Question: Could anyone hear what Bob whispers into Charlotte's ear near the end of the film, just before he kisses her?
Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.
Question: Where is Luca from, and what happened to his wife and children?
Answer: Luca is Croatian. His wife and children were killed during the war, and he moved to the US after that.
Question: It's established that the Elves are leaving Middle Earth to go across the sea, into the West. What/where exactly are they going? Is it to another continent that's just across the sea that maybe only Elves know how to get to, or to some otherworldly place?
Answer: They're going to a place called Valinor (which means "home of the vala". The Vala are sort of manifestations of some of the gods) - it is a real continent that is across the sea. There is, however, magic at work because only the elven boats can get there.
Question: I know that when you are near the One Ring you are tempted and once you put it on then you become addicted/obsessed with it. Once you put the Ring on, as you move closer to Mordor and Mt. Doom then the temptation to have it becomes stronger, is this true?
Answer: It's not entirely the case - the Ring begins to work on you from the moment you start to possess it, and the temptation increases with the passage of time, until it becomes impossible to give up the Ring - it's notable that Bilbo is the only person ever to voluntarily give it up after owning it. Proximity to Mordor probably has only a minor effect - time, and probably the relative power of Sauron, are more relevant.
Question: What is all that stuff with "Zippowitz" and the "Kid from Silver Spoons" about? Who are those two?
Answer: These are references to the TV show NYPD Blue. Deputy Andy Sipowicz is the name of one of the characters, whilst another character (Deputy Danny Sorenso) is played by Rick Schroder who previously starred in the show Silver Spoons.
Question: In the scene where Jack and Elizabeth are marooned on the island, Jack is walking to a higher part of the island. He then imitates Elizabeth by saying something like "'It must have been terrible for you, Jack. Must have been terrible.' Well, it bloody is now." He then sees Norrington's ship approach the island and says, "There'll be no living with her after this." What does he mean when he says that?
Answer: That she was absolutely correct when she presumed that lighting a 1,000-foot signal fire with the remaining rum would bring the ship to them. And, as such, the knowledge that she was right would go to her head.
Question: How did Jack escape from the marooned island the first time? His explanation was something about rum and trade routes but I didn't understand it.
Chosen answer: Traders had been storing their goods on the island, hidden in the bunker. When he was first on the island he simply got a lift with them on their ship when they came to collect their goods. Now however the bunker is empty and he knows that the traders won't be back.
Question: When Gandalf falls at the bridge of Khazad-dum, it seems like he lets go on purpose. Why doesn't he try to pull himself up, or why doesn't the Fellowship try to help him? It seems that he 'died' unnecessarily.
Answer: This scene differs slightly from the book. Tolkien didn't give Gandalf a choice - the Balrog's whip gets him and he falls immediately. However, even in the filmed version, it is clear that there is no chance of Gandalf being rescued. He has the weight of the Balrog hanging on him so cannot be pulled up; since he is the only one with a chance of defeating such a powerful creature he decides to fight it well away from the rest of the fellowship who have a much more important mission to complete.
Question: What does Gandalf say at the Council of Elrond, which he speaks in the language of Mordor?
Answer: "Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatulul, ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!". This is the translation of the corrupted Tengwar runes inscribed on the One Ring itself. In English it means "One Ring to Rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them." This, of course, is only two lines of the longer verse about the Rings of Power.
Question: I have read that the ditzy blonde actress was based on Cameron Diaz. Does anyone know why Sophia Coppola would pick on her in particular?
Answer: Sofia Coppola has denied that character is based on Cameron Diaz in an article in Entertainment Weekly.
Question: How does Raymond Dufayel aka Glass Man know Amélie is looking for Bretodeau/Bredoteau aka The Box Man. He says "I've lived here for five years. This is the first time we've met." Then adding that he never goes out on the landing, they're all creeps. So my question is who told him Amélie was looking for The Box Man? Lucien the grocer boy maybe? As he delivers to his flat. Or maybe Madeleine Wallace the Concierge. (00:26:20)
Chosen answer: The Glass Man isn't as reclusive as he tells Amelie; he obviously talks to many people and spies on them with his binoculars (he knows all about Amelie's revenge on the grocer and the letter she wrote to Mrs. Wells). It isn't revealed where he got the specific information about Amelie's search for Dominique Bredoteau.
Question: Why are Hermione, Harry, and Ron wearing 'muggle' clothes during most of the teaser trailer?
Answer: We can't be 100% sure of any answer until the movie actually comes out. All people know is that the new director has made some changes to the style of the movie and characters. Including, but not limited to a redesign of their uniforms, some hairstyles and apparently more time in muggle clothes.
Question: When Obi-Wan is being given a tour of the cloning facility, the creature says to him, "They're completely obedient" (or something akin). Right when she says that, we see a closeup of one clone holding a knife and fork. This clone, instead of eating politely like all the others, looks left and right and has a mean look on his face. Is there any significance to this shot? Why would they show a closeup of one clone appearing to contradict what the female is saying about the clones?
Answer: Just because he had a mean look on his face, does not mean he was not obedient. The Kaminos would have genetically altered the clones so they would be obedient, but not lose their aggressiveness.
Question: How does discovering the Bible stamped with "The Drake Hotel" tip Ethan Hunt off that Jim Phelps is Job? And what alerts Ethan of Krieger's complicity, since he's the one who recruits Krieger to help him steal the NOC list?
Answer: Phelps told them earlier that he stayed in the Drake Hotel, so Ethan made the link that way - there's no reason for Phelps to have brought the bible with him unless he needed one, in this case for the biblical references required for the Job communications. He tumbles to Krieger's involvement because the knife used to kill Sarah during the blown mission was the same precise type as the one Krieger uses - which Ethan saw during the CIA infiltration when Krieger threatened to kill the security guard.
The problem is, Max specifically said that Job didn't make Bible references. So why did Jim have a Bible or ever take it from the Drake Hotel in the first place?
Question: What was the ultimate destination of the Jupiter mission? The giant planet is made of gas, it has no solid surface to land on. Theoretically a spacecraft could land on one of Jupiter's moons, but they lie within the lethal radiation belt.
Answer: The ultimate goal was to orbit Jupiter to study the Monolith also in orbit around it.
Answer: The objective of the Discovery (Jupiter) mission was to locate the recipient of the powerful radio signal that was transmitted from the Moon earlier in the movie. Interestingly, the destination of the Discovery mission changed between Jupiter to Saturn and back to Jupiter during the production of the film. The Jupiter visual effects had already been shot ("in the can" as it were) when Stanley Kubrick decided to change to Saturn. It was the protest of the visual effects team, who had already spent much time and money on the Jupiter effects, that convinced Kubrick to stay with Jupiter. In the meantime, author Arthur C. Clarke went ahead and changed the destination to Saturn in his written treatment of the movie.
Question: Why was Arwen dying? I know that Elrond said that the Evenstar was being overcome with the darkness, but why wouldn't other Elves, that were linked to Sauron or were closer to Mordor, be affected?
Answer: It's because she's chosen to become a mortal - her fate is now tied directly to the fate of humanity, and, in her case, due to her heritage, it manifests in a physical manner. If humanity falls, she dies.
Question: When Gary Oldman is on AF1, talking to the vice president for the first time, he says something similar to "How's your blou.." What is he saying? I don't have the DVD, so I don't have subtitles.
Answer: Earlier in the same scene, Oldman says to the VP, "I'm sure you can't wait for him (the President) to get back to making the decisions so you can stop sweating through that silk blouse of yours." As he makes his demands known, he asks her "How's your blouse?" in reference to her perspiration.
Question: Why exactly must Arwen become 'mortal' when she chooses to be with Aragorn? It's not because she didn't leave with the other elves, because Legolas didn't leave until after Aragorn died. Does it have anything to do with the necklace she gives him, as in the necklace was a source of her 'immortality', or was that just a symbol of her love?
Answer: The necklace is only a symbol of her love. She has the choice to make because she's partly human. Elrond, her father, is half-elven, and was therefore given the choice whether to be counted among the 'immortal' elves, or to be counted among mortal humans. He chose elvendom, but all his descendants ultimately have to make the same choice. Arwen loves Aragorn, a mortal, and chooses to live out a mortal lifespan at his side for that reason. Strictly speaking, there's nothing to say that she absolutely has to become mortal, but chooses to so that they will grow old together, which is a part of love, and so that she will not be left to live an elven lifespan without him after his death. Additionally, as a mortal she will experience the same afterlife as a man, instead of returning to Valinor like the elves. This will allow her to stay with Aragon even after death, while splitting her from her father and the elves.
Answer: You're not meant to. Leaves you to decide what he says.
rabid anarchist