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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 50 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Across the Universe
| Many of the characters in "Across the Universe" get their names from Beatles songs, i.e. Lucy ("Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"), Jude ("Hey Jude"), and Jo-Jo ("Get Back"). Which of the below lyrical names does not have a corresponding character in the film? | Take a Trip "Across the Universe"
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Eleanor ("Eleanor Rigby"). Other characters include Max ("Maxwell's Silver Hammer"), Sadie ("Sexy Sadie"), Prudence ("Dear Prudence"), Mr. Kite ("Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!"), and Dr. Robert ("Doctor Robert").
| When we first see Prudence, she is sitting on the bleachers at her high school in Dayton, Ohio. She longingly sings "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to someone she is observing from afar. Who is the oblivious object of her secret affection? | Take a Trip "Across the Universe"
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The head cheerleader. This is the first time we learn of Prudence's sexuality. Her orientation is confirmed when she tells Lucy "I don't sleep with men anymore." when Lucy questions her living arrangements with Max and Jude.
Prudence also provides another reference to a Beatles song with her entrance to the apartment. Shortly after she climbs in through a window in the bathroom, Sadie asks Jude when she came from. Jude replies "She came in through the bathroom window." which just so happens to be the title of another Beatles tune.
| After having him over for his first Thanksgiving dinner, Max and Lucy take Jude out for a night on the town. Here, Jude begins to realize he has feelings for Lucy and sings "I've Just Seen a Face". Where does this number take place? | Take a Trip "Across the Universe"
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Bowling alley. This sequence marks the first transition from "reality" to "fantasy" within the picture. The bowlers begin to dance and slide down the lanes as the lights inside the alley start flashing in different colors to the music.
The Cavern Club is the club where we see Molly and Jude dancing in Liverpool during "Hold Me Tight". Cafe Huh? is the club where Sadie and Jo-Jo play.
| One of the most moving sequences of the film starts out with a little boy hiding behind a car, during the 12th Street riot in Detroit, and ends with two funerals. Which song is performed during this scene? | Take a Trip "Across the Universe"
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Let It Be. The first stanza is sung by the boy as a prayer while the riot rages on behind him. At the chorus, it transitions into a powerful gospel number, sung by a choir at the first of the funerals. The funerals are for the boy who first sings the song, who we discover is Jo-Jo's little brother (presumably a victim of the riot) and for Lucy's boyfriend, Daniel (who has died in Vietnam).
The song symbolizes the inability of the characters to understand the tragedies (the riot and the war) that have befallen their loved ones and the hope that in the end, "there will be an answer".
Along with incorporating Beatles songs into the storyline, the film also contains many allusions to people and events of the era, including the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps")and also Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters ("I Am the Walrus").
| After losing his exemption by dropping out of college, Max receives a letter informing him that he has been drafted. During the induction tests, we hear "I Want You (She's So Heavy)". At one point, Max and the other draftees are shown stomping across a miniature model of Vietnam while carrying an extremely heavy load on their backs. Who or what are they carrying? | Take a Trip "Across the Universe"
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Statue of Liberty. This is another of the film's fantasy sequences, with the first line ("I want you...I want you so bad.") being sung by a very large Uncle Sam reaching out of the famous recruitment poster for poor Max. He and the other draftees are then put through several tests by robotic-looking soldiers. The scene described above happens when we first hear "She's so heavy."
The carrying of the statue represents not only the burden of combat the draftees are made to bear, but also the view held by many people of the time of the US clumsily pushing its way into where it doesn't belong (on the backs of unwilling young men).
The song ends on a more "realistic" note, with Sadie singing "I want you" to Jo-Jo and a forlorn Prudence singing the same thing to Sadie while watching them through a window.
| When inconsolable Prudence locks herself in the closet at the apartment, several characters sing "Dear Prudence" to entice her out. Who among the following doesn't sing? | Take a Trip "Across the Universe"
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Jo-Jo. Prudence locks herself in closet because of her unrequited feelings toward Sadie. Sadie tries to tempt her out by singing the first verse, and then leaves Max, Jude and Lucy to deal with her. Prudence eventually gives into their urgings and opens the door. The song ends with the foursome joining a peace march and Prudence finding new companionship with a group of oversized puppets.
| After being dropped off in the middle of nowhere by Dr. Robert's bus, the gang are drawn by the sound of music to Mr. Kite's Circus. They are then treated to a psychedelic show ("Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!") However, there is a familiar face in the act. Who are they surprised to find performing under the tent? | Take a Trip "Across the Universe"
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Prudence. It turns out that Prudence's new friends from the march are actually part of Mr. Kite's circus. She is introduced during the act by Mr. Kite as "Henry, the Horse" (don't ask why) and dances around in a costume that is part horse and part ballerina. After the show, Prudence excitedly introduces them to her new "friend", Rita, a fellow performer and contortionist.
| At one point, Jude has been hired to design a logo for Sadie's record company. He wants to design something "sexy" using fruit. What fruit is he seen trying to draw? | Take a Trip "Across the Universe"
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An apple. Although he eventually decides on strawberries ("Strawberry Fields Forever") he starts out drawing a green apple. Unhappy with his results, he cuts the apple in half and starts again. Thus, he has made the two images used for record labels by Apple Records, the company founded by the Beatles.
Also, Sadie's company is called "Strawberry Jamz" which alludes to Apple Corps, the umbrella corporation under which Apple Records was a division.
| Although the main cast is mostly unfamiliar to most audiences, "Across the Universe" boasts some very good cameo appearances from major stars. Which actress, who previously worked with Julie Taymor, portrays the "Bang Bang, Shoot Shoot" nurse (or more precisely nurses - there are five, thanks to special effects) in the number "Happiness Is a Warm Gun"? | Take a Trip "Across the Universe"
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Salma Hayek. Salma Hayek played artist Frida Khalo in Taymor's Oscar nominated biopic "Frida", which earned Hayek Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and SAG Award nominations for Best Actress.
The other actresses have also worked with Taymor: Ashley Judd was also in "Frida" as Italian model and actress Tina Modotti. Jessica Lange played the evil and conniving Tamora, Queen of the Goths in Taymor's visual masterpiece "Titus". Heather Headley is a Tony winning Broadway actress who originated the role of Adult Nala in Julie's smash hit stage adaptation of Disney's "The Lion King".
| While most of the cameo stars only perform a single song in the film, one star scored another, albeit off-camera and out of character. Which performer closes the show by singing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" over the closing credits? | Take a Trip "Across the Universe"
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Bono. Bono also plays acid guru Dr. Robert who proclaims "I Am the Walrus" at an acid party that Sadie's producer invites them to.
Eddie Izzard plays circus owner Mr. Kite, singing "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" and Joe Cocker plays several characters (Tramp, Pimp, and Hippie) while singing "Come Together".
Dana Fuchs is, of course, "Sexy" Sadie.
Thanks for joining me on this trip "Across the Universe"! I made this quiz "With a Little Help from My Friends", so I give them "All My Loving". And before you "Get Back" to your quizzing, just remember that "All You Need Is Love"!
Girl. "Girl" helped convey to the viewer that Jude's story was about a girl that he loved. It provided a solid introduction for the movie. Jude was a shipyard worker in Liverpool, England who lived with his mother. Jude was played by Jim Sturgess.
Her boyfriend went into the army.. Lucy's boyfriend, Daniel, joined the United States Army. He was sent to boot camp. This is why Lucy was upset during "All My Loving". In the same scene, Jude's girlfriend was upset because Jude was leaving for America.
| Complete this quote by Lucy, said to Jude in Max's car on the way to the Carrigan's house: "And how did we repay them? We slaughtered them in thousands and _____________." | Venturing "Across the Universe"
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"shipped them off". This was the scene when Jude and Lucy first met. Lucy explains her version of the story of Thanksgiving to Jude while leaving her school in Max's car. After Lucy said this line, Jude turned and smiled. It was when he began to fall in love with Lucy.
I've Just Seen A Face. "I've Just Seen a Face" showed the moment when Jude fell in love with Lucy. He sang about it as Lucy, Max, and Jude enjoyed themselves at the bowling alley, right before Max and Jude left for New York City. They lived in Greenwich Village.
Detroit. This scene was composed of two funerals. One was Lucy's boyfriend's military funeral. The other was a funeral for a young boy in Detroit. This funeral contained a gospel choir. "Let it Be" marked a change from the happier songs in the beginning of "Across the Universe", to harsh reality.
Homeless Veterans. "Come Together" pieced together all the aspects of New York City at that time period. Jojo finally ended up playing guitar at Cafe Huh? and was discovered and hired by Sadie, Max and Jude's landlady, for her band. Jojo wandered through a busy street filled with businessmen and businesswomen dancing with briefcases. He then passed through a dark scene of prostitutes with their pimp. He finally found the place he fit in, among dancing hippies and revolutionary activists.
Eddie Izzard. Max, Jude, Lucy, Sadie, Jojo, and other people traveled upstate on a bus. They arrived at a circus, where they find Prudence, a former roommate, working. Eddie Izzard is an English stand-up comedian and actor.
Yes. He was not killed, but Max was injured during the war. He was also very traumatized in Vietnam by the killing he saw all around him.
He was arrested at a protest strike.. Jude was arrested at a protest strike while trying to get to Lucy. All the other protesters were released, but Jude had no proof that his father was a U.S. citizen. He was sent back to England.
| In two cross Atlantic dance scenes, which characters sang the song containing these lyrics?
"It feels so right now, hold me tight.
Tell me I'm the only one.
And then I might,
Never be the lonely one." | "Across the Universe" - Who Sang It? Part 1
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Lucy and Molly. In dance scenes on either side of the Atlantic (which appeared to be simultaneous but couldn't have been because of the time difference), Lucy sang these words to her boyfriend Daniel, while over in Liverpool, Molly sang them to her boyfriend Jude.
All American Lucy was at a very proper prom with her boyfriend, who had just enlisted in the Army. At this point Lucy was still naive and proud of her boyfriend for enlisting, although not looking forward to the upcoming separation.
In a scene very reminiscent of The Beatles' Cavern days, Molly tried to hold onto her man, who had signed on to work on a trans-Atlantic ship. Jude was headed for America, looking for both a break and a chance to connect with his absent father. Molly sensed, correctly, that Jude was slipping out of her life.
Lucy was played by Evan Rachel Wood and Molly was played by Lisa Hogg.
"Hold Me Tight", was a McCartney/Lennon composition from the American released LP, "Meet the Beatles", (1964).
| "I'll pretend that I'm kissing, the lips I am missing,
And hope that my dreams will come true.
And then while I'm away, I'll write home every day,
And I'll send all my loving to you."
Which character started out a journey by singing this hopeful love song? | "Across the Universe" - Who Sang It? Part 1
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Jude. The product of a wartime liaison between his mother and an American serviceman, Jude worked the shipyards in Liverpool in the '60s. Feeling trapped and wanting to track down his father, Jude signed up to work on a trans-Atlantic ship. He sang this song to his Liverpudlian girlfriend, Molly, before shipping out.
Jude was played by Jim Sturgess.
"All My Loving" was also released in the US in 1964 on the LP "Meet the Beatles".
| Who was it who sang this innocent love song to a hopeless love?
"Yeah you got that something,
I think you'll understand.
When I say that something,
I want to hold your hand." | "Across the Universe" - Who Sang It? Part 1
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Prudence. We first met Prudence as she practiced with her high school cheerleading squad, on the field beside the also practising football team. When the girls took a break, Prudence retired to the bleachers where she sang this song to another cheerleader, who was flirting with one of the football players. Prudence later hitchhiked to New York, where she still wasn't able to be open about her sexuality.
Prudence was played by T.V. Carpio.
A number one single for the Beatles in the UK, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was released in the US, in 1964, on the LP "Meet the Beatles".
| Who, with a group of friends in a night of fun, was the primary singer for the song that contained the following lyrics?
"What would you think if I sang out of tune.
Would you stand up and walk out of me?
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
And I'll try not to sing out of key." | "Across the Universe" - Who Sang It? Part 1
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Max. At university only to please his parents, Max spent more time playing than studying (and did end up dropping out). He met Jude when Jude went there in search of his father, who turned out to be the custodian. Max was running from some other students, whose window he had broken with a golf ball, and Jude gave him a place to hide. Jude joined them for a night of drinking and fun, with this song being sung while they got drunk and had fun with Max's dorm buddies.
Max (Lucy's brother) was played by Joe Anderson.
"With a Little Help from My Friends" was released on the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in 1967, in both the US and the UK.
| Who sang these wonderfully romantic lines?
"I've just seen a face,
I can't forget the time or place,
Where we just met.
She's just the girl for me,
And I want all the world to see
We've met." | "Across the Universe" - Who Sang It? Part 1
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Jude. Max took his new friend Jude home for Thanksgiving, where Jude was immediately smitten by Max's sister, Lucy (who was dating Daniel at the time). Dinner conversation got a little heated when Max announced that he was dropping out of college and the three young people escaped to the bowling alley. It was here that Jude sang the song about Lucy.
"I've Just Seen a Face" was released in the UK on the "Help!" LP in 1965, but in the States, it was released on "Rubber Soul" in 1965.
| In one of the more powerful scenes from the film, who began the song containing these lyrics?
"When I find myself in times of trouble,
Mother Mary comes to me,
Speaking words of wisdom,
Let it be." | "Across the Universe" - Who Sang It? Part 1
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Jo-Jo's brother. The scene depicted the riots in Detroit, where a young boy crouched behind a burned out carcass of a car, singing these words of hope and wisdom in a time of hatred. We learned that this was Jo-Jo's brother at the funeral, where we were first introduced to JoJo, supporting his mother and throwing dirt into the grave.
Timmy Mitchum played Jo-Jo's brother, and provided the thin, sweet voice that started the song. Later, as the funeral began, the song was sung by the choir, led by Carol Woods.
Lucy's boyfriend, Daniel was also killed in the riots, being there in the capacity of a soldier, and the story alternated between the two, very different funerals.
"Let It Be" was a huge hit for the Beatles, released in 1970 on the LP of the same name.
| "Here come old flattop. He come groovin' up slowly.
He got joo-joo eyeball. He one holy roller.
He got hair down to his knees.
Got to be a joker he just do what he please."
Which veteran rocker sang these lyrics, under the guise of a number of personas? | "Across the Universe" - Who Sang It? Part 1
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Joe Cocker. Arriving by bus in New York, Jo-Jo passed Joe Cocker singing this song first as a bum in the subway, then as a pimp with his girls, then as an aging hippy who stopped Jo-Jo from being hit on the street, and finally as a pimp again. Jo-Jo seemed amazed by the characters he found, although one wonders how it could have been that different from Detroit.
Joe Cocker (real name) made a name for himself in the '60s, with his distinctive rough voice and hard to distinguish lyrics. He often played air guitar when performing. Cocker was at both the original Woodstock, in 1969, and at the less successful 1994 event.
"Come Together" was released in 1969 on "Abbey Road".
| "If I fell in love with you.
Would you promise to be true,
And help me, understand?
'Cause I've been in love before,
And I found that love was more,
Than just holding hands."
Which character sang these lyrics? | "Across the Universe" - Who Sang It? Part 1
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Lucy. After Daniels' death, Lucy went to New York to spend a little time with her brother. Since Max was now living with Jude, the two had a chance to let the original spark of attraction develop. Realising that she was falling for Jude, Lucy sang this song at a party at Jude and Max's apartment, which ended with them as a couple.
"If I Fell" was released in 1964 on the Beatles album from their first film, "A Hard Day's Night".
Max. Drafted, because he dropped out of college, Max showed up to be evaluated and processed. As he entered the building, posters of Uncle Sam started singing "I want you. I want you so bad." to Max, a refrain that was carried out by the soldiers doing the evaluations. Intercut with this were scenes of Sadie singing the same lines to Jo-Jo, who had recently joined her group, and of Prudence singing the lines to Sadie.
By the time the song had progressed to the "She's so heavy" refrain, Max and the other draftees were tramping though a miniature, plastic jungle, stomping on the trees. Clad only in their underwear, they shouldered the Statue of Liberty as they trudged, making an excellent commentary of the cost of being a young man in America at the time.
"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" was released on "Abbey Road" in 1969.
| Who began the singing of the song that contained these winsome lines?
"Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play?
Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day.
The sun is up, the sky is blue,
It's beautiful and so are you.
Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play?" | "Across the Universe" - Who Sang It? Part 1
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Sadie. Frustrated by her unrequited attraction to Sadie, Prudence locked herself into a closet and wouldn't come out. Max appealed to Sadie for help, who started singing this song to Prudence. Sadie was reminded by Jo-Jo that they had an appointment to keep, so Lucy, Max, and Jude took up the song, eventually coaxing Prudence into coming out.
Sadie was their hard rocking, slightly older landlady, who pursued both her music career, as a Joplin-like singer, and her relationship with Jo-Jo.
Sadie was played by Dana Fuchs.
"Dear Prudence" was released on "The White Album" in 1968.
| Playing the part of Doctor Robert, which rocker sang these enigmatic lyrics?
"I am he, as you are he, as you are me and we are all together.
See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly.
I'm crying." | "Across the Universe" - Who Sang It? Part 2
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Bono. Known on stage as simply Bono, this front man for the Irish band U2 was born Paul David Hewson in Dublin.
The character name Doctor Robert came from the Beatles song of the same name, and he was portrayed in the film as sort of a Ken Kesey type, travelling across the country in a wildly painted bus, having written a book.
He sang the psychedelic song "I Am the Walrus" at his book launching party, where it seemed that recreational drugs might had been added to the punch.
"I Am the Walrus" was on the "Magical Mystery Tour" album, released in 1967.
| Upset at being snubbed by Dr. Geary, Doctor Robert headed back to the coast, leaving our friends behind. Accompanied by dancing blue people, which character sang these lyrics, welcoming our friends to his show?
"For the benefit of Mr. Kite,
There will be a show tonight on trampoline.
The Hendersons will all be there,
Late of Pablo-Fanques Fair, what a scene.
(Have you seen it? It's great, they got stuff.)" | "Across the Universe" - Who Sang It? Part 2
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Mr. Kite. Left behind by Robert, our friends were enticed by the sound of music. In a circus type atmosphere, Mr. Kite invited them to his show, where they found Prudence roller skating as Henry the Horse.
Standup comedian Eddie Izzard adlibbed his way through the song, only occasionally bumping into the blue people who were bouncing around behind him.
"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" was released on the Beatles LP "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely hearts Club Band" in 1967.
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