Question: I have always wondered how the movie crew and cast worked with Natasha Ryan, the actress who played young Sybil. There were scenes that were very frightening, dealing with terrible tortures. I always wondered if that was traumatic for the young girl? Or, if not, how was trauma avoided. More generally, does anyone know how movie productions deal with children on the set of films with frightening, traumatic and/or controversial themes?
raywest
2nd Feb 2015
Sybil (1976)
11th Feb 2015
Mad Men (2007)
Question: Did no one get surprised at the price of the Call Girl at the end of the episode? For spending a whole evening and night at Draper's house, the call girl charges $25, about $190 in modern money. Isn't that weirdly low?
16th Feb 2015
Licence to Kill (1989)
Question: Why does Sanchez leave Felix back at his house? I get that he might have thought Felix was dead, but why bring him back to his house? Why not cremate him or something? Hell, why not leave him in the shark tank to drown or get eaten some more?
Answer: That message wasn't for Bond. It was for everyone in law enforcement, to show what happens when you tangle with him. No one is safe from his wrath.
Answer: He apparently wanted to "stage the scene" in order to send a message, particularly to Bond. It's doubtful he expected Felix to still be alive.
That doesn't make any sense - Sanchez didn't even know who Bond was at that point. Even if he did and Killifer had tipped him off why did Sanchez not recognise Bond when Bond turns up at his casino?
16th Feb 2015
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Question: Do the numbers on the Hogwarts train, 5972, have any meaning?
Answer: It has no meaning to the story. The locomotive used for the Hogwarts Express is the GWR No. 5972 "Olton Hall." It was built in 1937 and was in service in the U.K. until 1963. It was to be sold for scrap, but it was bought by the National Railway Museum and has been on display there in Shildon.
11th Feb 2015
The White Mountains
Question: In the later chapters, the main characters are being pursued by Tripods, mind controlling alien machines. My question is, if the Tripods can turn humans into 1600's puppets, complete with foxhunts, why don't they make some of said mind-controlled humans help with the pursuit?
11th Feb 2015
The Village (2004)
Question: At the end when the ranger is sitting in his car and the alarm is going off, is he still alive?
Chosen answer: Yes he's alive. Nothing happened to him at all. He had turned on the siren when he saw someone in the road, which was suspicious. After he helps Ivy, he reports back to his supervisor that everything was okay, which it was. He realized that Ivy was from inside the reserve, but he says nothing about it.
2nd Feb 2015
The Wolfman (2010)
11th Feb 2015
The Island (2005)
Question: At the beginning of the movie, Lincoln 6 Echo is missing his left shoe. Is there any importance in that?
Answer: As far as I could tell, it seems to indicate his growing mental awareness of himself and his environment. He begins noticing more things around him and is questioning when things don't seem right or are out-of-place. The other clones don't exhibit that type of cognitive functioning as much as he does.
2nd Feb 2015
The Godfather (1972)
Question: At the wedding, Vito Corleone says that Carlo is to be given a living, but not allowed in the family business. Before Michael has him killed, he tells him that his punishment for setting up Sonny's murder is that he is out of the family business. When was he let in?
Chosen answer: He was initially let into the family business when he married Connie, the Don's daughter, but only in a minor way. Vito Corleone knew Carlo only married Connie for her family connections, and that Carlo was now expecting an important position within the Corleone empire. Because he was mediocre and incompetent, he was relegated to a minor job, and never allowed into the upper ranks, making Carlo angry and resentful. When his involvement in Sonny's murder was discovered, the Don was unable to have Carlo killed, not wanting to be the one to make his daughter a widow. He knows that Michael will execute Carlo after he becomes Don. Michael kills Carlo for revenge, but he waited to aid his plot to murder the heads of the five families. Killing Carlo before then would tip them off that the Corleones knew Carlo was involved in Sonny's murder. Michael even lulls Carlo into believing he will play an important role when the family moves to Nevada. Michael waits until the opportune moment to execute him, first confronting Carlo to extract information.
2nd Feb 2015
Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
Question: Why was there blood on Travers Goff's shirt when he died? I thought he died of tuberculosis. And what was the knife for?
29th Jan 2015
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Question: A nit-picky question, but why did Hermione tear out a book's page of information about the basilisk? I have read the novel and Professor McGonagall says that she was found *near* the library when petrified, not *in* it. So I am puzzled about why she would want to damage a book instead of borrowing it.
Answer: A number of books in the library were restricted - either they were off limits to students or they could be read but not checked out. This was probably such a book. Hermione loved books, and would not normally approve of damaging them, but this was too important to her, and she needed that specific information. Of course, it also serves the overall plot because Harry finds the page after she's been petrified, and he is able to glean clues from it.
25th Jan 2015
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Question: Why does Voldemort say that Barty Jr.'s loyalty has never faltered? At his trial, Barty Jr. got upset and tried to deny that he helped torture the Longbottoms.
24th Jan 2015
The Parent Trap (1961)
Question: What kind of judge would agree to this kind of custody arrangement?
Answer: None. It's total fiction made up solely for the purpose of the movie. Even for a movie, it's far beyond the "suspension of disbelief" that siblings would ever be divided up between the two parents, and neither would have no contact with them, much less be prevented from knowing they had a brother or sister.
It was during the 1960s, the courts had no way of forcing parents to share children. They could have very easily just stayed away from each other out of the view of the judicial system.
This is what I always assumed as well. That this wasn't decided by court, the parents decided this on their own and did not bring it up to the court.
There has actually been a history of separating identical twins as babies, as there has been a fascination in studying what ways they'd be alike, and how they'd be different. During this time period, there were even agencies that would pay women who gave birth to identical twins to give them up for adoption, and have them be adopted in separate families. In today's world, this would not happen, but I wouldn't put it past a judge back in the 1960s.
21st Jan 2015
The Fugitive (1993)
Question: How does Kimble get the new set of clothes after leaving the "Men Only" hotel (after the St. Patrick's Day parade)? Is this an allusion to some inappropriate activity?
Answer: He stole them from someone who had taken them off because it was a brothel.
Answer: He got cash from Nichols when he stopped him outside of the tennis club. That is how he was able to buy clothes, etc. but it wasn't something that was shown on-screen - was basically assumed based on events.
21st Jan 2015
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
Question: Whatever happened to Sonny's wife and children?
Answer: There is a deleted scene from the movie (I'll put a link for you in the end!), where Theresa and Sonny's daughter, Francesca, attend the party for Anthony's communion and ask Michael's blessing for Francesca's future wedding with a man. At some point Michael says that "My brother Sonny died many years ago. And I guess I've been sort of a father to her, rather than an uncle." I would assume this means the children were raised close to him, because as we see when Connie discusses with him, even her own children stay with Michael's family; or close. (Connie's son was caught in Reno, Nevada for some petty theft). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15Ucj4YFosk.
21st Jan 2015
The River Wild (1994)
Question: After Wade seemingly kills Tom, Terry scolds him, saying he had said at the start of the robbery that no-one would get hurt, but now three people (a guard, Frank and "Tom") are dead. Why does Terry wait until the "third" death to have it out with Wade?
21st Jan 2015
Road To Perdition (2002)
Question: What town did the Aunt Sarah live in? I thought the name of the town was Perdition, to use it as a pun on the title.
15th Jan 2015
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
5th Jan 2015
The Maze Runner (2014)
Question: How did Thomas manage to get into the elevator at the start of the film?
Answer: Thomas was placed there by the lab workers at W.I.C.K.E.D. Boys were being sent up once a month in it as part of an experiment. Thomas, however, works for W.I.C.K.E.D. Although his memory was wiped like the other boys, he, and also the girl, knowingly took part in the experiment in order to change the conditions of the test.
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Chosen answer: In these types of movies, where young actors are involved in intense scenes, every precaution is taken to ensure that they are never frightened or emotionally compromised. Child psychologists, acting coaches, and the director are on set and work closely with them. A child's parent or guardian is also always close by. Child Protective Services oversee how child actors are being utilized in films and TV shows and there are strict laws and regulations regarding how child actors are treated, how many hours per day they can work, etc. Scenes are also carefully filmed and edited in such a way that can appear to be very intense, but were not emotionally stressful to the child. Also, stand-ins can be used for certain shots.
raywest ★