Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more


Question: How did Stane's guards round up the ten rings? They didn't appear to have any weapons when they arrived, and the ten rings appeared to outnumber them.

Answer: Given that Stane was carrying (and used) the small, easily-concealed paralysis device, it may be assumed that his entourage were carrying (and using) the devices, also. They simply paralyzed the 10 Rings guards.

Charles Austin Miller

The Ten Rings members were shown kneeling with their hands on their heads, though. They wouldn't be able to do that if they had been paralyzed.

Phaneron Premium member

That doesn't negate the probability that Stane's entourage used the paralysis device on a few guards to demonstrate the effect, whereupon the other toady guards simply surrendered.

Charles Austin Miller

Makes sense.

Phaneron Premium member

Answer: He may have had another group of guards lying in wait and then surprise the Ten Rings members from behind after a certain amount of time had passed.

Phaneron Premium member

Question: What kind of snake did Jesus step on at the very beginning of the movie?

Answer: There is no gospel that recounts Jesus stepping on a snake, so the snake scene is only a dramatic fabrication for the movie. Presumably, the snake in the film represents temptation, perhaps even the same snake that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. As for its species, the snake appears to be a non-venomous constrictor that is not native to the Middle East, possibly a Garden Tree Boa from South America or a Southeast Asian python.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: What kind of convertible were Jeff Goldblum and Julianne Moore in?

Answer: It's a 1969 Pontiac Custom S.


Answer: According to Internet sources, it's a 1968 Pontiac Firebird.

raywest Premium member

Question: Is it possible to see Cho at Cedric's funeral?


Answer: I watched the clip on YouTube, stopping and enlarging the image to scan it, but I did not see Cho sitting among the other students at Cedric's memorial scene. She may have been sitting in an area in the back or off to the side where the faces were less visible or else she was too distraught to attend the ceremony.

raywest Premium member



raywest Premium member

Question: I was just wondering why the Death Eaters were so eager for the Dark Lord to return, but the moment he's resurrected (which happens in this film and in the book), they are suddenly really afraid of him. I mean they go on and on about how they can't wait for him to return but the moment he does, it's almost like they wish he hadn't e.g. the scene in this film in the graveyard where Voldemort calls out Lucius Malfoy or the scene at the start of "The Deathly Hallows part 1" where they're all having a meeting at Malfoy Manor and Voldemort is walking and talking amongst them and they're all fearful of him.

Answer: Voldemort works on fear and hate. His minions are full of that. They hate muggles and wish they could dominate them, to crush their world. Voldemort promised them that, so they follow him, to reach that goal since he is a powerful dark wizard with followers and the ambition to go as far as he can. But Voldemort likes people being afraid of him, even his minions, so he is harsh on them, punishes any tiny mistake severely, does cruel things to them. So they fear him, are very submissive in his presence because of his cruelty and magic prowess. but he does lead them to their ultimate goal.


Question: How in the world did Jake escape from prison so easily? Why didn't the guard who came to release him for lunch call in backup when he saw Jake hanging, and why weren't there any other guards around that could stop the escape attempt? How did no police see Francis pouring gasoline right outside the police station? How in the world did no police see Jake escaping between his cell and the front door? When Jake was getting into the Jeep, about 4 prison guards came out putting on their jackets, but where were they during the escape?

Answer: The reason the escape unfolded this way is because it is a movie, and movies often use plot devices that have little resemblance to reality. This is called "suspension of disbelief." That means the audience accepts a certain premise that they know is unrealistic in order to allow the story to unfold. For example, in a Sci-Fi movie, we know that spaceships are unable travel to different solar systems in a mere matter of days (i.e. Star Trek). If Jake was unable to escape from prison as easily as he did, that would be the end of the movie.

raywest Premium member

Question: After Tom Ripley kills Freddy with the statue, how is it possible to have carried him out with Freddy being much heavier than Ripley and also without that nosy landlady seeing it?

Anthony Lemons

Answer: I'm thinking that with all the adrenaline pumping through Tom's veins after having committed the murder would be more than enough to take care of the strength issue. As for the nosy landlady - she was probably asleep. Or otherwise occupied.

Alan Keddie

Question: Did Jack Lengyel and Red Dawson really recruit athletes who have never played football before when rebuilding the team?

Answer: Yes they did. In addition to selecting football players from Marshall's Junior Varsity team, the coaches also recruited several players from other sports. Some of those athletes had never played on an organized football team previously.


Question: Why was the name Max used for the helmet? Does it connect to one of the other 6 movies?

Answer: Yes the third movie Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo there is a character in the movie named Max.

Question: What is written on the back of Norma's shirt when she brings the attendance slips to Ms Collins?

Answer: It's either cycnus X*1, or cygnus X*1. I have no idea what that references, but according to Google, cygnus X-1 relates to a black hole. An in-joke maybe, or simply a coincidence, since quirky-lettering shirts were fairly standard in the 70s.


Question: Besides saying "Quiet" and "He warned you", does 8 have any other lines of dialogue?

Answer: Nope. Only some sounds (like the magnet scene).


Question: Do we know the human casualties by the end of the war?

Answer: No such numbers are ever discussed in the novel or in the subsequent radio and movie treatments. What we may surmise, however, is that the human casualties were comparatively minor. Once the Martians were exposed to earthly microbes, they were wiped out pretty quickly.

Charles Austin Miller

Voiceover by Morgan Freeman at the end of the movie: by the toll of a billion lives.

Morgan Freeman says "By the toll of a billion deaths, man had earned his immunity, his right to survive among this planet's infinite organisms." He is saying that Mankind evolved with microorganisms for countless generations on Earth, making Mankind immune to most of those microorganisms. Perhaps a billion humans or more died of bacterial and viral plagues throughout human history; but, as a species, we gained immunity. Freeman's quote has nothing to do with the number of Martians that died because they had no immunity.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: The ending dialog states a death of 1 billion.

The billion deaths spoken of don't refer to those that died in the alien attack but the billion deaths from the microorganisms that killed the aliens. "By a billion deaths man earned his immunity."


I feel that he meant that the organisms that killed the aliens killed a billion humans first before we got our immunity from them.

They are saying that.


Question: Why didn't Poe go with Rose, Finn and BB-8 to find the master code breaker?




raywest Premium member

Question: What is the dance the actors are dancing at the public ball where Charles Bingley, Caroline Bingley, and Mr. Darcy arrive late? Everyone stops dancing when they appear and then take up where they left off and finish.

Question: Why can't they just build a trap to hunt the beasts down?

Answer: We see in the family's basement that the father had gradually been learning about the monsters. He may have planned to trap them at some point in the future, but as it stood, he didn't know enough about their weaknesses. The monsters were shown tearing through a truck and a grain silo like tin foil, so any trap that they would use would have to be extremely strong.

Phaneron Premium member

Answer: Although it's rather vague, the plot premise is that there are hoards of these creatures that have taken over most of the country, if not the entire planet. Trapping the ones that are in the family's vicinity would have little effect overall and no doubt they'd merely be replaced by other creatures.

raywest Premium member

Question: I've always wondered why the actors (and Truman) wear 1950's style clothing even though the movie was filmed in 1998. Does Truman believe he's living in the fifties?

Answer: They created his world: the clothing, cars, electronics, everything around him is conceived by the producers of the show. You see some people dresses like the 50's and some like the 80's, and then his TV is 50's but the cars are 90's. He doesn't have a frame of reference so it seems normal to him.

Answer: It's all part of the set of the fictional show that Truman is unwittingly a part of. The '50s were viewed (by some) as a wholesome, uncomplicated time, so it makes sense that the show's producers would choose it for their wholesome, uncomplicated show. And if Truman did believe it was the 1950s, well, why not? He has no outside frame of reference.

Well, he did drive a modern car.


Which is irrelevant. Truman wouldn't know the difference. A modern car was likely one of the many product-placement deals the show had.

Again though, during the segment where they look back at Truman's ambitions to become an explorer they show a world map which is accurate for the time. Also, it would be impossible to convince him anything in the world is different even if they would control the news and TV shows (history books), what about elections for example?


Answer: You need to think outside the box. you know 50s stuff is different and modern appliances would stand out but for Truman, it doesn't. Magazines, TV broadcasts etc would all be controlled by the director so he has no reference to question that anything is out of place or "not of that era." To him, its not different.


Answer: He wouldn't have known he was driving a modern car since his world consisted of whatever was brought in for him.

Well 50's looks includes 50's technology. If he really thought he lived in the 50's a 90's car would seem out of place. He doesn't get shown much from the real world but surely they have car magazines, kitchen appliances, gardening tools. Can't keep it all 50's. Plus, they want to sell stuff they have in the show, but 50's cars aren't made anymore and wouldn't be made specifically for the show, so they have modern technology. Therefor, he knows its the 90's. I'm sure he was taught proper history at school as well.


Everything in his world is fabricated to what the shows producers want him to believe. If they are able to build a set that is visible from space, surely having magazines from the 50s or having him taught in 50s format is not impossible.

Ssiscool Premium member

Might be possible. But do you think Truman believes he is in the 50's? What kind of history did they teach him? Surely they can't censor domestic and world politics (like elections) and natural disaster events, which requires images to see. Sure they censor the studio, but they can't keep all images from the outside world away from him. Besides, I just put in a movie mistake myself that shows they at last have taught him world history the proper way.


I didn't put the mistake in as the Truman show can take place in the future. What I found out that there is a scene of Truman as a kid in school and the teacher pulls down a map of the world, a 90's map. So they do teach him proper history. And since its a 90's map the Truman show takes place in the future and its the 2010's or something. But it shows Truman knows in what era he lives.


Answer: Dude how are you not getting this? They can tell him anything they want. He doesn't have any form of reference to say it's out of place. His entire world is what they've told him since he was a baby. They can tell him it's 2020 but still have 1950s equipment. To Truman, that's 2020 equipment. He doesn't know about all the advances since them. You, me and all the viewers know its out of era but Truman doesn't since he's grown up with it being relevant to whatever year theyve told him it is.

Are you talking to me? if you are, what are you rambling about? The question was if Truman believed he was in the 50's. I argued he didn't. That's all. According to you that's true even. Relax.

Question: Why wasn't Bud, the police detective who was shot but not killed, treated as a hero but instead is shown leaving town with the Veronica Lake look-alike played by Kim Bassinger? It doesn't make and sense.

Answer: To cover up the corruption and protect the department's image, the LAPD hid Smith's crimes by claiming that he died as a hero in the shootout. Exley also bargained to be hailed a hero and received a medal for bravery.

raywest Premium member

Question: Why didn't Carlos turn into a zombie when he got bitten on the leg like Sgt. Peyton?

Roman Curiel

Answer: As shown in the first film, the virus doesn't necessarily hit at a consistent rate. It depends on the individual subject and the severity of the wound. Carlos managed to survive just long enough to get the anti-virus. Also, Peyton was shot and killed by Nemesis, thus he re-animated at a quicker rate, as his body shut down.


Question: When Tyranus incapacitates Skywalker and Kenobi, why didn't Dooku kill Anakin and Obi-Wan when he had the chance?


Answer: Well in the case of Anakin it's simple, since Dooku was under orders from Darth Sidious not to kill him, as Sidious saw him as a potential Sith apprentice. Obi-Wan, could be several reasons. It could simply be that Dooku held them alive as hostages because he knew Yoda was coming. It's also possible Obi-Wan is part of the Sidious' plan to keep Anakin's training stable and on schedule so he can be turned. If Anakin got a new master or went rogue he might be harder to turn. It's also possible Dooku didn't want to waste time with Obi-Wan, as he didn't see him as a threat.


Do you have any evidence of this?


Of Dooku not being allowed to kill Anakin? Of course. Darth Sidious has had his eye on Anakin since Naboo when he met him as a young child, feeling the power he has. Since then he has been training him, teaching him, influencing him to go to the dark side. Obviously he doesn't want any harm to come to him. So, Dooku was not allowed to kill Anakin. Either Dooku himself saw Anakin as a potential Sith (considering his dialogue with Anakin during their final duel) and apprentice or Dooku was told by Sidious not to kill Anakin but try to persuade him to switch sides. As for Obi-wan its like I said, just speculations. Perhaps someone else can elaborate better, perhaps take it to the Forum? I can open a book or 2 about this, but better in the Forum than as a reply here.


What's the source of this? Is it from the Novel?


No I got this information from watching the movies. It's just logical conclusions to the events that lead up to the final Dooku vs Anakin duel. Dooku didn't expect to kill Anakin, but turn him. This is the reason he incapacitates Obi-Wan and starts talking to Anakin. But again, maybe a conversation for the Forum.


But how did Sidious know that Anakin and Obi wan would fight Tyranus?


When? On Geonosis? He didn't know, Palpatine didn't know all Dooku was doing on that planet whilst he secured the start of the war, but he knew Obi-Wan and Anakin would go after him, knowing he is a Sith. The events at Geonosis with the Jedi and the clone troops came a bit early for Palpatine I suspect, but proved to be working for his plans rather than against it. He wanted Dooku to reveal himself as a Sith to Obi-Wan and Anakin of course. Obi-Wan had some experience fighting Sith and Anakin was eager to prove himself, knowing that, Palpatine took the necessary measures to make sure Anakin wasn't killed, and probably didn't care much for Obi-wan's fate come to think of it. It's likely Dooku didn't see Anakin's potential until he fought him either, immediately understanding (but not fully) why his master wanted him to live.


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