Question: Why In the opening credits is Roseanne's full name shown as Roseanne Arnold, when she didn't marry Tom Arnold till 1990 and this episode came out in 1988?
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: Why does Liv Tyler receive third billing for this movie and its sequels? Her character hardly does anything compared to other characters in the trilogy like Aragorn, Sam or Saruman, and she wasn't exactly an A-lister at the time the movies came out.
Chosen answer: Getting a high billing is always part of an actor's negotiations. She would have been offered it as part of the deal to join the film.
Question: Why did Don Corleone send Luca Brasi to gather intel on Sollozzo? Wouldn't it have been obvious to the Don that sending his bodyguard, who was widely known to be unquestionably loyal, wouldn't fool his adversaries, which would eventually, with Brasi dead, lead to his own death?
Answer: Luca wasn't Vito's bodyguard, Paulie Gatto was. In Mafioso circles the bodyguard is also usually the chauffeur which was the other part Paulie played. Luca was an independent who had loyalty to Vito. Unlike other members of the family, Luca had his own operation and his own scams. He was usually only called into service by the Don when some particularly nasty piece of business needed to be taken care of for which Luca was paid handsomely. Few people knew why Luca was loyal to Vito, it had to do with a bit of trouble Luca got into with a young girl, Luca was looking at some hard time and Vito was able to get him out of it. As explained in the books, Luca didn't care if he lived or died, he didn't even care if he was killed, but he cared very deeply that he wouldn't be killed by Vito. That was the hold Vito had on Luca which made his loyalty so deep. So far as the rest of the underworld was concerned Luca was just an independent contractor who worked for the Corleone's from time to time. If you'll recall when Kay sees Luca Michael tells her "he helps out my father sometimes." Barzini was probably the only other one who truly understood how deep Luca's loyalty went. So, why did Vito send Luca: Vito thought he was dealing with the Tataglias. Ten years prior to the Sollozo meeting there had been a Mafia war. Vito planned the strategy of the war while Sonny handled the tactics. The war was bloody and costly but the Corleone's were able to out maneuver the other families and come out on top. After that war Vito was top dog of all the 5 families. Had Vito been correct that Philip Tataglia was behind Sollozo, sending Luca would have been a smart move. As Vito mentions after the meeting of the commission "Tataglia is a pimp, he never could have out fought Santino." Tataglia would have seen getting Luca as a huge win, not only would he have Vito's special muscle, but he'd probably also believe he'd be able to get information from Luca. Where Vito made the mistake was not seeing Barzini pulling the strings, had he believed Barzini was involved he'd have handled it differently.
The line in Goodfellas seems illuminating here where Henry Hill explains that the Mafia is essentially an organisation that offers protection for those who can't turn to the legitimate law of regular society. This suggests that these "family" ties are not as strong as we imagine. These criminals are not a definite part of an orderly corporation, like head of HR at IBM, but a loose confederation of connections and loyalties that are rather more fluid. This is a theme also explored very well in the book and film, Donnie Brasco. Therefore, it wouldn't be totally unthinkable that someone in Luca Brasis position could turn to another "family" if he felt it expedient. However, these kind of guys have a tendency towards mistrust.
Answer: Luca was instructed by Don Corleone to act as if he was unhappy with his current situation within the Corleone family. In the book, this mission was planned more thoroughly and was spread out over a longer period of time with Luca frequenting the Tattaglia family's bars and bordellos, where he (falsely) bitterly complained to the prostitutes and anyone who'd listen about how he was underpaid and undervalued by the Godfather. Either this ploy did not fool Sollozzo or, if he did believe it, he didn't care and used it to send a message to the Corleones by killing Luca.
Question: How does Stacy give Guy 5 cent change if his total is $1.10? Did he have a 15 cent piece?
Answer: This could be considered a mistake. Some people say the pizza cost $1.05, and he gave her $1.10, with 5 cents back. But if you watch the register, she rings up $1.10 before he hands her the money and then it shows $0.05. It seems this part wasn't in the script, so was added as filler and some of the sequence is slightly off.
Answer: Three quarters and four dimes would make it correct.
But you can see that there is a dollar bill in the transaction - check the " mistakes" on this forum for the discussion. Your theory would be correct, had the dollar bill not been shown.
His bill was $1.05 and he gave her $1.10 so his change was a nickel.
No, his bill is 1.10. Stacey even says " that'll be 1.10"
Answer: She's acknowledging how much the guy gives her, not how much the pizza cost. She says "1.10" and then gives him 5 cents back, because the pizza likely costs $1.05.
Question: I'm confused by how Victor (the Sloth victim) managed to "survive" an entire year of being tied to his own bed. Even if he had an IV keeping him alive, surely he would have died after a few months, even weeks? Also, how did no one notice him missing when he was trapped in a populated apartment? Surely someone would have noticed his absence; he was an infamous drug-dealer after all.
Answer: Laying in bed for a prolonged amount of time would cause serious damage, yes, but John Doe likely moved him around, changing beds etc. (nurses do this with comatose patients in hospitals). As for why no one noticed him missing...well, he was a drug dealer. Most people wouldn't accustom themselves with such a person in the first place and even if someone did notice him gone, opening their mouths could risk them getting caught by the police. Also, it was stated by a police officer that landlord said there was no reason to be concerned. His rent was always paid in full, on time. As far as Victor dealing drugs; junkies aren't concerned with their dealers. If one doesn't answer the phone, they move on down the list. Drug dealers and junkies disappear everyday.
Answer: John Doe gave him antibiotics through an IV. You can survive without food, not water. Maybe Doe gave him Ensure as a source of food. As far as being a drug dealer, people would have thought he skipped town, went to jail, or was killed.
Question: Not saying I'm an expert on time travel, but when Goob and 'Doris' submit the Memory Scanner as their own, shouldn't Doris immediately vaporize much like she did when Lewis said he wouldn't invent her, seeing as Lewis is still theoretically in the future and wouldn't be present in the past to invent Doris?
Question: Bud and Catfish decide to go outside of the rig, swimming out the bottom of one of the hatches. Also, when Bud and Lindsey are in the wrecked submersible they decide Bud will swim with the drowned body of Lindsey back to the rig. How could these three have made it by entering the outside pressure of the Abyss at 1 or 2 miles below sea level without wearing a dry suit like Bud wears while saving Lindsey? They all would have been crushed the instant they left the habitat or submersible.
Answer: At the depth you're asking about, the water pressure is not enough to crush a diver's unprotected body (which is mostly solid/liquid and thus relatively hard to compress). The only thing they have to worry about is their lungs (gases, and therefore things containing gases, are much easier to compress). This worry is addressed by the pressure and composition of the air that they breathe on the rig, in their submersibles, and in their air tanks - this air has different proportions of gases (especially oxygen) compared to surface air, and is also at a significantly higher pressure - high enough to counter the pressure of the water that deep. (Side note: another way you can tell the atmosphere they are breathing in the rig is set at the same pressure as the water at that depth is that there is open water in the moon pool - and it's not rushing in to fill the entire rig, which it would if the air pressure was less than the water pressure).
Question: Does anyone know what the spiral and dot on the back of the Pirates of the Caribbean medallion mean/represent?
Answer: The symbol on the back is called the "chimali". It's a symbol of harmony, similar to the yin yang.
Question: Was there any reason why Tong Po is listed as being played by himself when he was played by Michel Qissi? This is in the film's credit, I know IMDB listed Qissi as the actor. And if this was just a mistake, was there an explanation given as to how it was made or got past editing?
Answer: He didn't want to use his real name.
Answer: This is a mistake that has never been explained.
Question: If predator and prey live in harmony, why do they still make fox repellent?
Answer: Same reason we humans have pepper spray. I think there's some sort of repellent for each animal just for safety reasons.
Question: Does Stan Lee have his usual cameo in this film?
Chosen answer: No, no one from the film asked him to do a cameo. Stan Lee has said he never requests a cameo and waits to be asked.
I read on IMDb that he declined to make a cameo in this movie.
I've never heard him say he declined the cameo. I think maybe the entry was made from an assumption of what Lee told Larry King. Lee mentioned he wasn't in one of the X-Men films or this film and said sometimes the films are shot too far away and he can't travel half way around the world to be in a cameo. But this film was shot primarily in Louisiana and did have a scene shot in Los Angeles supposedly.
Question: My question is about radio chatter. Sometimes in the movie McClane talks on the radio and the bad guys hear him, and sometimes the bad guys talk and everybody hears. Now there are times that McClane is talking to the Sergeant and it appears only him and the Sergeant are listening - can everyone listen to them? Also when talking with Theo about the safe, can McClane hear their conversation?
Chosen answer: The gangster/terrorists were using a set of what are called "commercial" or business walkie-talkies which have special, dedicated channels so that they only communicate with other radios within the set. These are typically used by security and event-staff personnel, and they can't be monitored by general-purpose or citizens-band radios. Even the police wouldn't be able to monitor commercial radio traffic unless they had special tuning gear and scanners. The major mistake in "Die Hard" was that John used one of those commercial radios to contact a police dispatcher and then an individual police officer. No can do.
Question: On the phone conversation, Howard Payne claims that it took him two full years of his life setting up that elevator job and investing himself in it. So how is he able to move out of his old retirement home and relocate in an apartment building in downtown LA near Pershing Square, rig 2 city buses with a handheld remote with C4 bombs, rig his old home, cut the hole on the street underneath the garbage can and think of that revenge plot and plan and set up everything else in just a month. That's just not enough time for him to do all that.
Question: What is the name of the soundtrack when Basher is detonating the pinch as a part of the plan?
Question: What is the name of the soundtrack being played when Benedict is watching the tape and rusty is explaining him the escape plan?
Question: What did the car exploding towards the start of the movie mean?
Answer: Are you referring to the Director of the Louvre's car getting killed in the Paris tunnel? He was killed for knowing too much.
Answer: He was on his way to a press conference, probably to "blow the whistle" about the whole plan, and somebody silenced him.
Question: How does Batman (Thomas) kill Zoom? I know that in the comics he doesn't use a gun. But wasn't Zoom supposed to feel/hear the bullet (etc.) and move away at high speed?
Chosen answer: He doesn't have super hearing so no he wouldn't have heard it. As to feeling it, yes he should have. But it could be explained away by him gloating and being totally focused on Barry, or the lower speed force level.
Question: Why did Draco want to gate-crash Slughorn's party? It seems to have something to do with his mission to kill Dumbledore, but Dumbledore was not there.
Answer: He wasn't gate-crashing. Draco was caught in the halls, where he should not have been. He was en route to the Room of Requirement where he was secretly working on repairing the vanishing cabinet. The "gate-crashing" was an excuse he came up with when Filch happened to catch him outside where Slughorn's party was being held.
Answer: Draco poisoned Slughorn's present for Dumbledore.
Question: What year is the film set?
Chosen answer: While no specific date is given, Mel Brooks wanted to do a tribute parody to the classic 1930's horror film, thus the Black and White film and the 30's style film techniques. However, Hans Delbrück (the brain Igor is suppose to steal) was a real-life person who died in 1929. Given that and the cars seen, it's a safe bet it's suppose to be set in the early 1930's.
Answer: Near the end of the film the (now improved) monster is in bed reading the Wall Street Journal. The article in the top left corner refers to the Brown Vs. Board of Education Supreme Court case after 25 years. That puts the film in 1979. (It was made in 1974.) Also, the young Dr. Frankenstein refers to his grandfather, the infamous Dr. Frankenstein. The original movie was made in 1931. That places the movie two generations later.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Chosen answer: Her name was likely changed in the credits when the series was syndicated as reruns.
raywest ★