I heard somewhere that there is a movie that was made sometime in the past few years about the death of Nirvana vocalist/guitarist Kurt Cobain. Is this true, and if yes, what is the name of the movie?
raywest
16th Jan 2010
General questions
5th Jan 2010
Friends (1994)
The One Where Nana Dies Twice - S1-E8
Question: The Geller family don't get upset or even cry at the death of Nana, and don't mourn that long. Why is this?
Chosen answer: It could be from many reasons. Speaking from my own experience, when an elderly family member has been in a long decline, has suffered from illness and/or age-related maladies, not only is their death expected, but it also comes as a relief that the person is no longer suffering. That may well be the case with the Gellers. We also don't know how long the Gellers mourned, it's not shown. Also, being a comedy show, it's unlikely this is something that will be ongoing in the storyline.
30th Dec 2009
Twilight (2008)
Question: When Bella is bitten by James, Jasper also comes and rescues her - by killing James - but how is it that Jasper does not react to Bella's blood? Is it because of "heat of battle?" I also think of New Moon, where she only had a paper cut (but he still freaked out).
Chosen answer: There's no definitive answer. Most likely it was because the conditions between the two scenarios were very different. When the Cullens saved Bella, Jasper was intensely focused on defeating James, exerting all his energy into killing him. He would have gone into battle knowing there could be bloodshed. He may also have not been "hungry" at the time, therefore, less affected by the scent of blood. At the birthday party, Bella cutting her finger was so totally unexpected that it caught Jasper by surprise, and he instinctively reacted to it. He still struggles with being a "vegetarian," and is constantly watched by the other Cullens.
23rd Dec 2009
General questions
I've seen a few new commercials (here in the US) that show characters in scenes from popular movies, talking about whatever the commercial is advertising. For example, a commercial for a cell phone company has characters in the Island if Misfit Toys scene from "Rudolph". Does anyone know how these commercials are made if the original voice actors might not be around, or might have aged greatly and have different-sounding voices?
19th Dec 2009
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Question: Is Aragog smaller in this film, than in the Chamber of Secrets?
19th Dec 2009
Taken (2008)
10th Dec 2009
Friends (1994)
Question: Joey tells Monica and Phoebe that the list was Chandler's idea. So how come no one thinks to tell Rachel this? Ross could've just fessed up and saved himself a lot of trouble. And, furthermore, how come everyone else later tells Rachel that the list was Ross' idea?
Chosen answer: It would hardly have mattered to Rachel who actually suggested writing the list. What did matter was that Ross participated in it and that he gave very unflattering reasons (such as she's spoiled and is just a waitress) about why he should not be with her. As for the others blaming Ross, they apparently feared Rachel's anger and/or felt guilty for being involved.
For one, some of the reasons, like the chubby ankle thing, was Joey's idea, so that could have been mentioned. And yeah, Ross participated, but his reasons were reworded by Chandler in a way that made them seem insulting. She was spoiled by her father when she was younger, which made her want to move to the city. By not adding the part about Ross and Julie being paleontologists, it looks like he is just plain insulting her lifestyle instead of giving genuine reasons.
8th Dec 2009
War of the Worlds (2005)
Question: When all of the people are trying to get on the boat, how does a tripod just randomly come out of the water like that?
Chosen answer: While it's never explained, there are several possibilities: as all the tripods were buried deep underground, this one may have been lodged below the lake and was just emerging. Also, a tripod could have "walked" from somewhere else, then went underwater to explore, and, attracted by the ferry's noise and movement, surfaced to investigate. It's also conceivable that, observing how ferries worked, it slipped underwater from further away and ambushed the boat, or the tripod was simply making a crossing from one shore to the other (traveling underwater if it was deep enough) and just happened upon the ferry when it did.
26th Nov 2009
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: After Jack and Barbossa see the corpse of the Kraken, Sao Feng's ship arrives next to the Pearl and so does Beckett's. During the scenes that follow, everyone double-crosses everyone else. It moves so fast, I just don't understand what exactly happens. Could someone please explain it to me?
Answer: It's very complicated. Will led Jack and the crew to this island because he had a secret deal with Sao Feng (Jack Sparrow for the Black Pearl). However, Feng has betrayed Will by making another deal with Cutler Beckett, who then double-crosses Sao Feng. Feng then makes a deal with Barbossa to attack Beckett, but he wants Elizabeth as part of the deal, mistakenly believing she is the sea goddess, Calypso. Elizabeth goes with Feng to protect the crew, and Will is thrown into the brig. Jack, who wants Davy Jones' heart so he can become immortal, is taken to Beckett's ship, where he negotiates his own deal with Beckett to lead him to Shipwreck Island and the Brethren Court.
22nd Nov 2009
The Godfather (1972)
Question: In the scene from the wedding why did Luca Brasi "not expect to be invited", considering he is such a loyal comrade of Godfather?
Chosen answer: Because Brasi was such a vicious killer that he terrified everyone. Even Don Corleone became nervous in Brasi's presence, although the Godfather was the only person who could control him. In the book, Brasi was so monstrous and inhumane that he killed a prostitute immediately after she bore his child, then forced the mid-wife who delivered the infant to throw it into a burning furnace while it was still alive. Terrified for her life, the woman went to Don Corleone for protection. He intervened, and kept Brasi out of prison, earning him Brasi's undying loyalty and service. Don Corleone invited Brasi to the wedding only as a courtesy, although he would have preferred not having him there. The Don is also a diplomatic person (eg, always preferring to reason first), so he would have seen inviting Brasi as a good diplomatic move - showing Brasi that the Don truly values him as a "friend" (you invite friends to weddings).
27th Oct 2009
Friends (1994)
Question: Does any episode of Friends make a reference to the destruction of the World Trade Center towers?
Answer: No, although shortly after the event, there was a "I *heart* NY" seen written on the small message board that hangs on Joey and Chandler's front door. A small tribute, no doubt. Also, during the end-credits of the 2001 Season Eight episode, 'The One After "I Do"' there is a dedication to the people of New York. Joey wears an FDNY shirt as well.
Answer: They actually had to re-shoot the episode following 9/11. Chandler had made a joke about a bomb on a plane while in the airport during the honeymoon episode, so they changed that subplot.
24th Oct 2009
Hannibal (2001)
Question: Did Hannibal like Clarice? The perfume in the letter, the fact that he saved her, and cut off his own arm. He could have easily killed her. What was it about her that he liked, or respected?
Answer: There are many factors here, and his feelings for Clarice are complicated. He's attracted to her in a physical male/female way, and probably loved her as much as he was capable, but, as seen in the first film (and book), it is also her unpretentious innocence, honesty, and vulnerability that drew him to her, causing him to be protective. She is the "lamb" who never inflicts harm on anyone, nor does she ever pretend to be anybody other than who she is. Hannibal's victims lacked those characteristics, and he felt no inhumanity or remorse whatsoever when he killed them.
That ending was a movie ending. The book is different and at the end they are seen together at an opera by Barney.
Answer: They actually became lovers in the book. So yes, he loved her.
16th Oct 2009
Jurassic Park (1993)
Question: Hammond gets Grant and Satler to go to Jurassic Park by saying he will fully fund their dig for 3 years. Since Grant says he isn't going to endorse the park, does he still get the grant money? In other words, was the grant dependent on Grant and Satler visiting the park, or on their endorsement?
Chosen answer: Hammond's proposal appears to be that Grant only had to visit the park and render an honest opinion about it, although Hammond is confident Grant will endorse it. It was never actually revealed whether or not Hammond continued funding Grant after his refusal to endorse the park (which was sarcasm). However, since Hammond agreed with him, it seems likely he would probably fund Grant's dig in appreciation for everything Grant did (saving his grandchildren) and also to compensate Grant for nearly getting him killed.
26th Jun 2009
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Question: At what point does Will actually realise that Thomas Kent is really Viola?
Chosen answer: When they are in the boat, just after "Thomas Kent" delivered Viola's farewell letter to Shakespeare. After a brief discussion about Will's feeling's for Viola, Thomas (Viola) kisses a surprised Will Shakespeare, then rushes away when the boat docks. The ferryman comments to Will that it was actually Lady Viola.
4th Jul 2009
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Question: World War 3 may have been the reason for the nuclear war, but what caused World War 3?
Chosen answer: It's never stated what caused it (in this movie, at least). So much time has passed that historical records have been lost or destroyed, and the remaining humans are no longer literate, nor do they have any inkling about their species' past. The apes also do not appear to know the reason, only that mankind somehow destroyed their own civilization.
4th May 2009
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)
Question: Why does Ben need to find the city of gold to beat the kidnap charge? The President's story of "We got trapped and he saved my life" would work just as well without the discovery.
Answer: Ben lured the President to the tunnel to ask him about the Presidents' Secret Book, knowing the President wouldn't admit its existence in front of anyone else. This also means the President couldn't tell secret service what really happened. Ben told him he needed to see the book "to lead us to the discovery of the greatest Native American treasure of all time." The President doesn't know if this is true or if he has some other criminal plan for the book. Finding the treasure shows the President that Ben was telling the truth. Had Ben been lying, the federal charge of kidnapping the President would put Ben in prison for life, effectively punishing him for the kidnapping as well as for lying to the President. Considering Ben had already discovered a massive historical treasure once before, and knowing the recently tarnished name of Ben's family, the President was willing to trust that Ben wasn't lying about his intention and gave him the information needed.
29th May 2009
Midnight Express (1978)
Question: What has ended up with Max? Billy promised to go back and release him, but we never see that happen, and no explanation is given for that in the Epilogue. Is Max a real figure? If he is, what has happened to him? Did he manage to escape, or did he die in prison?
Answer: Max WAS a real character, and a Dutchman in real life, rather than an English one as portrayed in the movie. He eventually got paroled and later treatment for a severe drug addiction he had too.
Answer: It's never stated what happened to Max. The film was a heavily fictionalized version of Billy Hayes' book, and the Max character appears to be fictional as well or at least a composite of other real-life imprisoned Westerners that Hayes met while in a Turkish prison.
20th Feb 2009
Licence to Kill (1989)
Question: I know there is one quick shot of a real iguana when Robert Davi puts it on the couch, but are all the other shots fake? And why did they use a fake iguana and not a real one in the rest of the shots?
Chosen answer: Reptiles are difficult to train and handle, and can hold up filming by being uncooperative. Using a reptile model would simply be easier and faster. Long hours on a movie set is also stressful on animals. There may be other shots with the real iguana, but I can't say for sure.
3rd Oct 2009
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
Question: I know that this is such a small detail, but it's been bugging me for a while and google has been no help. In the original series, the command uniforms were gold and security was red, but in Next Gen and everything thereafter, it has been reversed to command being red and security being gold. Anyone know why the change was made? I'm looking for a real world explanation, not a continuity one as I already found one of those. Thanks.
Answer: When ST:TNG went into production, television had changed drastically from the time the original series aired in the 1960s. Not only were special effects far more advanced, but editing, camera angles, set design, lighting, color schemes, types of film used, and so on, were all very different. It was likely a decision of what looked best from an artistic-design point-of-view to give the series a fresh, updated look as well as to reflect how much Star Fleet had changed since Captain James T. Kirk's time. Red is also a very prominent color, and it draws the viewer's eye to it, and to the character wearing it. Therefore, that became the command color. Also of note is that the "old" uniforms, as of the Star Trek original series movies, had more or less universally switched to red uniforms with smaller department insignia. Thus, chronologically they removed colour coding in favour of pure red for everyone, and then decided to bring back colour coding - but retained the red for command instead of switching back to the old way.
12th Jul 2009
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Question: In the end of the movie just after Ron sacrifices himself to the Queen to win the chess game, he falls to the floor unconscious. But before the scene cuts, a rock flies past his head, he winces, and it leaves a red mark. Did he really get it by a rock during filming or was it added in later?
Answer: The debris from the exploding chess piece was not real; this looks like a combination of computer-generated special effect (CGI) as well some type of a light-weight material (such as Styrofoam) made to appear real and is tossed at Rupert Grint (Ron) from off-screen. Considering the stringent safety standards and precautions that are employed in today's film industry, particularly regarding child actors, and also the multiple times that scenes are shot to get it right, it is unlikely that this was anything that actually could have hurt him.
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Answer: There are several. 2005's "Last Days," directed by Gus Van Sant is a fictional film based on Cobain's last hours. There is also a 1998 documentary titled, "Kurt and Courtney" by filmmaker, Nick Broomfield, that investigates allegations that Cobain was murdered.
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