff) has a man working for him whose name is Curtis. What is the connection here? There is obviously one.
Answer: According to the Director's Commentary with Bill Paxton, the "pet in the jar" was a millipede and was named "Curtis" by Matthew McConaughey simply enough after Bill asked, "What should we call it?" Later when the other Curtis appears Paxton comments that "This guy's name is Curtis and people go 'Wow, why is that guy's name Curtis and the pet Curtis?'" But he fails to actually answer the question. In the Producer's Commentary they also reference the dual names, but again have no explanation other than to point out the fact that it seems to catch the attention of viewers.
Answer: I think it is spurious. The two may appear to be related but are not.
Question: What is the song that is playing in the background when the recording of the teacher phoning the authorities is playing? It continues throughout the filming of Columbine School.
Answer: The song sounds very much like an acoustic guitar version of "Beecher's Lament" by Jeff Gibbs, who is credited with composing all original music for the film, including this song. A beautiful, haunting piano dominated version of this song appears on his only CD "Reflections". The song can be sampled at Jeff Gibb's web page. Link provided http://www.jeffgibbs.com/music.shtml.
Question: They're nearly sunk and killed when trying to get through Gibraltar, but through some miracle they make it anyway. Then suddenly they're heading back to La Rochelle. If it was so impossible to get in to the Mediterranean, how come it was so easy to get out?
Answer: We don't actually know that it was particularly easy for them to get out - it may have been quite a tense situation, but, from the cinematic point of view, that situation has already been shown once; repeating it would be an unnecessary duplication and would take time that could be better used on showing other events. All we need to know is that they made it through a second time - the precise details aren't that important to the overall storyline.
Question: There's an "abort" dial Tom Hanks looks at once as they are taking off and once when the engine shuts off. What would happen if he turned the abort dial?
Answer: The launch escape system, the 'spike' mounted above the command module, would fire a set of four thrusters designed to pull the command module away from the rest of the launch vehicle. Pitch thrusters fire to move the command module laterally, in order to avoid the possibility of the module being hit by the oncoming launch vehicle, or to prevent the module from landing in a dangerous location in the event of a launchpad fire. Once these thrusters have done their job, the escape system jettisons and the module lands using the onboard parachutes. The above describes what happens when the control is rotated in the counter-clockwise direction indicated by the control's legend. If the control is instead rotated in the clockwise direction then control of the rocket passes from the computers built into the Saturn V rocket (later jettisoned with the stages) to the computers built into the command module proper. This control was never used in an Apollo launch.
Question: Can someone please explain the ending to me? Did Luke use the spell too?
Chosen answer: The spell was performed on Luke at some point in the past by Violet's husband. Throughout the film, "Luke" is actually Justify in Luke's body.
Answer: Actually, as you see, the servants possessed the two children, so they didn't die right? And they both grew up to be violet and ben. Ben was ageing and became old so papa justify ended up taking control over Luke's (the lawyer) body and the real Luke was in ben's body. So papa justify and Luke had already switched bodies before the movie even started.
Question: In the book, Jude marries Vile Richard and Uncle Geoffrey is discovered to be gay and has a 'toy boy'. These are two major story-lines in the book, and to the films, because Jude is Bridget's best friend and Uncle Geoffrey is made out be be a sex/woman mad freak, so why were they dropped? And also, could we therefore see the story-lines in a possible third movie?
Question: I'm trying to remember the song that was made famous by this film. Can anyone help me?
Answer: "Bright Eyes" written by Mike Batt and performed by Art Garfunkel.
Question: I don't understand it when Pistachio's mother, on the camera screen, saying "no more caramel corn for me." What was that about?
Chosen answer: Bowman has captured Fabrizzio, and he has to do something with Mrs. Disguisey, so he says "Thanks to a special potion we put in the caramel corn, she thinks she is still at home preparing dinner," and then we see her on the TV screen eating the caramel corn and making food. She then later "pretends" to prepare food, then when Bowman tells the guard to pounce on Mrs. Disguisey, she whacks him, as if she were aware that she has been captured. She then informs the camera "No more caramel corn for me."
Question: Why did Queen Bavmorda need a ritual to get rid of the child? Why didn't she simply kill the baby on the spot?
Question: There were two times in this film where sound effects seemed to come straight from 'Terminator 2'. Both appeared in the scene where Mace and Lenny are being chased by Steckler and Engelman. First, the sound of screeching car tires sounded identical to the T-1000's skidding tires as he swerves to the off-ramp in the liquid nitrogen truck. Second, when Engelman fired the machine gun at the car, the sound was the same as Sarah shooting Dyson's computers at his home. Is it the same sounds or just similar ones?
Question: What does the acronym M.A.C.O. mean?
Answer: Military Assault Command Operations. The shark on their patches is presumably a mako shark.
Question: Why are the tips of the lightsabers in this movie pointed? In the original trilogy and the other prequels, they've always had rounded tips.
Answer: They've always been pointed, it just depends on what angle you view the blade from.
Question: Was there ever a doll of "The Six Million Dollar Man's" boss in real life, or was it just something the filmmakers made up?
Answer: Yes, try searching eBay for Oscar Goldman million. There are 6 on sale as I'm typing this.
Question: When Janis is explaining the Cliques to Cady, she mentions the "Preps". Aren't the Plastics preps?
Answer: Not necessarily. "Preps" usually consist of a huge group of both boys and girls (at least in my high school expierence!). The plastics were just three really mean girls that thought they were above all other cliques.
Answer: As the other comment says, preps are usually a bigger group of well-known boys and girls. At both of my high schools (my family moved) they were mostly from upper-middle-class and wealthy families. Most were cheerleaders, members of sports teams, and/or heavily involved in extracurricular activities. Basically the Hollywood of the school.
Question: The script was written by Randall Wallace. Any family connections to William Wallace or is it just a coincidence?
Answer: According to IMDb Randall Wallace's personal quote reads, "I think he is an ancestor, I feel his blood in my veins. I can't prove it but then no one can disprove it."
Question: After the first Spinosaurus attack, the survivors run into a feeding T-Rex and he roars at them. Right after the team leaves, Alan says something under his breath. Does anyone know what he says?
Question: Does anyone know what the song is that appears in this film and The Girl Next Door?
Answer: "This Years Love" by David Gray (from his White Ladder album).
Question: If the ring was trying to make it's way back to Sauron, then why didn't it do shortly after being discovered by Bilbo as was witnessed at the start of the first movie or by Smeagol at the start of the third movie?
Answer: Smeagol found the Ring about the year 2463 of the Third Age (the first movie starts in 3017). Sauron was still very weak, practically dead at that time. Then Smeagol was hiding in the caves underneath the mountains where the Ring couldn't even be sensed for almost 500 years until Bilbo found it in 2941. Bilbo took the Ring back to the Shire which was farther away from Sauron so that Sauron had to grow quite a bit stronger before he was able to "reach out" for the Ring.
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Answer: It was sent to Harry by Professor McGonagall. She was able to persuade Dumbledore to bend the rule regarding first years and broomsticks, so Harry would be allowed to play on the Gryffindor Qudditch team.
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