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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 35 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Contact
| When Ellie returns to Earth, she is told that her journey never happened -- only a second has passed since she was dropped into the transport machine. How long does she say that her experience actually took? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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18 hours. It's revealed at the end that, despite her story having been discredited by Kitz and a congressional panel, Ellie's PRD (personal recording device) did indeed record 18 hours of static.
| According to the alien Ellie converses with, why did the Vegans construct the galactic transit system? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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They didn't. The alien, who appears to Ellie in the form of her late father, states that the Vegans did not build the transit system themselves; they simply found it, and have been utilizing it judiciously.
| At one point during Ellie's journey, she feels suddenly inadequate for the task she's undertaken. What kind of person does she say the IMC should have sent instead of her? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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a poet. When Ellie sees a stupendous 'celestial event,' she finds herself utterly unable to describe what she is seeing. 'No words,' she says. 'They should have sent a poet.'
| When Ellie finally arrives at her destination, the alien landscape she perceives is oddly familiar. On what did the aliens base her surroundings? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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A drawing she made as a child. Early in the film, we see a drawing that young Ellie has made of Pensacola, Florida, a place she had presumably never been, but had contacted that night with her ham radio. The curve of the shoreline and the angles of the hanging palm trees from that picture are perfectly replicated in the alien landscape.
Polo. Kent Clark somewhat compensates for his blindness with superb hearing and an uncanny sense of smell. He recognizes Kitz solely by detecting his cologne, and muses, 'I never would have pegged him as a Polo man.'
| What is the name given to the 'test dummy' used in trial runs of the transport mechanism constructed by the IMC? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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Elmer. One of the computers or detection systems at the Very Large Array is also called 'Elmer' -- Ellie literally kisses the computer monitor and says, 'Thank you, Elmer!' when the signal is first detected. It's entirely possible that the test dummy is named after this computer or system that was instrumental in detecting the signal.
| Both Palmer Joss and a member of the IMC (International Machine Consortium) selection committee suggest that a certain percentage of the world believes in a god or deity of some sort. What figure do they give? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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95 per cent. Personally, I consider that figure to be a little low.
| When the team discovers video and audio data buried within the overall signal, there is a moment of confusion, as the audio material is in German. Who provides everyone with an immediate translation? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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Kent Clark. Kent Clark, the blind astronomer who is Ellie's most valued colleague, is based on Dr. Kent Cullers, an actual scientist with SETI.
26 years. The star Vega is about 26 light-years away from Earth, and the signal traveled at the speed of light.
| Once the team has verified that the signal is indeed coming from space, Ellie is asked, rather ungrammatically, 'Who do we call now?' What is her reply? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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everybody . Odds are good that her first call was to NASA.
| At the precise moment Ellie first hears the alien signal, her ex-beau Palmer Joss is being interviewed on TV. What show is he on? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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Larry King Live. Larry King was one of the many real-life TV journalists who appeared as themselves in the movie.
| Ellie receives criticism in the scientific community for her tendency to sit and listen intently to a particular source of noise. What is it? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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washing machines. Ellie: 'I'm looking for patterns in the chaos!'
| Before Ellie meets with Hadden Industries personnel, how long has she been seeking funding for the Very Large Array project? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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13 months. When initially rejected, Ellie gives a passionate speech that convinces S.R. Hadden to give her the money she needs.
| When addressing the question of whether or not there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, Ellie's nemesis David Drumlin states that there are how many possible answers? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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two. Drumlin: 'One, that there IS life out there, but it's so far away that you'll never reach it in your lifetime...and two, that there's nothing out there but noble gases and carbon compounds.'
| Her first sight of what night sky fixture inspired Ellie to become an astronomer? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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the planet Venus. Ellie tells Palmer that after her father explained that what she thought was an especially bright star was actually a planet, she was 'hooked.' There's a scene in which young Ellie watches a meteor shower -- it's the night of her father's death, in fact -- but that's long after she's become interested in astronomy.
Cracker Jack. In the Cracker Jack box, Palmer finds a small toy compass that gets handed back and forth between the two characters several times in the film.
| Ellie first meets Palmer in a small shopping establishment in Puerto Rico. What item did she go there to buy? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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a pack of thumbtacks. She uses thumbtacks to mark the spots on her star map where she has heard anomalous signals. She buys a beer along with the thumbtacks, and when she sits down to drink it, Palmer approaches her and turns on the charm.
| Ellie and Palmer Joss have a nice, long conversation before their first romantic encounter. What happens during that conversation that seems to seal her decision to invite him home with her? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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He uses a phrase that her father used to say to her. After Ellie muses that the size of the universe demands that there must be intelligent life out there somewhere, Palmer replies: 'Well, if not, it'd be an awfully big waste of space.' Freud would probably have something to say here, but I'll let the issue lie.
Sparks . Probably a reference to her energetic personality, her interest in electronics, or both.
| While drawing a picture in bed, Ellie uses the box of a board game as an easel of sorts. What is the game? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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Landslide. I had this game as a kid -- it's all about winning a political election, and the box is sized nicely for a lap easel.
| In the first scene, young Ellie Arroway contacts someone far from her Wisconsin home with her ham radio. What city and state is this person in? | 'Contact,' The Movie
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Pensacola, FL. Her father declares it a new distance record.
| Where is the second Machine located? | Contact
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Japan. The second Machine is kept secret until S.R. Hadden acquires the Japanese firm that built it, and informs Ellie. He does this in a very unique way, a direct link with the Russian space station Mir, where he is now living.
| Who is initially chosen to take the trip in the Machine? | Contact
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David Drumlin. David Drumlin resigns as President Clinton's Science Advisor to become a candidate for the trip. He is selected, only to be killed when a terrorist explodes a bomb during a systems test, which also destroys the Machine. Ellie Arroway is chosen to take the trip in the second Machine.
| What actor plays Palmer Joss? | Contact
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Matthew McConaughey. Ellie first meets Palmer Joss in Puerto Rico. He is an author and theologian. After a brief fling, Ellie leaves him behind. Years later, after the signal is received, they reunite. By this time he is a well-respected religious advisor to The President.
| What is the title given to the organization responsible for building the Machine? | Contact
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International Machine Consortium. After the U.S. government decides to build the Machine, it finds ways to spread the cost internationally. The final price tag is said to be almost half a trillion dollars!
| Where does Ellie first meet S.R. Hadden? | Contact
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On his private jet. Hadden hacks into the computer files containing the encrypted data from the signal. Ellie meets his jet at a small airport, where Hadden tells her that this is his home because of his desire to keep his interests mobile. More importantly, he informs Ellie that he has found the primer to unlock the message.
| The scientists eventually decode the signal. What does it contain? | Contact
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Plans to build some type of machine.. In one of the most shocking scenes in the movie, the scientists clean up the video signal only to see an image of Adolf Hitler! They soon realize that it is the first TV signal of any strength to have left Earth, and is being sent back greatly amplified.
| What actress portrays the young Ellie? | Contact
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Jena Malone. Ellie's father always nurtured her interest in radio. She became interested in astronomy, and subsequently radio astronomy, after her father told her that the "star" she was viewing was actually a planet.
| A signal from a distant star is received. What is the name of this star? | Contact
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Vega. At first, the astronomers have doubts that the signal originates from Vega because the system is too young. They get confirmation that Vega is the origin from a radio telescope in Australia.
| What is the name of the eccentric scientist/business tycoon who funds the S.E.T.I. research? | Contact
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S.R. Hadden. After more than a year of seeking new funding to continue her research, it seems like the end of the line for Ellie, until she impresses S.R. Hadden with her intelligence, dedication and tenacity.
| Who is the lead actor/actress in this movie? | Contact
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Jodie Foster. Jodie Foster plays Ellie Arroway, a brilliant, ambitious astronomer driven by her absolute belief that we are not alone in the universe.
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