Question: Ivy says some people have a colour. Do you think Noah had a colour and she knew it was him in the woods? If so, did she intentionally let him die knowing he may have killed the man she loves?
raywest
17th Apr 2024
The Village (2004)
Answer: From what I recall, there's nothing in the movie to indicate that this is the case.
8th Apr 2024
The First Omen (2024)
Question: In The Omen, it is stated that Damien's father is Satan and his mother was a jackal. However, in this film, it is shown that his mother is Maragaret Daino and she was impregnated by some demon-jackal hybrid. Am I missing something, or is this an inconsistency?
Answer: You're not missing anything. The original film was almost 50 years ago. The modern-day filmmakers just changed plot details to suit the prequel story and create the character and backstory of Damien's birth mother. This is not unusual for a film franchise or relaunch. It's different directors, writers, and producers who have a different vision or change things to fit a different time.
19th Mar 2024
General questions
What exactly is the "lowest common denominator" audience? I've heard people say this when they think a movie or show is bad - that it was made for the "lowest common denominator." But why would studios/networks deliberately make something that the majority of people will not like?
Answer: It's actually the reverse - the lowest common denominator audience is meant to be the simplest, least demanding, lowest-expectations audience. Basically an audience that might want some special effects or a generic sexy plot, without being that bothered about creativity, artistic merit, etc. The broad idea is that that covers quite a large section of the population, just not a "highbrow" section. It's often applied to films or shows that might have a high commercial appeal (but not always) but get low critical ratings. Some/all of the Transformers films might fall into this category, for example. The people who like them really like them, but a lot of people don't, and they don't get good reviews, but still make a lot of money.
There is also a segment of "guilty pleasure" viewers. Unlike the lowest common denominator, they claim to be aware that a movie/show is poor quality, however, they get a smug satisfaction from watching. Low-budget thriller movies and "trashy" reality shows are good examples. Many people will watch those "ironically" and believe that they are superior to the audience ("I'm smart enough to know better"). Networks probably have these viewers in mind, too.
Totally agree with your assessment, but would add that many moviegoers prefer familiar and predictable plots because they think they've figured everything out, know "who did it," who ends gets the girl, the hero will save the day, and so on, without realizing it's the same story in dozen of movies. I have friends who prefer one or two types of movies (romantic comedies for women and action/superhero movies for guys) where they don't have to think too hard about the plot. Hollywood knows what audiences like, do test screenings to get audience reaction, and formulate what makes the most money. Familiar plots are rehashed with minor changes, knowing what sells to the widest audience.
27th Mar 2024
The Patriot (2000)
Question: Kind of a weird and random question, but is there any significance to when Colonel Tavington takes off his helmet in the church?
Answer: It's unknown, but even though he enters the church on horseback to intimidate the people inside, he may believe it's respecting God. It may also be something that a military officer automatically does when indoors. Also, men usually remove their hats once inside a building, mostly as a curtesy. A hat is protection for the outdoors, so once inside, no real reason to keep it on. He may be more comfortable talking without the chin strap, or he wants to be seen by the people he is threatening. It could be any number of reasons.
I've done a bit of research about the "not wearing a hat/helmet indoors" rule, since I've been curious about it before. People actually can't agree on single original meaning of this. One popular belief is that keeping your hat on makes it seem like you don't want to stay there long. It's polite to act like you are in no hurry and would love to stay a while. Or, keeping a hat on might create a feeling of distance, as if you want to be emotionally/mentally separated from the others.
26th Mar 2024
Finding Nemo (2003)
Question: Just out of curiosity, but if the rotating fan would be jammed in a fish tank in real life and the tank would get dirty, would the fish still be able to breathe? Especially if it took a day or two to get the filter fixed? Could they even survive in a filthy tank? I hope this makes sense since I don't know how these things work, nor have had one in my life.
Answer: Algae is just a natural plant and isn't harmful to fish. It even adds to the overall tank health, though most aquarists prefer a "sparkling clean" look. What is dangerous is if the aeration in the tank is cut off. The fish will quickly suffocate. Goldfish are hardier and can survive longer, but tropical saltwater fish would likely die within a few hours.
26th Mar 2024
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Question: With such an advanced ship and a crew of highly trained specialists, why would they need the services of a human cook? Wouldn't an automated chef do the same work and save the resources required for such an unnecessary position?
Answer: This is a lightweight, unsophisticated 1950s sci-fi movie with little thought to scientific accuracy. Space travel wasn't possible at this time and most people had little knowledge of what that would entail. Screenwriters just "improvised." The movie was meant as pure entertainment with a humor-infused plot. The "cook" is just a comic-relief character.
21st Mar 2024
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993)
Question: Whenever Clark uses his X-ray vision, why does he lower his glasses? Lowering them when he uses heat vision is understandable but there's no need to do it when Clark uses X-ray vision.
Answer: I don't recall if it was ever mentioned in an episode, but it's possible that the frames and/or lenses of his glasses are lined with lead, the one compound his X-ray vision can't penetrate. Speculative, of course, but it likely would have been done at a point in his youth when he wasn't in complete control of his powers.
21st Mar 2024
The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)
Question: Why isn't one dead pigeon, dog, or other wildlife shown in the streets of New York? And at the end, the three survivors walk away and a flock of birds flies off. Where did the birds come from? It's doubtful they were underground or in a shelter.
Answer: If some humans survived, then animals could as well. Birds, being able to fly, could have escaped the radioactive cloud before it became inert. For the rest, IMHO, this is a 1950s, low-budget movie. Cheap production values, little attention to detail, and no CGI made for a "no frills" set design that lacked realistic things like dead animals or human corpses. There were also stricter rules and standards about what could and could not be shown in movies. Showing rotting corpses may have been considered unsuitable or distracting. It could also be argued that the filmmakers wanted to create a visual image that humanity is restarting from a "blank slate."
12th Mar 2024
Blood Diamond (2006)
Question: Why did the rebels drug the child soldiers?
2nd Mar 2024
Midsommar (2019)
23rd Feb 2024
Ronin (1998)
Question: What is the most likely explanation for what was in the case?
Answer: There's no way of knowing what was in the case. It is a plot device called a "MacGuffin," a term coined by director Alfred Hitchcock. It doesn't actually matter what the object is but is just something that drives the story. It can be any type of object or device such as a "secret formula," "enemy war plans," a "nuclear weapon," a "treasure map," and so on that the characters are either searching for or protecting. There was never any intention to reveal what it was. Its purpose is to motivate the characters' actions and tell the story. Most likely it was intended to be a McGuffin just to keep the audience guessing and thinking about the movie long after it ends.
27th Feb 2024
Gilmore Girls (2000)
Question: Loreli got pregnant at 16 and takes off for a long time. Why didn't Emily and Richard report her as a missing person? If not, go find her yourself. Or even just check up on her if she is safe wherever she is. They had money, also a private investigator maybe?
27th Feb 2024
Hulk (2003)
Question: Is it true that Nick Nolte had problems with alcohol when making this movie?
Answer: Yes. While making the movie, he was arrested for drunk driving.
Answer: To add to the other answer, this is from Wikipedia: Nolte had struggled with substance abuse for the majority of his adult life and had begun abusing alcohol at an early age. After remaining sober for nearly 10 years, he resumed drinking in the late 1990s. Following his 2002 arrest, he again stopped drinking.
27th Feb 2024
Matlock (1986)
27th Feb 2024
Troy (2004)
Question: Why did Diane Kruger dislike Peter O'Toole?
15th Feb 2024
General questions
Why do so many actors use pseudonyms instead of their real names?
Answer: Along with the Phaneron's answer, using a pseudonym might make it easier for a celebrity to do some things with their real name, such as buying a property or checking into a hotel room alone if they want.
Answer: One of the reasons can be for making a simpler and easier-to-remember name. For example, Andrew Lincoln's real surname is Clutterbuck. Sean Bean changed the spelling of his first name from "Shaun" to look similar to his surname. Another reason is that the Screen Actors Guild does not allow two actors with the exact same stage name, likely to avoid confusion. Michael Keaton's real name is Michael Douglas, which is a name already being used. Michael B. Jordan uses his middle initial because Michael Jordan is technically a member of the Screen Actors Guild for having appeared in Space Jam.
Answer: Agree with the other answers, but would add that in Hollywood's earlier days, movie studios typically remade their new talent. Actors were under years-long contracts, and the studios trained them, controlled their publicity and public image, crafted their appearance and style, chose their movie roles, influenced who they publicly dated, and so on. This redo often included changing actors' real names that were considered too long, unsophisticated, difficult to pronounce, too "ethnic," and so on. A good example is Archibald Leach who became "Cary Grant" or Norma Jean Baker who was remade into "Marilyn Monroe." Most actors today use their birth names.
Answer: But these days, the vast majority of actors use their real birth names.
1st Feb 2024
General questions
What are some movies that took an unusually long time to film and release?
Answer: "Roar," written and directed by Noel Marshall, took five years to film. It wasn't worth the effort.
Answer: Boyhood from Richard Linklater comes to mind, which was filmed over 11 years from 2002 to 2013, so a child growing up could be depicted accurately with his own and parents' aging, etc.
Answer: The movie "The Plot Against Harry" was shot and completed in the late '60s. It didn't get a proper release until 1989.
Answer: The Outlaw. It was made in 1941 but was not released because the Hollywood Production Code didn't like the way it featured Jane Russell's breasts. It was released for seven weeks in San Francisco in 1943, but pulled because of complaints from the Legion of Decency. It was released in 1946, in Chicago, Georgia and Virginia, with six minutes of footage cut from the film. They had trouble advertising it so it ran in a limited number of theaters. However, it sold out all showings making a tidy profit. It was released again at the beginning of 1947, in one theater by the end of the year it made $2 million. It was released again in 1950 in 25 theaters. There was a release in 1952. By 1968 it had grossed over $20 million.
Answer: The John Wayne movie, "Jet Pilot", was made in 1950 and didn't get released until 1957. David O'Russell's "Accidental Love" began production in 2008 and was released in 2015. Another is "My Apocalypse" that was filmed in 1997 and released in 2008. "Tulip Fever (2017) " also took several years to reach theaters after undergoing extensive editing and recutting. It failed at the box office.
Answer: The film "The Other Side of the Wind" by Orson Welles, currently available on Netflix. It was shot between 1970 and 1976, then only partially edited by Orson Welles (due to many complications) before his sudden death in 1985. His final film was completed and released in 2018.
Answer: Castaway. They filmed Tom Hanks' scenes as a chunky, middle-aged executive, then paused for a year while he lost weight and got buff for the scenes where he had been stranded on the island for a while.
Answer: There is a movie called "Dark Blood". It was released in 2012, but they started making it in 1993. Unfortunately, the star of the movie River Phoenix (older brother of Joaquin Phoenix) died due to a drug overdose when the movie was 80% finished, and the movie was shelved for 19 years. They eventually finished the movie when the director pulled the negatives out of storage to prevent them from being destroyed because the insurance company refused to keep paying for the storage.
20th Jul 2023
Lakeview Terrace (2008)
Question: Just a thought. If the Mattsons chose to file a complaint against Abel, would his history of unethical behaviour on the job make his superiors more inclined to take the complaint seriously? It just seems odd to me that accusations of inappropriate behaviour against a policeman outside the job would be dismissed so easily when he has a long history of questionable behaviour on the job.
Answer: The department may want to cover up Abel's behaviour to avoid bad publicity or accusations about police brutality and corruption. Most likely, it would result in an investigation by Internal Affairs, which they may have various reasons, aside from Abel, of wanting to prevent.
11th Sep 2023
The Big Lebowski (1998)
15th Feb 2024
National Treasure (2004)
Question: How did Ian know the "Declaration" would be in the basement? If Gates had not stolen it, the "Declaration" would still be on display, protected by all that security.
Answer: I did some reading on this. The Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, all stored at the National Archives, are lowered nightly from public viewing displays to a basement vault, and it is regularly taken to a preservation room for maintenance. Ian would know about the routine and plan accordingly. It's still inconceivable that any document could be stolen, considering the high security guarding them, but it's a move, after all.
Answer: The Declaration was moved to the basement some time before the party, plenty of time for someone with as much money and connections as Ian to find out it had been replaced by a replica and moved to the other location.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: Don't disagree with the other answer, but Ivy could have sensed it was Noah. While Ivy claimed to "see" someone's color, more likely she recognized people by their individual sounds, smells, movements, etc. which she interpreted as their "color." She knew Noah attacked Lucius and, in his unstable state, might kill her. She knew the "monsters" were fake and no-one else had a motive to harm her. I don't think she intended to let Noah die. She was protecting herself and could do little to save him once he fell into the pit.
raywest ★