Question: On the back of the PAL DVD there is a picture of Alex holding back Clear from a car during the day. It looks to be at the place where Terry was killed. Does anyone know if this is a deleted scene not on the DVD? Also, on the commentary the makers of the film said that they shot the bus hit from inside the bus, as well as from the side. Does anyone know where these scenes are now?
Question: Through most of the film Malcolm is dead. All the other ghosts still have scars from how they died but why doesn't Malcolm have his mark which should be a bullet wound?
Answer: Because as Cole tells us in the middle of the movie, "They only see what they want to see." The movie shows us Malcolm as he perceives himself. He can't actually put on an overcoat, or change clothes. He sees what he expects to see. He goes outside in the cold to visit Cole, so he sees himself wearing an overcoat. He doesn't know he is dead - he doesn't see his wound. To preserve this misdirection throughout the movie, we are shown Malcolm as he sees himself.
Actually, we do see Malcolm and Cole sees him. The entry wound in his abdomen is tiny, and the large, obvious exit wound is on Malcolm's back, which we never see.
Question: Was the ghostwriter murdered? Why? The book had already been published, and he only discovered the truth about Ruth minutes before, so who would have wanted him dead?
Answer: Who would want him dead? Ruth, for one, as well as Professor Emmett (her CIA recruiter) and others involved in the conspiracy. Yes, the book had been published, but the secret message only comes across if one is in possession of all the knowledge that the writer had acquired, which the casual reader would not have. And minutes is plenty of time for Ruth, Emmett, or anyone else to make a phone call and arrange the hit.
The published book was a rewrite and would not have the secret message in the chapter beginnings.
The published book was a rewrite of the original manuscript. He gives her the original manuscript that he was working off, not a final draft.
Makes no sense, he was run down 2 minutes after she read it.
We know the beginning of the book was rewritten as he didn't like it. Almost certainly, the clue is not in the published version of the book. Ruth was shocked to read the note and is delivering her speech so is unlikely to be complicit in the murder of the Ghostwriter. The ending suggests that Ruth, too, is little more than a pawn in the whole conspiracy.
Question: Why did Argyle want to kill Michael? I can understand wanting to kill those who harmed him but Michael was an innocent boy.
Answer: She said in the movie, "He must see himself as a child in Michael. He wants to get rid of him to erase his past."
Answer: While Argyle shows a strange affinity for Michael, his primary goal is still revenge on the entire town. Innocent or not, Michael is connected to those who tortured him.
How could Michael have anything to do with those men that he killed? He's just a kid.
How is he connected?
Question: I was wondering why the man and woman in the last trap didn't use the woman from the bathtub to give the pints of blood? They could have carried her into the room because the door stayed open for about forty seconds.
Chosen answer: Assuming the woman in the bathtub was able to be moved safely the amount of blood gained from her, while still being helpful, would probably not be enough to save the final two survivors from self harm. Without the heart pumping blood you would only get the blood that was in her arm at the moment. You would have to lift her or raise her so gravity would get other blood moving to get enough. Which the final two possibly could have done, but stress of the situation clouded their judgement.
Question: When going to kill the Killians, how did the Horseman know that Thomas was hiding under the floor? Thomas stayed completely still and didn't make a sound.
Question: Me and my friend have debated this each time we have watched the movie and I finally decided to ask the question here to see who is right. When they are discussing their plan and saying they need the plane for it, Saito says "I bought the airline... It seemed neater." My interpretation of this is that he bought out all the tickets on that particular flight so the plane would be empty and weed out risk of interruption from other passengers, as doing that made it so there are no other passengers. But my friend thinks he means he bought the entire brand of the airline, so that he now owns the company that has that plane. Like buying out SouthWest Airlines as a company or something. So who is right? What did Saito mean? Did he buy out all the tickets for that flight, or did he buy the whole airline company?
Chosen answer: He bought out the actual airline company. If he'd bought out all the tickets for that specific journey he'd have said "I bought out the flight" or similar. It's a deliberately over the top moment of exuberance to highlight exactly how rich Satio is. I'm afraid that it is your friend who is correct, sorry.
Question: There is a LOT of changes if you compare the film to the book, and most of them I understand, since you always have to make some changes. But why did they change such things as characters names and genders?
Answer: The film makers changed the name of Amelia Sachs because it sounded too much like 'sex'. I have not been able to discover for certain why they made Thom into a woman, but possibly this had to do with Thom's homosexuality. It could be viewed as controversial that Rhyme's nurse is a gay man, and could possibly also bring Rhyme's own sexuality into question. To make the nurse female would avoid all such issues.
Question: Why does the weather and road/ground change so much (dry, rain storm, wet, snow) in the beginning of the movie from the kitchen to the train station?
Answer: The opening credit scene (waking up, in the kitchen, the drive, being on the train, and walking through the terminal) is montage where each cut represents another day in Michael's life. It's meant to show the monotony of his life through the whole year (or even years) and how he follows the same routine everyday.
Question: Could someone please explain the end to me? Why was Julie a different person at the end when she was in her father's office?
Chosen answer: Julie was not the publisher's daughter. Julia, who we see at the end, is the real daughter - given that Sarah doesn't seem very surprised to see Julia at the end (and the reaction of the secretary proves she's known to everyone), the most likely explanation is that the entire sequence in France is in fact the content of Sarah's book, and never really happened.
Question: Why did the truck driver want to kill David Mann?
Answer: It's never explained why but, judging from the numerous license plates from other vehicles attached to his truck, the truck driver is a serial killer and was just targeting people at random and decided to make David his next target.
Trucks used to have to be registered in multiple states if they were going to operate in them. It was very common to see semi trucks with a half dozen or so license plates on them, each from a different state.
Answer: According to director Steven Spielberg, the trucker was a serial killer, and each of the license plates were trophies from previous victims.
Answer: David pulled ahead of the truck not once but twice. He got to the gas station first, and got served before the trucker. For any normal person this would not be cause to try to murder someone, however the truck driver is an unhinged psychopath who doesn't need much reason to go into an obsessive rage. Add to that the fact that David is driving a much smaller car, and the fact that they're out in the middle of nowhere with nary a cop around, and the truck driver probably saw David as easy prey.
Answer: "It was very common to see semi trucks with a half dozen or so license plates on them, each from a different state." And that's how the psycho trucker got away with it. He could have those 'trophy' plates on the front of the truck in plain sight, and to anyone who saw it, the truck would look like just another big rig with multiple license plates. Nothing out of the ordinary or suspicious about it.
Question: Reverend Lowe says that he's been killing people because of the sins they committed but why did he kill Brady? He never committed a sin.
Answer: Firstly, Reverend Lowe is deluding himself by saying he only kills people because of their sins. He is in fact wracked with guilt over his actions and has at least one vivid nightmare about this. Secondly, in the Christian faith all humans are considered sinners so this gives Reverend Lowe a justification for his beliefs. Anyone he kills would be a sinner in his eyes, including Brady.
I think the first part is more accurate. It really has nothing to do with the idea of original sin or everyone being a sinner since he states he only punishes the evil, corrupt, and immoral. He tells Marty he'd never hurt an innocent child. He just really has no control of his Wolf side and is lying to himself about why he kills.
Question: How exactly does an escaped male mental patient who's posing as a woman a) work as a police officer without having violent mood swings most of the time, b) acquire money for breast implants and c) avoid a single physical examination that would have exposed his penis?
Answer: Just because someone has been institutionalized doesn't mean they have mood swings. If this was a manic episode (which it appears to be) there wouldn't be any swings at all. Just manic all the time. It wouldn't last forever, but its different for everyone. As for the money, plastic surgery can be financed! and we don't know if s/he had money stashed away beforehand. And for the last question, I just don't know. Not very likely, but some people get through lots of physical testing that shouldn't. Possibly documents were forged? Just speculation on my part.
Answer: The money came from her pro football career, She stole an identity to become a police officer.
Question: What is Lynn's connection to the Nite Owl killings?
Answer: She doesn't really have one - not directly, anyway. The only link is that Susan Lefferts died at the Night Owl, and Bud saw Lynn with Lefferts when he was buying the alcohol for the party. Lefferts had the bandage on her nose at the time, which sparked Bud's curiosity and prompted him to seek out Lynn after Lefferts was murdered.
Question: When Norman says the guy "that wrote that book he loves" (Shumway?) congratulated him on Spencer's Theorem, then Claire says "He didn't know your father was dead?" and Norman says "He knew". What does one thing have to do with the other? I've seen this movie at least 20 times and I can't figure out this conversation.
Chosen answer: Spencer's theorem was Norman's father's theorem. Norman wants to be greater than his father was, so to be accidentally complemented on something that his father did would be bad enough. To say that the guy knows that his father is dead is to imply that the guy probably insulted him intentionally.
Question: My understanding is that Vee orchestrated the plan for Ty to bring a blank filled gun, but how was the dare revealed to her before being told to shoot her opponent, let alone before given the gun?
Answer: Once she saw the gun and knew how crazy the game was, she formed an idea that someone's would get shot and believed that it would be her.
Question: Isn't the whole premise for this movie dead wrong? There is no precedent for an assassination of a president ELECT. He is not president so therefore anyone could become president. The Constitution does not apply to "elects" What does happen?
Answer: According to the Constitution, the Vice-President elect is actually elected separately by the Electoral College, i.e. they are really not a package deal, the death of one doesn't negate the election of the other. The Vice-President elect would indeed become the President.
Question: When Lamont is struggling to stop the Phurba from cutting his throat, how did he finally manage to get control over the Phurba and use it to stab Khan?
Answer: Mind control over matter.
Answer: He had never gone up against someone like him. A man who not only knew how to harness his abilities, but had mastered them as well, like young Luke going up against Vader. He finally found the strength and the courage to fight and defeat him.
Answer: The scene where Terry was killed was most likely shot during the day. It is quite common for film makers to film a scene during the day to get the right lighting effects and then later CGI the night sky and the proper shadowing. This is most effective when you have an area that would otherwise be too dark or have environment that wont allow for the proper lighting for a night shoot. As for the bus, your guess is as good as mine.