Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Question: Whatever happened to Nightcrawler? He was still with Professor X and the other good mutants at the end of the second film, but in this one he's suddenly gone and no-one even mentions him.

Answer: Alan Cumming declined to reprise the role due to the uncomfortable makeup process, the change in directors (Brett Ratner taking over for Bryan Singer who left the project to film Superman Returns), and the fact Nightcrawler's role would have been minimal in this film. The absence is not explained in the film but the video game X-Men: The Official Game, which is canonical to the films and takes place between the 2nd and 3rd films, has Nightcrawler leave the X-Men because he is uncomfortable with the violent lifestyle.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: Why did Bruno place the medallion on the branch before leaving?

Answer: He was showing compassion. Just because he's a bad guy doesn't mean he is heartless.

Question: At the beginning, Dolittle was scared because a boy broke in his territory, so he says to Chee-Chee, "Possum, play dead." Why does he call the gorilla possum? Chee-Chee is a gorilla, not a possum. Also Possum is not his name nor nickname.

Bunch Son

Answer: 'Playing possum' is slang for pretending to be dead, as possums sometimes do that to avoid predators.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Opossums will go into a state where they appear dead when threatened, thus the term "playing possum." Dolittle was just saying to act like a opossum and play dead.

Bishop73

Ruling Days - S1-E5

Question: Jacob says "as long as we distribute (the heroin) on the water, the cops can't touch us." What does he mean by this? Is he saying they have an agreement with the Sheriff or cops they won't interfere with him on the water? Or is just saying there's not enough cops patrolling the water to catch them? If it's the latter it seems like a poor choice of words since the cops could "touch" them.

Bishop73

Question: When Dani and Grace are in the vehicle that drops out the back of the plane...how then is it possible that the plane is able to nearly come down upon them if it was moving in a forward motion at a great speed in opposite direction? The plane would naturally have gone down miles away from them and not nearly collided with them.

Answer: The simplest answer is, this is a movie, and movies often exaggerate, change, or fabricate details that logically could never occur in real-life. This is a perfect example of a deliberately faked action sequence that is contrived solely to entertain the audience by employing a 'suspension of disbelief.' It's more exciting and suspenseful to be able to see the plane crash, even though, as you point out, it realistically would be miles away by that time.

raywest

Question: When Arne was in prison, Father Newman comes to Arne's cell at night and secretly gives him a vial of holy water. Arne tried to commit suicide with the shards from the vial at the end. Was Father Newman possessed too? I don't understand why Father Newman would give it to Arne at night in secret.

Bunch Son

Chosen answer: It's been a while since I've seen the film, but I believe Father Newman was giving Arne the holy water to protect himself and use as a tool against the demon. I don't think there was any indication Newman was possessed. He probably gave it to Arne in secret so the guards wouldn't confiscate it, since it could be broken and used to hurt himself or others.

TedStixon

Question: The woman who cursed David and Arne, is she a living human or a ghost? She seems to teleport like a ghost but from the way her father tells about her, she is still alive at that moment. I'm confused.

Bunch Son

Chosen answer: She's basically a witch/occultist. She uses magic and curses and whatnot, which might explain why she seems to be able to do unnatural things. But she is most definitely alive and not a ghost.

TedStixon

Question: The reporter on the TV says that Bruno Sauls, the owner of Brookfield Boarding Kennels was stabbed 22 times by Arne Johnson. And another victim, Katie was also stabbed 22 times by her best friend, Jessica. Why 22 in particular?

Bunch Son

Chosen answer: Maybe just to show the correlation between both cases?

Question: Why can't the contestants be released after they cross their arms that they quit as the TV producer said?

Trainman

Question: When Doc and Marty hijack the train, they are both wearing masks. Marty zooms straight ahead as the train behind him goes off the tracks and explodes at the bottom of Shonash Ravine. When he comes back to 1985 there's a sign that says Eastwood Ravine. How could the people of Hill Valley know Clint Eastwood was on that train when he immediately took off and disappeared after defeating Buford Tannen?

Answer: In the novelization, the people of Hill Valley believed that 'Clint Eastwood' died trying to save the train from the bandits and was remembered as a hero.

Answer: Presumably, Doc, who remained behind in the 1880s, and Clara gave their version of the story about "Clint Eastwood" and influenced the naming of the ravine.

raywest

Question: When Henry is doing his kidnapping gig to meet Lucy, he sees a car coming and says false alarm and sits up. The car has her dad and brother in it, and they tell him to come by the house when he's finished, and once there he says she only paints on days she meets him. She's there painting and singing. Based on how it unfolded, it seems that he hadn't yet met her that day, so what's that about? He's still wearing the same shirt so it's the same day. (00:44:23 - 00:45:28)

Answer: It was implied she was developing some memory retention, as she changed her daily routine with something new. The father and brother surmised this change was due to her meeting Henry. As a result, they gave him their blessing to continue seeing her as they hoped she would continue to improve.

Invader_Gir

Question: Why was Frank told to button his collar? And if it is a rule why did prisoners only button their top button when moving around the prison or meal times?

Answer: If I'm not wrong it was an actual rule in the prison and in the movie it shows how strict the prison is.

Answer: It is mostly a plot device that shows the growing antagonism between Morris and the warden. The warden develops a personal grudge against Morris and singles him out by particularly nitpicking and harassing him about any small infraction. It is meant to evoke sympathy for the fictionalized version of Frank Morris who, in real life, was an intelligent but dangerous criminal. Warden Dollison was a fictional character. Olin Blackwell was the actual Alcatraz warden at the time.

raywest

Question: I know that Mufasa was originally supposed to sing one song. Why was this song removed from the final version of the movie?

Answer: According to one website I read, it was cut because it was felt the song didn't fit James Earle Jones' singing voice. I'll also add that the song itself (which is available online) feels really redundant... it doesn't have much purpose beyond showing Simba that being a king isn't just fun and games, which is a lesson he learns anyway during the film. So I feel like it also may have been cut due to it feeling redundant in the narrative. (Although that's just my personal theory).

TedStixon

Question: I've been told the part where Michael Oher pushes a player all the way across the football actually happened. Is that true?

Answer: If referring to the blonde in the first movie, that was Elisabeth Shue, not Kristy Swanson.

Okay my mistake but did they decline returning or what?

Rob245

Answer: Part II was mainly focused on the storyline in Okinawa. Miyagi speaks with Heller on the phone briefly (though she's not seen or heard) to say he will take care of Daniel on the trip. She was not essential to be in this film.

Answer: To add to the previous answer, Elisabeth Shue went back to Harvard to continue her studies which is why she doesn't appear in the sequel.

Answer: Ali was originally only supposed to have a very small role in Part 2. Elizabeth Shue declined to reprise the role because she was studying at Harvard at the time. I can't find any explanation online as to why Randee Heller was not in Part 2 and was barely in Part 3.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: Like all studio executives they think mixing things up by bringing in new characters into different settings would keep the franchise fresh. Most of the sequels from the 1980's were given minor or major cast changes.

Answer: It wasn't exactly an ad-lib. While filming the scene, Isaac forgot what curse he was supposed to say, so it came out as the start of 'Avada Kedavra', the only one he could remember. It was decided to use that take in the movie. As I recall, in the book it was never specified exactly how Malfoy threatened Harry, but it was enough that Dobby used his elf magic to protect him.

raywest

In the book it states that Lucius raised his wand at Harry at which point Dobby steps in to protect him. So no, it isn't specified what incantation Lucius was going to use.

Ssiscool

Question: Can someone translate the French from the bar scene with Sophie? I caught a bit with the "together" near the end. Practicing French together? (01:11:00)

Answer: "You speak French?" "Yes." "Me, I speak a little French." "I lived in Paris for a year." "Paris! It's the city of light, is it not?" "Yes!" "And of love! It's good to speak French, because I haven't had the chance to practice speaking it much." "If you'd like, we can practice many things together." "Y-yes? Goodbye, remember my name is Adam Webber!" "Goodbye!"

Answer: It was a threat to Mowgli, hoping to lure him back in grief and to save the younger wolves from the same fate.

Answer: Shere Khan was angry that Akela would not turn over Mowgli to him. It was retaliation.

raywest

Answer: Just an apple for the teacher, perhaps because SpongeBob is a polite and old-fashioned student. No special significance.

Question: Scott has obviously come home before when Charlie has been in trouble or to visit as both Principal Newman and Lucy both know and are aware of him. Question is, does he change his appearance with magic, so he doesn't look like Santa around them? If not, has Lucy ever questioned why he looked like Santa prior to the movie?

Answer: This is simply speculation, as it's never answered in the movie or behind the scenes, but since keeping his identity a secret is essential; we can probably safely assume he does do some sort of a disguise when he visits, so he doesn't obviously look like Santa.

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