Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: This is a very strange question but I cannot think of anywhere else to put it. In the UK, a poster-advert for this film that is stuck on phone boxes has me confused. The bottom half of the window has Danny (Jet Li) lying down with his face to the camera, looking up slightly (as he is seen during the film sometimes), but the top half has an arm/fist with what looks like a Christmas pudding (on fire and all) on top of it. What is the thing on his fist, and what's its relevance to the film? I've seen the film but I can't remember anything like it.

Gary O'Reilly

Chosen answer: If I am thinking of the same poster, it is someone's foot standing on his wrist. The shoe is really shiny.

James Storck

Question: Does anyone know anything about the word "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?" Who made it up, how they came about to making it up etc.

Hamster

Chosen answer: For a good explanation, go to The Straight Dope: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msupercali.html. It will give you pretty much everything that is known about this odd word.

Richard Welty

Answer: A generic spell that's supposed to keep spirits/demons from crossing the threshold, similar to the script on the glass walls in Thirteen Ghosts.

Question: On the third disc, apparently there are some alternate endings hidden in an easter egg. Can anyone tell me how to get to them?

Answer: The are no alternative endings for this film, all that is on the third disk is the movie played in chronologial order so you can see how things really panned out.

Question: When Stiller is trying to flirt with the one lady at her house he says "Freakinare" or something. Whatever it is, what does it mean?

Answer: I think you may be mishearing "freaky naughty", which is pretty self-explanatory.

Nick N.

Question: When the Brian and Roman are telling each other to shut up, in the scene by Verone's pool, Monica comes over and as she sits down, she mouths something to Brian. What does she say?

Answer: It looks like she says "Hi" but she says it so quietly it is not picked up by a microphone. Also, if you turn the volume up, you can sort of make out, "Hi" as her lips move.

Thomas Ryder

Question: Can someone please explain what a snuff film actually is? I've heard that they don't exist, and they are just a rumor, but can someone clarify all this?

Answer: A snuff film is a movie where someone is actually killed on film, where the intention is to sell the movie afterwards. There are several other instanses where people are shown murdered on film (news reports, the Zapruder film, dictatorships documenting executions, etc.), but if the purpose of making the movie is not commercial, it is not a geniune "snuff" film. FBI experts and other law agencies state that they have never seen a genuine "snuff", and that it is most likely just a rumor, especially since the concept of someone willingly selling evidence of their own crimes to strangers and remaining undetected for 30 years, is highly unlikely. See http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_258.html for more details.

Twotall

Question: After seeing 'Gladiator' I looked up a few pictures of Tommy Flanagan (Cicero, Maximus' friend) and in all of them he has a noticeable mark on the side of his face. Is this a scar or a birth mark or something? Could someone please tell me?

Answer: He received that scar when he was attacked by a knife-wielding assailant outside a pub.

Myridon

Question: Does anybody know why Zaphod has two faces and not two heads? In the book there are two separate heads and he never gets one cut off. Was this a deliberate choice by the filmmakers for a reason? Thanks.

Answer: It was a choice by Douglas Adams prior to his demise, largely to avoid the large amount of effects required to continuously portray a character with two heads. It was also probably prompted, at least in part, by his dissatisfaction with the second head used in the 1980's TV version, causing him to think of other ways that Zaphod could be portrayed.

Tailkinker

Question: In the scene where Vincent chases Max onto the subway, it appears they don't get on the same train. Am I missing something?

Answer: They board the same train. The whole deal with the two trains is just to keep the suspense going and keep the viewer guessing whether Vincent chooses the right train or not.

Andreas[DK]

Show generally

Question: I know that on most flights, the animals are stored in the bottom section with the luggage. If the plane crashed, how did Vincent the dog survive?

Answer: We know that the tail section of the plane was torn off in mid-air, which would have exposed the luggage section - luggage seems to have been scattered over a reasonably wide area, so it was presumably falling out from that point onwards. The most likely scenario is that Vincent's carrier was ejected before the actual impact and Vincent survived the fall to the ground (it seems that his carrier was damaged enough that he could get out).

Tailkinker

Question: So if Leonard actually killed his wife, even though he denies it, did Sammy Jankins ever exist? And all of the times Sammy's wife asked Sammy to give her the insulin, did that actually happen with Leonard's wife, or did Leonard just give her the shots without her agreeing? And if he did kill his wife when he had the "condition", does it ever say where or when he really got it?

Answer: Sammy Jankis did exist, but Leonard exposed him for being the conman that he was; however Leonard conditions himself to remember this differently. Right after Leonard kills Jimmy, Leonard is insisting that "Sammy Jankis wasn't faking." Teddy retorts that "Sammy was a con-man, a faker," and says "You exposed him for what he was: a fraud." The implication is that Sammy Jankis was a fraud with a story similar to what actually happens to Leonard; Leonard conditions himself to remember it differently so that he can use this false memory of an innocent man with the same condition to help him do two things: not feel responsible for his wife's death, and also give his life purpose by consistently having a John G, who supposedly killed his wife, to search for.

However, if Leonard did accidentally kill his wife with insulin, it was after his injury. He wouldn't remember it. Removing pages from the police report indicating that she survived the original incident would have been enough to hide the truth from himself forever. No memory, no guilt.

Question: Paul Ruebens does the voice of Max but why in the credits does it say that the voice of Max was done by Paul Mall?

Answer: According to IMDB, Paul Mall is just another one of his names people know him by.

Sir William

Answer: It was Paul Reubens' idea to use a pseudonym, so as to keep the voice of Max a mystery and to surprise any fans of his.

LorgSkyegon

Season 1 generally

Question: I was just wondering what those things are that Charlie wears on his fingers. He wears them in the first few episodes, and writes stuff on them, and stops wearing them at about episode 6. They look kind of like plasters. I was just wondering if anyone knew what they were?

Answer: I think they are exactly that - plasters...a bit like someone who would wear a wristband saying hope/fate or something like that.

Sam Johnson

Show generally

Question: What's the name of the "theme" song, the one played at the beginning of every episode?

Answer: It is a version of "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis Presley.

Stacey Kotlarczyk

Parallel Universe - S2-E6

Question: When Lister, Rimmer, and the Cat are waiting for the pregnancy test to change color, and Rimmer wants it to turn red, he cheers it on saying, "Come on you reds." Is this a cultural reference?

Answer: Sort of. A common colour for football teams in the U.K is Red (or blue). "Come on you reds!" is a chant sometimes shouted at football games in support of whatever team is wearing red at the time, although nowadays it's more of a "generic football chant" rather than something used heartily by fans of a certain team. Rimmer is just indicating he's hoping for a positive on the test, but pretending he's cheering for a football team (to break the joke down).

Gary O'Reilly

Answer: The Reds are a nickname for Liverpool FC, which of course is where Lister hails from, so there's a certain irony in Rimmer's line there.

Question: Was the spirit of Peter Kirk aware that Karen was in the same house as him? I noticed twice that when the little boy looked at her so did Peter. Karen and Peter also bumped arms when he dropped something.

Answer: No, Peter was not aware of Karen. Toshio is the only one who sees her because he is dead. Peter looks when Toshio does because he's trying to see what Toshio is looking at, but sees nothing. When Karen and Peter bump arms, he still doesn't see her even though he feels a weird feeling.

Sir William

Chosen answer: She was upset becasue her father was suppose to hang out with her, but he ditched her again.

pross79

Question: What's the song that plays at the very end, during the wedding dance?

Answer: "Now That We've Found Love" by Heavy D and the Boyz.

Stacey Kotlarczyk

Question: I know the film is set in the 1920s, but did anyone see a specific year (i.e., 1925) mentioned anywhere in the film (in a newspaper, maybe)?

Answer: According to Wikipedia.com the story takes place in 1924. Link provided to confirm and more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_(musical).

OneHappyHusky

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