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 variety of rose was used in the film throughout the house as arrangements, petals and the plantings in the Burnham yard? It doesn't look like American Beauty as that rose is pink and a climber.

Answer: The American Beauty rose has several cultivars, both bush and climbing and several colors including red and white.

Myridon

Question: When Frank deadheads to Miami, he is shown in to the cockpit and has a short conversation with the pilot. It is pilot slang and I would like to know what they are going on about. Something like "Are you turning around on the red eye."

Answer: A 'red eye' flight is one that occurs during the night, from around midnight through to dawn - so named because reddish eyes are associated with sleepiness. The question is basically "are you going back as the late night flight?"

Tailkinker

Question: If the ring was trying to make it's way back to Sauron, then why didn't it do shortly after being discovered by Bilbo as was witnessed at the start of the first movie or by Smeagol at the start of the third movie?

Answer: Smeagol found the Ring about the year 2463 of the Third Age (the first movie starts in 3017). Sauron was still very weak, practically dead at that time. Then Smeagol was hiding in the caves underneath the mountains where the Ring couldn't even be sensed for almost 500 years until Bilbo found it in 2941. Bilbo took the Ring back to the Shire which was farther away from Sauron so that Sauron had to grow quite a bit stronger before he was able to "reach out" for the Ring.

Myridon

Question: I'm trying to remember the song that was made famous by this film. Can anyone help me?

Answer: "Bright Eyes" written by Mike Batt and performed by Art Garfunkel.

Tailkinker

Question: Why was Bourne sent to kill Wombosi?

Answer: Wombosi's an ex-African dictator, put in power, it appears, with a degree of covert assistance from the US. Deposed, he's threatening to write a book revealing the US actions unless they arrange to have him put back in power. He's intending to include the names of those involved, which could prove highly embarrassing for the US government. To prevent this, Treadstone is given the order to take Wombosi out.

Tailkinker

Answer: Historically speaking Wallace's exploits didn't go much further than causing havoc for garissons about his area. The warpaint was all Hollywood.

Question: The script was written by Randall Wallace. Any family connections to William Wallace or is it just a coincidence?

Answer: According to IMDb Randall Wallace's personal quote reads, "I think he is an ancestor, I feel his blood in my veins. I can't prove it but then no one can disprove it."

OneHappyHusky

Question: In the 'special features' there is a short movie made from excerpts and deleted scenes from the movie. Toward the end, Maximus is standing out on a cliff, and reaches out for something, then looks at his hand and yells. Could someone explain what was going on?

Answer: This scene is included in the extended version. This happens after he escapes and is on his way home to his family. He is most likely praying and reaching out in desperation to get home before the Romans kills his family.

Mortug

Question: Why did Queen Bavmorda need a ritual to get rid of the child? Why didn't she simply kill the baby on the spot?

Answer: Bavmorda's ritual was the Ritual of Obliteration - a spell that is used to destroy a living spirit's essence or soul. Presuambly if she'd just killed Elora, the soul would have been later reborn into another baby.

Sierra1

Answer: "This Years Love" by David Gray (from his White Ladder album).

Question: Was Rebecca a lesbian in the book? I read book 2 a year ago but I cant recall her 'coming out'. Also, did Mark and Bridget get engaged?

Answer: No, Rebecca isn't gay in the book, and Mark and Bridget do not get engaged.

pinkwafer

Question: In the final scene, when we see the rose and ring that the Phantom have left on Christine's grave, we also see that she died two years before the scene takes place. Why did the Phantom wait two years to leave the ring on the grave? Was he previously unaware of Christine's death?

Answer: I like to think that he would always place a rose there, possibly every week or so, and they never had the ring on them. And he knew When Raoul would be there, so he placed them when he knew he would be alone with her. As for the two years later, since the phantom "knew" when Raoul came... he especially put that ring there. Just to let Raoul know about his love for Christine and the fact he is still living. He knew Raoul would visit then, and knew what to do. (This is only a theory I have proposed. As for a genuine answer... I am not aware of one.) Hope this maybe helped.

Answer: It may have been Christine's birthday, or anniversary of sort.

Answer: This song is Bell, Book & Candle by Eddi Reader.

pinkwafer

Question: What is the significance of the meeting between Bruce and Ducard at the party right before Ducard torches Bruce's house? Was Ras Al Ghul really Ducard or was Ras Al Ghul even a real person?

Answer: Ducard is the real leader of the League of Shaddows. Whether he is Ras Al Ghul is debateable. The whole idea of theatricality is present. "Ras Al Ghul" is a figurehead, not necessarily a single man. This gives immortality in much the same way that Bruce mentioned that, as a symbol, he could be incorruptible and untouchable.

Garlonuss

Answer: Bruce does refer to Ducard directly as "Ra's" in this scene, stating it with some emphasis to show that he has come to the realization that Ducard is the leader of the League of Shadows: "Or cheap parlor tricks to conceal your true identity, *Ra's*?" Ducard does not challenge or deny the name, but the uncertainty still remains.

Answer: Ducard was always Ra's Al Ghul. The other guy was a cover/patsy to protect the real Ra's. He likely never planned on Bruce knowing that he was the leader of the league of shadows. When Bruce turned against him, he decided to tell him.

Question: After Happy sinks the final putt to win the tournament, Shooter grabs his jacket and runs. Mr. Larson catches up to him and off camera yells, "Face down." However, in the TV version, he instead yells, "Stay still." Why is this line changed?

Answer: It is an inuendo that Mr. Larson "violated" Shooter for stealing the jacket, which is changed for the TV versions to be cleaner. However, some people insist it's the same for both versions, so it's possible that later DVD releases were changed too.

moviemogul

Question: What's the song playing when Austin is blowing up the Fembots?

Answer: I Touch Myself by the DiVinyls.

Grumpy Scot

Question: If Peter Pan says that the Lost Boys fell out of their prams and weren't claimed in 7 days so they were sent to Neverland. This would make them infants. Why then are they like 7-12 years old if Neverland doesn't make you age?

Answer: It's not that you never age, it's that you never grow up, i.e. pass into puberty and become an adult.

Myridon

Question: I've heard that the cast is entirely British, except for one American. Who is the American? These ALL seem like British actors or actresses to me.

Answer: While she is known as a British actress, Zoe Wannamaker (Madam Hooch) was born in the United States. Another American that makes an appearance in the film is Verne Troyer (Mini-Me from the "Austin Powers" films), who plays Griphook the Goblin.

Cubs Fan

Question: A baseball writer discovers Stan Ross never actually had 3000 hits because in one game in 1982 he had three hits counted twice. He says the game was called for a curfew and finished later. Does anyone know of any major league baseball game called for curfew, or any other time limit?

Answer: On May 12, 1972, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Minnesota Twins played 21 innings to a 3-3 tie before the 1 AM curfew. Play resumed the next day before the regularly scheduled game. Milwaukee scored in the top of the 22nd to win 4-3. In the regular game that followed, Minnesota won 4-3 in 15 innings.

StevenJ

Question: What species is Darth Maul? Is he just a human severely disfigured by the dark side? Is that just make up to make himself look scary? Or is he some strange type of being?

Answer: He is a Zabrak, a alien species. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darth_Maul.

Myridon

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