Movie Quiz Series (February)

1. Movie Quiz Series (February) Varun Reddy Sevva (For IQL) http://iquiz.wordpress.com/movie-quiz/february-2009/

2. Rules • One question every day, starting February • When there is a break it will be announced before hand • Answers will be accepted till 11.30 pm same day • Googling is highly discouraged, but it’s upto our conscience • All questions are answerable by movie lovers • Mostly Hollywood based; Bollywood will be covered as and when new material comes up • IMDB and Wikipedia are the main sources

3. Question 1 • Connect (The list is exhaustive) • 1. Meryl Streep • 2. Katharine Hepburn • 3. ____ _________ • 4. Laurence Olivier • 5. Bette Davis • The name of which lovable actor/actress is missing and what is this list about?

4. Answer • The missing name is Jack Nicholson - The list is the names of all actors who have 10 or more Oscar nominations in their lifetime. • Correct answers: Jagdish, Kamal, Arati and Raji. Well tried by Shashikumar.

5. Question 2 • With respect to the current Oscar Nominated Movies, connect: • “Satan’s Alley”, a movie about two gay priests at an 18th century Irish monastery • “The Scorcher” movie franchise • “The Fatties: Fart 2”, the movie about a family which only farts! • ’Bust-A-Nut” candy bar • “Booty Sweat” energy drink • A very “simple” connect, right?

6. Answer 2 • The answer is “Tropic Thunder”, nominated this year (2009) for the best supporting actor Robert Downey Jr. These are all different spoof-movie trailers mentioned before the movie starts and the products were released before the movie released as a gimmick. When I mentioned “simple”, I was referring to “Simple Jack”, one of the common running spoof-movie themes inside this movie. I felt perhaps “Simple Jack” would make the question a sitter, hence it wasn’t mentioned. • Correct answers by Andy, Raji, Anirudh, Deepak, Raja and Debratna. Well tried by KN and GZR.

7. Question 3 • So far, this movie franchise has been a huge success.  • The first one in the series was a low-budget movie, at roughly $6.5 million, which turned out to be a box-office hit, earning $38,371,200 domestically and more than $78 million worldwide. • The second one was also a significant box office and critical success. The film’s visual effects include many breakthroughs in computer-generated effects, marking the first computer-generated main character. The film won several awards including four Academy Awards for makeup, sound mixing, sound editing and visual effects. It crossed more than $725 million worldwide, topping the list of film sequels by box-office improvement (Domestic Earnings) • The third movie in the franchise was not spared by the critics, one of who said that it was “essentially a B movie, content to be loud, dumb and obvious”. It closed with a total worldwide gross of $433 million, a financial success but still falling significantly short of its predecessors’ gross. It failed to get a single nomination for the Oscars. • Which movie franchise am I talking about? It’s as easy to guess as any other question. I’ll be back soon with the answer…

8. Answer 3 • ‘The Terminator Franchise”, with the clue being in the last line I mentioned - “I’ll be back”. • Correct answers by Francis Vijay, Rahul, Srikar, Debratna, Curdriceauora and Raji. Well tried by Abhishek and GZR.

9. Question 4 • The picture is that of “El Indio” Fernández, a famous Mexican actor, screenwriter and director of the Cinema of Mexico. .He developed his own style which had such an effect in the industry that his portrayal of rural Mexico became a standard for the film industry and also became the image of Mexico in the world. • Cedric Gibbons was introduced by his then wife Dolores Del Rio to El Indio. Reluctant at first, Fernández was finally convinced to do some a special modeling assignment that stands till now. What did he do?

10. Answer 4 • He stood naked and modeled for the Oscar statuette. He is the guy they all crave to want in their hands each year  • Correct answers by Deepak, Srikar, Anirudh, Rajiv and Raji (who honestly told me that she googled for the answer)

11. Question 5 • It is rightly said that in death lies more fame than one can imagine in one’s life. All the hoopla about Heath Ledger and his posthumous nomination got me to this actor, who is more famous for his Oscar nominations, inspite of never winning any of them! His enduring fame and popularity rests on only three films, his entire starring output. His death at a young age helped guarantee a legendary status. He was the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and remains the only person to have two posthumous acting nominations - Two nominations after his death!  • His role in “Rebel Without a Cause” is widely cited as an accurate representation of teenage angst. This movie continues to touch and excite gay audiences by its honesty. The Gay Times Readers’ Awards cited him as the male gay icon of all time (Something to ponder over) • Just name this legendary star.

12. Answer 5 • James Dean • Correct answers by Vasanth, Raji, Tania, Raja, Rahul Kumar and Shashikumar.

13. Question 6 • This actor has been one of my favorites for very long time. His acting style has always amazed me and his voice is fascinating! He developed the film “Air Force One” and was set to play the lead role of the President, but ultimately decided to concentrate on finishing “The Postman” instead. This film took home 5 Golden Raspberry Awards - It won for every award it was nominated, the only time it ever happened at the Razzies! • In spite of being a good actor, his Oscar wins have been for “Best Director” and “Best Picture” in 1990 for a movie about a Civil War-era United States lieutenant who travels to the American Frontier to find a military post. He also acted in that same movie, but was merely nominated, losing the award to Jeremy Irons. • He also has a slight connection to the Kennedy family by way of his movies. He played the roles of Jim Garrison (a lawyer to have investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy ) and Kenny O’Donnell (Kennedy’s special assistant) in two of his more famous and controversial films. • Name him and the 3 movies in question.

14. Answer 6 • The Actor I was referring to is Kevin Costner. The 3 movies in question were “Dances with Wolves”, “JFK” and “Thirteen Days”. • Only one complete correct answer, by Karthik. Partial correct answers by Raji, Tania and Ramkumar.

15. Question 7 • The first question in this series started with a list of the actors who were nominated the most number of times. Atleast all of them has some wins in their kitty. But the gentleman in question was not so lucky. He has been nominated eight times for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, making him the most-nominated actor never to win the award! Marlon Brando beat him to it in 1972, Robert De Niro in 1980 and most recently, he lost to Forest Whitaker in 2006.  • In 2003, the Academy honoured him with an Academy Honorary Award, but he didn’t want to take it, saying that he was “still in the game” and would like more time to “win the lovely bugger outright.” The Academy informed him that they would bestow the award whether he wanted it or not. He finally agreed to appear at the ceremony and receive his Honorary Oscar. And guess who presented him with this Honorary Oscar? None other than Meryl Streep! • Who is this distinguished actor I am talking about?

16. Answer 7 • Yes, it is Peter O’ Toole, as mentioned by all of you in the comments. He is the main protagonist of “Lawrence of Arabia”. • Correct answers by Raji, Tania, Chandy, Somnath, Yoganand and Mr./Ms. shree420@gmail.com.

17. Question 8 • Since we are on the topic of missed Oscars, we can safely include this famous gentleman also in the list. Three-time Oscar nominee and none converted! The Golden Globes have been more generous to him (3 wins in 7 nominations) in that aspect. He received his first Oscar nomination for a movie which was based on the best selling autobiography of a parapalegic veteran an anti-war activist Ron Kovic. • In his next movie (X), he met the woman who was to become his second wife. They separated much later when she was three months pregnant, just before their tenth wedding anniversary. He also starred in a erotic thriller with her, which was director Stanley Kubrick’s last film (Y). In his next movie, he played a misogynistic male guru, that earned him another Academy nomination (Z). • Just for the record, October 10, 2006 was declared “___ ______ Day” in Japan; the Japan Memorial Day Association said that he was awarded with a special day because he has made more trips to Japan than any other Hollywood star.  • Who is he? And identify the movies X, Y and Z as mentioned in the question above.

18. Answer 8 • As many of you guessed, the correct answer is Tom Cruise. But none of you got all the 3 movies right. The movies are X=Days of Thunder (Nicole was a doctor in the movie); Y=Eyes Wide Shut (If you have not seen it, you are wasting your time seeing Nicole Kidman on-screen - Please do see it) and Z=Magnolia (Must see!) • Many right answers, but none of you got it all. But I do appreciate the attempts as getting all the names is not an easy thing.

19. Question 9 • An easy one if you can just think back a few years… • Connect (The list is exhaustive) • 1. Lina Wertmuller, “Seven Beauties” (1976) • 2. Jane Campion, “The Piano” (1993) • 3. Sofia Coppola, “Lost in Translation” (2003) • Hint: All three lost. The last one, in 2003, may strike something in your minds.

20. Answer 9 • The only 3 women to have been nominated for Oscars in the best Direction category. • A extra-correct answer by Malcaluffin   Correct answers by Francis, Tania, Somnath. Correct answer, but wrong on thought by GZR (They are not just the losers - they are the only nominees). Well tried by Abhishek. • @Malcaluffin: Thanks for the words of encouragement!!! “Googling is not for the winners; It’s just for people who don’t have time to apply their minds” - Varun Reddy.

21. Question 10 • Another easy one, if you can get the clue… • The director of this movie has said that he was inspired by “The Tale of the Dream Girl” episode of Nickelodeon’s television series ”Are You Afraid of the Dark” to make this movie. The production script for the film was unusual; nearly all of the information usually included in screenplays was absent. Because the writer intended to direct the film himself, he omitted from the screenplay most of the information that a screenwriter would normally convey to a director. • The left-handed Bruce Willis learned to write with his right hand for the film, to hide from the audience that he was no longer wearing his wedding ring. The color red is intentionally absent from most of the film, but is used prominently in a few isolated shots for “anything in the real world that has been tainted by the other world”.  • It earned $293,506,292 in the United States and a worldwide gross of $672,806,292, ranking it 27th on the list of box-office money earners in the U.S. as of March 2008. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor in a Supporting Role. • Which movie is this?

22. Answer 10 • As all of pointed out, the correct answer is “The Sixth Sense”. Haley Joel Osment got the nomination for the Best Supporting Actor. • Correct answers by Raji, Francis, Shashi, Stanley and Malcaluffin. “The concept of Google was science; The concept of Googling is an art” - Varun Reddy.

23. Question 11 • Just for the record, she is the first and only African woman to win an Academy Award for Actress in a Leading Role, for her portrayal of serial killer in the movie “X” . She received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in “Y”, a movie whose screenplay was inspired by the 2002 book “Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law”. • She was named Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive in 2007 (I support this decision of Esquire surely). In late 2008 she was asked to be a UN messenger of peace by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. • Enough said, who is this actress? And name the movies X and Y.

24. Answer 11 •  I mentioned that the actress was African, not African-American  She is Charlize Theron, from South Africa. I know it was a tricky question, but a few of you appreciated the fact that I wanted to convey here - Read the question carefully. I missed many quiz questions in my life because I failed to read between the lines, just didn’t want the same to happen to others that’s all. • Fully correct answers by Somnath, Yoganand, Puneet, Swarnadeep and Francis Vijay (Thank you man! You have been an encouragement for me!). Partial answers by GZR, Chandru and Shashi. Well tried by Raji and Tania.

25. Question 12 • The movie “X” was released in the USA in May 1977.  The film became an instant success; within three weeks of the film’s release, 20th Century Fox’s stock price doubled to a record high. Although the film’s cultural neutrality helped it to gain international success, there was anxiety during the premiere in Japan. After the screening, the audience was silent, but it was later told to the film-makers that silence was the greatest honor to a film. This movie is still one of the highest grossing movies of all time - With a budget of mere $11 million, it earned a ROI of more than 7000% (Titanic, in comparison, has a ROI of around 800%). It was nominated for 10 Oscars winning 7 of them, mostly in the technical section. • In the same year, another movie “Y” was released in November. It was a long-cherished project for its director. It tells the story of Roy Neary, an Indiana electrical lineman, whose life changes after he has an encounter with an unidentified flying object. The US Air Force and NASA declined to co-operate on the film. The film was nominated in nine categories, but only Vilmos Zsigmond won the award for Best Cinematography.  • Now the director of “X” entered into a wager with long-time friend and director of “Y” during its production. He was sure “Y” would outperform his own yet-to-be-released “X” at the box office and bet 2.5% of the proceeds of each film against each other. The director of X lost the bet, of course, and to this day the director of Y is still receiving proceeds from the first of the series of movies under the “X” movie series. • Which movies are these and who are the directors?

26. Answer 12 • Well, the tougher I think I question is, the more answers I get correct. Well, as many of you said, the correct answer is X = Star Wars (George Lucas) and Y = Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg). E.T. released in 1982. • Correct answers by Francis, Raji (Trying hard for it!) and Somnath (Thanks!). Partial correct answers by Vivek Raman (E.T. is 1982 flick!) and GZR (Forgot to mention the name of the Spielberg movie).  “I don’t hate making bets. I just hate the part where you lose, ’cause that sucks” - Varun Reddy.

27. Question 13 • Thirteen is unlucky, right? Well, I am sure the girl in question is certainly not unlucky here! • She was cast in a prized role, that of Broadway performance by Jennifer Holliday, for the film adaptation of the musical which also starred Beyoncé Knowles and Eddie Murphy. She won the role over hundreds of professional singers and actresses, including Raven-Symoné (from “That’s so Raven”)  and American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino. • And what a performance! She garnered an Oscar, a Golden Globe , a BAFTA, and a SAG Award! Quite a mouthful! • She is one of the very few performers ever to win an Oscar for a debut screen performance. As of 2009, she is also the only person to have gone from participating in a reality television series to becoming an Academy Award winner. After this Oscar win, her life has never been the same. • Name her and the movie for which she got the award.

28. Answer 13 • Jennifer Hudson from “Dreamgirls” - She was one of the finalists in American Idol. Correct answers by Francis, V.R. and Shashi. • I know that the questions may look easy. If you feel this quiz is boring you please tell me what changes I can do and I will try to incorporate those. Thanks! • “The number 13 has been very lucky for me - I never passed out after 13 drinks in my entire life!” - Varun Reddy.

29. Question 14 • Happy Valentines Day! • Talking about love, let us go to the story of this well-known fairy tale, which is a famous love story (as most fairy tales are). Walt Disney produced this movie at a time when it was starting to make a lot of impact in the animation-movies sector, in the period of 1988-99 called as the “Disney Renaissance” . And it did create a bang! It is the only full-length animated feature film to ever be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, and it lost to “The Silence of the Lambs” (which unquestionably deserved to win!). Many animated films following its release have been influenced by its blending of traditional animation and computer-generated imagery. • Its success was tremendous! It was also the most successful animated Disney film at the time and the first animated movie to reach $100 million at the domestic box-office. It won two Academy Awards for Best Music (Original Score) and Best Music (Song). It became the first picture ever to receive three Academy Award nominations for Best Music (Song) category! It had a total of 6 Oscar nominations - Quite a lot for a animation movie, ain’t it? • Just for the record, it was the first animated feature to win a Golden Globe for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), a feat later repeated by The Lion King and Toy Story 2. • Which special love-story am I talking about?

30. Answer 14 • ”Beauty and the Beast” - I felt it was pretty easy given the clues of it being a timeless love story classic. Anyways, correct answers by Somnath, Francis, Shree420, Raji and Tania. Well tried by GZR ans Shashikumar. ”Love is not blind; It is retarded” - Charlie Harper in “Two and a Half Men”. ”I like Valentine’s Day a lot. It’s almost like a 2nd Independence Day for me” - Varun Reddy.

31. Question 15 • First of all, I would like to thank one and all for the tremendous response I have got for this quiz series so far. It has been quite amazing and inspite of my heavy schedule here (my placements start today), I am finding time to make questions and tabulate responses because of the enthusiasm shown by all of you. Thank you once again! • Since we talked about the lovable Jack Nicholson before, I thought that we should not forget this famous British gentleman. He is the only actor, other than Jack Nicholson, to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting (either lead or supporting) in every decade since the 1960s. Every decade! He has a total of 6 nominations so far, winning two of them - for the 1986 film Hannah and Her Sisters, and his second in 1999 for The Cider House Rules, in both cases as a supporting actor.  • He has appeared in more than one hundred films and his real name is Sir Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr. • What is his screen name? • Hint: We have recently seen him in the movie “The Dark Knight” as the butler Alfred Pennyworth (worth every penny!)

32. Answer 15 • Michael Caine. Corect answers by Raji, Guess and Somnath. “Even though mom stopped loving you and Kandi stopped loving you, you don’t have to worry much about me. You’re my dad - I pretty much got to love you” - Jake Harper in “Two and a Half Men”

33. Question 16 • Enough talk about the awards and actors and the movies. Let us try to look at the real performers at the Oscar awards i.e. the hosts of the Oscars. This is a direct lift from Wikipedia, so please do not Google for the answer. • This famous comedian was the host of the Academy Awards 18 times between 1939 and 1977, but he never one any for his acting skills! His feigned lust for an Oscar became part of his act, memorably in a scene from ‘Road to Morocco” in which he erupted in a frenzy, shouting about his imminent death from exposure. Bing Crosby reminds him that rescue is just minutes away, and he complains that Crosby has spoiled his best scene, and thus his chance for an Academy Award. • Although he was never nominated for an Oscar for his performances, the Academy honored him with four honorary awards, and in 1960, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. While introducing the 1968 telecast, he quipped, “Welcome to the Academy Awards, or, as it’s known at my house, Passover.” • I remember him for his appearance in one episode of the show “I Love Lucy”, where he declined to look at the script and ad-libbed the entire episode. He went on live for a 100 years, dying just a few months after is 100th birthday in 2003. • Who is this distinguished performer? I hope you get this answer….

34. Answer 16 • It’s the distinguished Bob Hope. • Correct answers by Francis, Raji and Andy. ”Why live a hundred years when you are forced to retire from work at 60? Professional life sucks” - Varun Reddy.

35. Question 17 • In 1939, Katherine Hepburn was going to do the producer of the movie ”ABCD” a favor and play the role of “X” because he did not yet have anyone else signed for the role. Hepburn insisted that she did not have the lustful sexual appeal that the part demanded and told Selznick that his studio needed to find the woman who did. Hepburn rehearsed the lines thoroughly just in case. The night before the deadline, the producer finally cast the actress “Y”. Unbeknownst to Hepburn and the rest of Hollywood, “Y”was favored for the role early on, but as an English actress, she was deemed unsuitable for the part. In addition, her affair with Laurence Olivier, while he was in the middle of a divorce, made her a controversial choice. The vast “search for X“ was orchestrated to make it seem as if no other actress could be found, thus limiting the shock of “Y” landing the role. Hepburn was later the maid of honor at “Y”s and Olivier’s wedding in 1940. • The movie brought “Y” immediate attention and fame, along with it an Academy Award for Best Actress (her first of two Oscars). Hepburn remained a close friend of “Y” until her death in 1967. • Name the movie ABCD, the role “X” and the actress Y, who played it.

36. Answer 17 • The movie is “Gone with the Wind”; The part is that of Scarlett O’Hara and the actress is Vivian Leigh. • Good answers by Raji and Ramalingaraju. Almost full answer by Francis. ”There she goes… There she goes again…” - Unknown

37. Question 18 • Part 1: Mostly electrical, but needed a nuclear reaction • Part 2: Mostly Garbage, thanks to Mr.Fusion model fusion generator • Part 3: Hover conversion (gas engine) during flight. Alcohol was also used, along with a team of horses and also a locomotive at various stages. • What am I talking about?

38. Answer 18 • “The Delorean” from the “Back to the Future” series. Correct answers by Chandru and Francis (who is perhaps the top-scorer of this quiz if the scores are to be officially calculated). “God is surely mysterious - he makes drinking so beautiful and the hangovers so awful” - Varun Reddy.

39. Question 19 • This Oliver Stone classic “X” had a young “Y” playing the lead role as a ambitious stockbroker desperate to get to the top. The film won an academy award for the lead actor “Z” (who also starred in another famous movie, whose lead actress played the role of an author “Catherine Tramell”), who thanked Oliver Stone for “casting me in a part that almost nobody thought I could play”. • Actor “A” played the role of the father of “Y” in the movie, and is also the real-life father of “Y”! “A” is famous for his role as President Josiah Bartlett in the TV series “B”, for which he won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in TV-Drama. “A” has another son “C” in the Entertainment Business. “C” is famous for playing the role of Gordon Bombay in the movie series “D” about a hotshot Minneapolis defense attorney forced to coach the local District 5 peewee hockey team. • Name the actors Y, Z, A and C, the  movies X and D, and the TV series B.

40. Answer 19 • X-Wall Street • Y-Charlie Sheen • Z-Michael Douglas • A-Martin Sheen • B- The West Wing • C- Emilio Estevez • D- Mighty Ducks • Correct answers by Francis, Sylvian and Raji. Thanks for trying. • I have not been placed yet. I have exams next 5 days, so I am suspending the series for 5 days. Sorry. ”Necessity is the mother of Invention; Complexity is her love child” - Varun Reddy

41. Question 20 • Clue 1: Danny Boyle pushed his “Solomon Grundy” project back because he thought this story and “Solomon Grundy” were too similar. • Clue 2: Filmmakers worked closely with Levi’s to obtain clothing items from their Levi’s Vintage Clothing collection to authenticate various time periods captured throughout the film. • Clue 3: The second Hollywood feature film, after Denzel Washington’s “Deja Vu” (2006), to film in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. • Name the movie.

42. Answer 20 • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. • Correct answer by Raji. Good try by Nitol (Yes, the name of the African character in the movie “Blood Diamond” was Solomon Vandy, which sounds similar to Solomon Grundy; that, however, is not the answer)

43. Question 21 • Clue 1: The name of the emotion suppressing drug, Prozium is a sly combination of Prozac, and Valium, which both have calming effects. • Clue 2: Originally, the drug Prozium was named Librium (hence the term “People of Libria” as often referred to throughout the film). However, Librium turns out to be a registered trade name for the anti-anxiety drug chlordiazepoxide. The name was quickly changed to Prozium. • Clue 3: John Preston kills 118 characters in this movie, which makes him responsible for exactly half of the total 236 deaths shown. • Clue 4: The film was originally released as Cubic in Scandinavian countries, and stars Christian Bale. References are made to other notable science fiction films like “Logan’s Run”, “The Matrix”, “Metropolis”, “Gattaca” and the final close up of Christian Bale’s eye in this film is a homage to the opening shot of “Blade Runner”. • Name the movie. 

44. Answer 21 • Equilibrium • Correct answer by Francis.

45. Question 22 • Identify this IMDB Top 250 movie. • Clue 1: The movie was filmed in Southern California, in and around the Sunland/Tujunga area. Other driving scenes were filmed in Burbank on Victory Blvd. • Clue 2: The film took just 25 days to shoot. • Clue 3: A Polaroid 690 is very prominently shown throughout the movie. • Clue 4: Alec Baldwin, Aaron Eckhart, Brad Pitt and Thomas Jane were all considered for the role before Guy Pearce got it. • You have all seen it, now guess it!

46. Answer 22 • Well, all of you got it right! It is Memento! And so many replies today, even the GOD KN decided to give it a shot for once. • Correct answers by Debratna, Dipankar, Vaishnavi, Raji, KN, Francis and Raghuvansh (winner!)

47. Question 23 • Chalo this question is dedicated to a special person named “X”. Please read all clues, even if the name of the movie may become obvious by Clue 1. • Clue 1: As a producer, X tried to give the directing duties for this film to numerous colleagues, because he was afraid he couldn’t do the story justice it deserves. He was turned down by Martin (who was interested but ultimately felt it was a subject that better by a director of a particular ethicity), Roman (who didn’t feel he was yet ready to tackle the subject after surviving his childhood in it), and Billy (who turned it down because was in retirement). Billy convinced “X” to direct the movie himself. • Clue 2: About 40% of the film was shot using a handheld camera. Filming was completed in 72 days, four days ahead of schedule. • Clue 3: Harrison Ford was offered the title role but declined, saying that some people would not be able to look past him as a star to see the importance of the film. • Clue 4: When “X” returned to Cal State Long Beach 34 years after dropping out to earn his BA, his film professor accepted this movie in place of the short student film normally required to pass the class. • Need I say more? Let’s end this month with a bang! Name the movie in question.

48. Answer 23 • As you said, it’s Schindler’s List! • Correct answers by Francis, Raji and Debratna Nag.