Born August 1, 1965, Sam Mendes made his film directorial debut with "American Beauty". He graduated from Cambridge in 1987 and directed his first plays professionally that same year. He continued working on stage productions until being approached by Steven Spielberg to direct "American Beauty". It won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Mendes won for Best Director.
2. American Hustle (2013)
Answer: Amy Adams
Born August 20, 1974, Amy Adams made her film debut with a supporting role in "Drop Dead Gorgeous" (1999). Her first major role was in "Catch Me If You Can" (2002) and her first Academy Award nomination was for "Junebug" (2005). She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won the Golden Globe for Best Actress - Comedy or Musical for "American Hustle".
It has a wonderful cast including Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale and it won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.
3. Casino (1995)
Answer: Robert De Niro
Born August 17, 1943, De Niro had his first credited film role in "Greetings" (1968). He began a highly successful collaboration with director Martin Scorsese in "Mean Streets" (1973). This was soon followed by his first Academy Award winning performance which was for his supporting role in "Godfather II" (1974).
More roles in Scorsese films included "Taxi Driver" (1976), "Raging Bull" (1980) and "Casino".
4. Casino Royale (1967)
Answer: John Huston
Born August 5, 1906, John Huston was a triple threat director screenwriter and actor. Among his greatest works as a screenwriter and director were "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948) and "The African Queen" (1951). He also had uncredited acting roles starting with "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre".
His first credited acting role was in "The Cardinal" (1963). In the 1967 version of "Casino Royale", which was a parody rather than a serious spy movie like the 2006 version, he played the role of M and he also directed the movie.
5. Monster (2003)
Answer: Charlize Theron
Born August 7, 1975 in South Africa, Charlize Theron was first training as a dancer. She won a modeling contest and toured Europe for a year. An injury forced her to abandon dancing and she went to Hollywood in 1994. She was on her way to becoming an international star in the late 1990s with her lead roles in "The Devil's Advocate" (1997), "Mighty Joe Young" (1998) and "The Cider House Rules" (1999).
She won the Academy Award for Best actress for her portrayal of a serial killer in "Monster".
6. Monster's Ball (2001)
Answer: Halle Berry
Born August 14, 1966, Halle Berry began her career as a model. She moved to Los Angeles in 1991 to pursue acting ambitions. She got her first small role in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever" (1991) and her first co-starring role later that year in "Strictly Business".
She began tackling more serious film roles in "Losing Isaiah" (1995). In 2001, she became the first African American woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in "Monster's Ball".
7. The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Answer: Chris Hemsworth
Born August 11, 1983, Hemsworth began his film career in "Star Trek" (2009) playing Captain James Kirk's father George. He gained international fame in the role of Thor beginning with the 2011 film of the same name. After "Thor", he starred in the science fiction comedy horror movie "The Cabin in the Woods".
8. Knock at the Cabin (2023)
Answer: M. Night Shyamalan
Born August 6, 1970 in India, Shyamalan's parents immigrated to the United States when he was just six weeks old. His breakthrough film was "The Sixth Sense" (1999) which he wrote and directed. For his efforts, he garnered Academy Award nominations for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture.
He has released over ten subsequent movies, mostly with average or above critical reviews. "Knock at the Cabin" is described as an apocalyptic psychological horror film. Shyamalan wrote, directed and did some acting in the movie.
9. Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Answer: Dustin Hoffman
Born August 8, 1937, Hoffman's first film role was in "The Graduate" (1967) which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He won this award for both "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979) and "Rain Man" (1988) and has had numerous other notable roles and awards. In the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise, he voices Master Shifu, master to the Furious Five!
10. Shrek 2 (2004)
Answer: Antonio Banderas
Born August 10, 1960 in Spain, Banderas made his film debut in Pedro Almodóvar's comedy "Labyrinth of Passion" (1982). He has been in several subsequent Almodóvar films and earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor in Almodóvar's "Pain and Glory" (2019).
He began voicing the character Puss in Boots in "Shrek 2" and as of 2023 there have been three spin-off "Puss in Boots" movies.
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor skunkee before going online.
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