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: What is the point of WALL-E (a garbage robot) having the function of recording? It seems pointless.

dogboy44

Chosen answer: Since Wall-E has been repairing himself for 700 years, and likes music,he may have modified himself as he did when he took another robots tracks, There is no way to know if he was originally made with the recorder or not.

papajim

Question: Why did Fletcher stop up the water pump at Faraway Downs?

Answer: So they'd be unable to water their cattle. Which has two benefits for Fletcher. The first being that they'd have to take their cattle to the watering hole on the border of their property, making it easier for Fletcher to steal the cows. Second, and more long term, their cattle would be of poorer quality due to lack of proper care. The ranch would lose money as a result, and they'd be more amenable to selling the ranch to their competition, whom Fletcher works for.

Phixius

Question: How does the Phantom get his salary? I know he tells Firmin, "Send it care of the Ghost by return of post," but what exactly does this mean? And also, what does he do with his salary?

Answer: Mme Giry acts as the intermediary. She brings the notes, so sending the money by return of post means the money should be given to her to pass it on. As for what he does with it, the luxury of his clothing and lair bears witness that he doesn't pile it. He spends it on anything that will bring beauty around him, whether it's a wig, a mask, clothes, furniture or anything else. And it wouldn't be surprising if a few bribes weren't given here and there.

Sereenie

Question: I don't understand. What did Russell mean when he said, "Phyllis is not my mom." and why was this so dramatic?

Answer: It means his parents are divorced, or at least separated (since his dad is living with another woman), meaning he comes from a broken home and making the fact that his father never shows up to his events a lot harsher.

Gary O'Reilly

Question: John Connor knows about the future because of the experience he had with the Terminators sent to kill him and the tapes his mother left him. But what about Skynet? How does Skynet know who Kyle Reese and John Connor are and their importance on the future? How does Skynet knows that Kyle Reese will, or has, become John Connor's father? Because that isn't happening in the future, but in the past where Skynet didn't even exist.

Answer: Sarah Connor told her story to lots of people, the guerilla fighters and mercenaries she trained with, the psychiatric hospital she was locked up in, etc. Many of these could have left records (the hospital is even shown to have videotaped several of her sessions in T2). In addition, John himself could have told the entire story to resistance fighters, who were later captured and forced to reveal everything they knew.

Twotall

Question: This has been confusing me for some time. Who owns Bolt legally? The network or Penny? The opening prologue shows a younger Penny selecting Bolt at a pet store when he's only a puppy. Fives years later, during the making of the TV show, the network forbids Penny from taking Bolt to her house because they want him to think he's a superdog. This raises additional questions. How long has the show been on the air? Is what the network doing to Bolt legal? Is Penny allowed to quit the show at any time if she feels like it? Do they have deal with the studio lawyers over custody of Bolt if she resigns from the show?

Answer: Okay, here we go: Since Bolt was bought by the network FOR Penny, the network technically owns the dog. IF the dog was purchased by Penny's parent(s) or legal guardian, Bolt belongs to Penny legally. This is never really explained, but one can assume the studio owns Bolt since they lay down the law to Penny about taking Bolt off the set and keeping him in his own fantasy world. The show has been on the air for at least two years given Bolt's growing from a puppy to a dog and getting properly (fooled) trained all the while. The show is a colossal hit and it would have taken a studio at least two seasons to achieve that kind of success. Studios spend that kind of advertising money on TV shows that are major hits. (Look at "Lost" and "Heroes" and their advertising budget!)Next: Yes, what the network is doing to Bolt IS legal given the parameters of the film's content. (If a screenwriter writes that it's legal; it's legal!). If this were REAL life, PETA would have shut them down immediately! Penny is an actress and CAN quit anytime she wants provided she's NOT under any contract that prohibits her walking out. Given that fact that she almost DIES at the end, she was probably given anything she wanted by the studio to keep it out of the press and avoid any major lawsuits. This would means she could leave AND take Bolt with her as per the studio lawyers!

CCARNI

Question: How does Frank get into the hands of the bad guys after Malcolm crashes into his house? It seems as if one minute the ambulance blows up, the next he is on a gurney.

Answer: Just before the scene ends, somone in black taps him on the shoulder and knocks him out. We can presume that the person in black is one of the bad guys.

Question: According to scale, Cloud's buster sword blade ends at about his shoulder. If he puts it in his holster on his back, how is he able to pull it out with one arm, if one arm is half the length of one's body?

HulkObsessedChick

Chosen answer: Look at long swords and scabbards today. Often, the scabbards have cuts out of the sides so they can be removed easier.

Question: During the assault on the machine gun nest, when Upham uses his scope to see the action, there is a scene which shows an ally tossing a grenade to the nest, but the enemy catches it and tosses it back. How did the ally manage to survive the blast? The grenade was tossed back straight to him and exploded where he was standing. I paused at the point of the blast and I could see some blood flying along with the explosion.

cryptical

Chosen answer: SGT. Horvath went right, so that was him throwing the grenade, which the German catches and throws back. When Horvath throws the grenade he is actually inside a bomb crater. When the grenade is thrown back by the German soldier, the blast happen on the grassy flat ground outside the bomb crater. So Horvath was sheltered by the blast being down inside the crater. Those are bullet holes in Wade's chest, and not grenade wounds.

Question: Who is Beckett's friend from Singapore, that he mentioned in the conversation with his servant about brethren court?

ninosorcic

Chosen answer: Sao Feng became Beckett's man in Singapore, as referenced by a conversation between Will Turner and Sao Feng, which was overheard by Mr. Mercer, during the battle in Singapore. The giving of information was never shown on screen.

Question: What is the name of the song which plays during the first basketball game where Scott turns into the wolf?

willieboy78

Chosen answer: Way To Go by Mark Vieha. Its on the soudtrack if you can still find it.

Gavin Jackson

Question: I've always wondered about one scene in the movie. It happens when Tom Hanks says, "prepare for a little jolt, fellas." We see the astronauts being propelled forward in their seats as the spacecraft accelerates very quickly. But the only time you'd be going forward was if you were riding in a car and the brakes were suddenly slammed on, right? Can someone explain this to me?

Answer: While this did actually happen on Apollo 13 it was completely unexpected, the "get ready for a little jolt" line was made up for the movie. There are retro rockets on the S1-C (first) stage of the Saturn V that are supposed to fire at separation to slow the S1-C and create more separation before the S-2 ignites. The retros fired one second early on this mission so it was before separation and the unexpected reverse thrust is what caused them to get thrown forward. Apparently Jim Lovell even had marks on his helmet from hitting it on the panel when this happened.

Answer: You have to think three-dimensionally. The rocket is travelling upwards under the thrust of the first stage - the moment that thrust cuts off, the only force acting on the ship is gravity, so it's effectively as if the brakes have been slammed on, relatively speaking, as they are no longer moving forwards anywhere near as fast. Then the second-stage engines kick in, propelling them upwards at speed again, pushing them back into their seats.

Tailkinker

Chosen answer: Because he is indoors and the sunlight is not directly shining on him.

raywest

Question: It's not unusual for Pixar to put characters from their next movie in their movies (like the Nemo doll in "Monsters Inc."). Are there any characters from "Up" in this movie?

mechanical sponge

Chosen answer: There aren't any characters from Up in Wall-E, however during the first scene in Wall-E's trailer you can see Carl's walker briefly.

Question: Is it usual for gun store clerks to leave ammunition and bullets on the counter where anyone can pick them up and load them into a gun?

Socks1000

Chosen answer: No, it's not, but not every gun shop owner is reputable or responsible.

wizard_of_gore

Question: Why would an interpreter be necessary for a mission such as Miller's? Is this purely a plot devise to add a character who is 1) inexperienced in combat and 2) not part of a pre-existing group close-knit through combat?

Gordo-from-hell

Chosen answer: If they have to ask the locals for information they will need an interpreter for that.

Ssiscool

Answer: Miller and his platoon advanced onto Ramelle France. Seeing as none of the platoon spoke French, Upham was a perfect candidate for this. Also, when they capture steamboat Willy, Upham is also of good use as he spoke French and German.

Tony

Question: This is a two part question. Question 1: during Obi-Wan and Darth Vader's duel aboard The Death Star, Obi wan spins around, briefly exposing himself and giving Vader an opening within which to strike. Why didn't he take it and stab him through the back? Question 2: towards the end of the duel, at 91 minutes 28 seconds, why does Obi-Wan's lightsaber dim to the point of where it looks like it's going out?

Socks1000

Chosen answer: In response to your first part, its simply a case that Vader missed the opening, he clearly has no issues with striking down someone unarmed as he demonstrates later. In response to your second question, its a fault with the effects used at the time that when the lightsabers were held at certain angles, the effects used to 'paint' on the shimmer of the lightsabers couldn't be applied because there wasn't enough of the required colouring.

GalahadFairlight

Chosen answer: Randall is telling him that the ending of the film would have been better if Frodo and Sam had had gay sex. This image grossed the guy out to the point he puked.

Grumpy Scot

Question: In an answer for one of the other questions here, it says that Leia doesn't know she is adopted until Luke tells her that they are siblings. If she doesn't know, why would he use the term "real mother" when asking her about her mother? It seems that if she didn't know she was adopted, she would think it was strange for him to ask about a "real" mother.

Answer: It's never stated anywhere in the films whether Leia knows that she's adopted or not. Given her apparent lack of surprise at Luke's reference to her "real mother", it seems more than likely that her adoptive parents have told her at some point.

Tailkinker

Show generally

Question: Why are the vast majority of stories set on modern day Earth as opposed to the 1963-1989 series where nearly every story was set on an alien planet?

ExcellentCryer

Chosen answer: One of the 'quaint' aspects of Doctor Who of old was the utter cheapness of the BBC in spending as little money as possible on the original series. Visits to 'alien planets' were laughably poor looking, clearly were Earth like with a few 'alien' touches, and it was something that writer Russel T Davies didn't want to return to.

GalahadFairlight

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