N - People Themed Trivia

1. "Rob Roy" is a 1995 release telling the story of the legendary 18th century highlander, Rob Roy, an outlaw who becomes a folk hero. Where is the story set?

From Quiz Liam Neeson Times Five

Answer: Scotland

Before the movie begins an introductory statement includes the line, "At the dawn of the 1700s, famine, disease, and the greed of great noblemen were changing Scotland forever..." Then as the story starts, we see the green highlands and the words, "Scottish Highlands 1713." The movie was shot entirely on location in Scotland, especially in the Highlands where the historic Rob Roy lived. Some of the locations in the film were so remote that the actors and equipment had to be flown in by helicopter. The historical Rob Roy was baptized in 1671 and died in 1734. "Rob Roy" means Red Rob, which was a reference to his red hair. He is sometimes called the Scottish Robin Hood.

From Quiz Sam Neill

Answer: Sirens

From 1994, "Sirens" stars Grant, Neill, Tara Fitzgerald, Elle Macpherson and Portia de Rossi. A minister and his wife (Grant and Fitzgerald) travel to Australia to meet, and convert, an artist (Neill), whose paintings have been deemed blasphemous.

From Quiz The Directors: Mike Nichols

Answer: Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman had a break-through role in "The Graduate" (1967). At his graduation party Benjamin is pulled aside by his father's business friend who whispers in his ear "plastics" as a career choice. He has an affair with an older woman but falls in love with her daughter. Hoffman as an actor has been drawn to vulnerable characters such as Braddock, Raymond in "Rainman" (1989), Ratzo in "Midnight Cowboy"(1969), and Louis in "Papillon" (1973). He won two Academy Awards and had an additional five nominations. The film had nominations at the Academy Awards for Hoffman, Ross, Bancroft, Buck Henry's screenplay, Cinematography, and Best Picture. It has an 89% freshness rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

From Quiz Liam Neeson Times Five

Answer: MacGregor

Clan Gregor is an ancient one in Scotland and originated in the Highlands. MacGregors have always been enemies of the Campbells, going back to when much of the MacGregor lands were given to the Campbells by Robert the Bruce in the 14th Century. In 1603 James VI of Scotland, who would become James I of England, abolished the MacGregor name, declaring that all members of the clan must take a new name or be killed. The laws against them were not repealed until 1774.

From Quiz Rise Up Singing - The Voice of Marni Nixon

Answer: Margaret O'Brien

"The Secret Garden" was a drama based on the 1909 book by Frances Hodgson Burnett that tells the story of a young girl who makes a new life for herself in an isolated Yorkshire estate with her uncle and crippled cousin after her parents die during a cholera epidemic in India. Margaret O'Brien had been one of the biggest child stars of the 1940s, including a starring role with Judy Garland in the 1944 film "Meet Me in St Louis" for which she was awarded a Special Juvenile Academy Award. While Margaret O'Brien could sing, as she had done in several earlier movies, the producers chose to use Marni Nixon's voice for the singing portions of "The Secret Garden".

From Quiz The Directors: Mike Nichols

Answer: Catch 22

A catch 22 is a "dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions". At an airbase somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea, World War Two lives out its psychosis. The cast is an ensemble but most plot lines lead back to John Yossarian (Alan Arkin), an Air Force bombardier. Yossarian acts crazy to be sent home; crazy people are crazy and act crazy and are sent home. Catch 22. Major Major Major (Bob Newhart) does not see people and crawls out the window if someone enters his office. Lt. Milo Minderbinder (Jon Voight) is in the black market with his German counterparts that requires him to do strange things such as bomb and strafe his own airfield. An airman with a fear of cats dies of suffocation when a cat goes to sleep on his face. "Catch 22" was considered at the time a failure. First, it reflected the horror people were seeing everyday on television on the Vietnam War and the antiwar riots; second, it was released about the same time as "M.A.S.H." that audiences found more palatable; third, perhaps the average moviegoer did not grasp the bitter satire. However, the passage of time has allowed re-evaluation and critics have given it an 86% rating via Rotten Tomatoes. The film did not receive any major award nominations.

From Quiz Liam Neeson Times Five

Answer: Swords

Archie chooses to use a rapier, which fits his English style of fencing. Rob chooses a claymore, a much larger, but heavier, Scottish sword. Rob does not know about Archie's skill as a swordsman until combat is joined, and nearly pays the ultimate price for this ignorance.

From Quiz Sam Neill

Answer: Mark Gerber

Sam Neill and Mark Gerber appear together in "Sirens". "The Piano", released in 1993, stars Holly Hunter.

From Quiz The Directors: Mike Nichols

Answer: Art Garfunkel

Art Garfunkel was a surprise choice to play Sandy opposite Jack Nicholson's Jonathan. The story is told like a triptych, the left frame being their college days, the center a depiction of adult life, and on the right bordering middle age. As the title implies the central topic is always sex. The female cast includes Candice Bergen, Ann-Margret, Rita Moreno, Carol Kane and Cynthia O'Neal. Even by 1971 films depicting sex were still "pushing the envelope". This led to some distribution problems, outright banning in some areas, and an obscenity case that ended up in the US Supreme Court that ruled in part "Our own viewing of the film satisfies us that 'Carnal Knowledge' could not be found... to depict sexual conduct in a patently offensive way. Nothing in the movie falls within... material which may constitutionally be found... 'patently offensive'". Ann-Margaret received an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role and Nicholson and Garfunkel had Golden Globe nominations. Humorist and cartoonist Jules Feiffer wrote the script. The film retains an 89% freshness rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon supplied the background music for "The Graduate". "Carnal Knowledge" was the peak of his acting career as he had only minor roles after that. Many of his later appearances were as himself. Garfunkel suffered from depression ans was inactive for a number of years.

From Quiz Liam Neeson Times Five

Answer: World War II

At the film's beginning we have two statements on the screen as we see Jewish families arrive and register at a train station. The first statement says, "September 1939, the German forces defeated the Polish Army in two weeks." The 1939 German invasion of Poland began World War II. In "Schindler's List", Oskar Schindler takes advantage of his connections with Germany's Nazi regime to establish a factory. The film's title refers to lists of Jewish workers Schindler requests for a labor force in his factory. Those who are listed are thereby saved from being liquidated by the Nazis.

From Quiz Sam Neill

Answer: Attack Force Z

From 1982, "Attack Force Z" is about a group of Australian commandoes launching a secret mission against the Japanese during WWII. Its star was John Phillip Law, not Mel Gibson or Sam Neill. This movie was prior to either of them becoming well known.

From Quiz The Directors: Mike Nichols

Answer: Silkwood

Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep) was a worker at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant. She handled radioactive materials and as a union activist became concerned with safety precautions. She was accumulating evidence and traveled to Washington, D.C. to testify before the Atomic Energy Commission about her concerns. Much of the film is background regarding her relationships with boyfriend played by Kurt Russell and roommate Cher. Her death in a car accident is the climax. You are left with the impression that Kerr-McGee engineered her death. In real life Karen Silkwood's autopsy revealed she had 40 times the normal amount of radiation in her body. Her family sued and were awarded 10 million dollars by the court but were only able to collect 1.3 million. The film earned five Academy Award nominations including Nichols as director, Streep and Cher for acting, Nora Ephron for screenplay, and editing for Sam O'Steen. None were winners. Rotten Tomatoes gave it 75%.

From Quiz Liam Neeson Times Five

Answer: Krakow, Poland

After the first statement at the film's beginning, two more sentences appear, saying, "Jews were required to register all family members and relocate to major cities. More than 10,000 Jews from the countryside arrive in Krakow daily." Above the table where the people are registering we can see the railroad station's sign, KRAKOW. Schindler was born in Czechoslovakia of German heritage. In the film, he is in Krakow to build and run a factory.

From Quiz The Directors: Mike Nichols

Answer: Working Girl

Katharine Parker (Sigourney Weaver) breaks her leg skiing and lets her secretary Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) handle routine operations. But Tess has ambitions of her own and begins to engage in the delicate intricacies of the mergers and acquisitions department. Identifying herself as Parker, she makes an appointment with Jack Trainer (Harrison Ford), a company executive, but instead meets him anonymously and they spend the night together. In the end past misunderstandings are cleared, Parker is fired for stealing ideas from Tess but Tess gets another job at another company as an account executive. "Working Girl" was nominated for six Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director - Nichols, Lead Actress - Griffith, Supporting Actress both Sigourney Weaver and Joan Cusack, and Best Song - Carly Simon for "Let the River Run", but only Simon won. Rotten Tomatoes - 84%. Quick eyes might spot Kevin Spacey as a bad date and Alec Baldwin as an abusive boy friend. "Working Girls" was released a few months before "Working Girl". Lizzie Bordon directed this portrait of a Manhattan bordello.

From Quiz Liam Neeson Times Five

Answer: A girl in a red coat

As Schindler is out horseback riding, the Nazis are rounding up Jews in the street, killing some, and throwing possessions out of buildings, Schindler sees the small blonde girl in the red coat walking past the soldiers and entering a house, where she goes upstairs and hides under a bed. We can see that Schindler sees her by his expression. After the girl crawls under the bed, Schindler rides away. Later in the film Schindler sees a handcart with the little girl's dead body on it, still in the red coat. Schindler covers his mouth with a handkerchief. The use of black and white in filming gives "Schindler's List" a documentary-like feeling, which is very effective. The red coat is therefore a sort of shock to the viewer's system in addition to focusing on the child's innocence. The red of her coat is also a symbol of all of the blood which has appeared black in the rest of the story.

From Quiz Sam Neill

Answer: My Brilliant Career

"My Brilliant Career" was released in 1979. Davis plays a young woman who longs to be a writer and escape her Australian outback life. It was director Gillian Armstrong's feature film debut. She went on to direct "The Last Days of Chez Nous", "Little Women" and "Oscar and Lucinda".

From Quiz The Directors: Mike Nichols

Answer: Shirley MacLaine

Suzanne Vale (Meryl Streep) has been a successful actress on her own but her career has plateaued due to alcohol and drugs, and her show business career is under the shadow of her highly talented mother Doris Mann (Shirley MacLaine). The scene that illustrates this best is at a party when Suzanne does a very good singing number and the guests applaud enthusiastically but Doris does a number from her old night club act and enraptures the room and Suzanne is forgotten. MacLaine is an American film, television and theater actress and has written books about the New Age movement. There is little doubt that Suzanne is much like Carrie Fisher, who wrote the novel and screenplay, and that Doris is a version of her mother, Debbie Reynolds. In the film they are able to resolve their differences. Both Fisher and Reynolds died within days of each other. Mike Nichols rejected Debbie Reynolds for the part of Doris as she was 'not the type'. The film earned a 90% freshness from Rotten Tomatoes and two Academy Award nominations for Streep as Best Actress and Shel Silverstein for Best Song for "I'm Checkin' Out", with neither winning.

From Quiz Liam Neeson Times Five

Answer: Ireland

"Michael Collins" is a biopic focusing on one of the leaders of Ireland's movement toward independence from Britain following World War I. Collins was the mastermind behind the use of guerrilla tactics against British rule, beginning in 1917. He later became the head of the Irish government during its Civil War following the creation of the Irish Free State.

From Quiz The Directors: Mike Nichols

Answer: La Cage aux Folles

Robin Williams is Armand Goldman, the owner of a night club in Miami called "The Birdcage", and his lover Starina is the flamboyant drag queen of the floor show, played by Nathan Lane. Starina an extremely effeminate and sensitive. They learn that their son Val Goldman (Dan Futterman) has become engaged to the daughter of an important US Senator (Gene Hackman) known for his high moral standards. Before the wedding, under a cloud of some bad press, it seems like a good time to visit Val's parents. There is panic at The Birdcage but Armand contacts Val's biological mother (Christine Baranski) who agrees to assist in the charade. Starina is a loose cannon and spoils the plot. Meanwhile aggressive reporters have spotted the senator but he escapes detection by leaving wearing a drag queen costume. Critics thought that there were a lot of laughs but questioned the need for a remake. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 79%. The only Oscar nomination was for Art Decoration but a number of less prestigious film societies were more generous. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) praised the film for "going beyond the stereotypes to see the character's depth and humanity".

From Quiz Liam Neeson Times Five

Answer: The death of Michael Collins

At the very beginning of the film, Joe O'Reilly is talking to Kitty Kiernan, who had been preparing to marry Collins, but has been told that Collins was killed. From there the story moves to the Easter Rising and the attack on Dublin's General Post Office, where the Irish revolutionaries were holed up. The end of the movie shows Joe and Kitty again just before actual footage of the funeral procession of Michael Collins.

From Quiz Rise Up Singing - The Voice of Marni Nixon

Answer: Audrey Hepburn

"My Fair Lady" had quite a lot of dubbing, including Marni Nixon for most of Eliza's songs and Bill Shirley for Freddy's songs. You can hear Hepburn singing the chorus of "Just You Wait", for which it was felt that the quality of her voice was suited to the music. Rex Harrison refused to lip-synch his part while listening to a pre-recorded track, arguing that he never 'sang' songs the same way twice. The sound crew organized a wireless microphone to capture his patter, and Andre Previn conducted the orchestra so as to fit the music in with his performance.

From Quiz Sam Neill

Answer: The Dish

This delightful movie from 2000 also stars Kevin Harrington, Tom Long and Patrick Warburton. The year is 1969, and Apollo 11 is about to land on the moon. But unless a satellite interface in the middle of an Australian sheep farm stays online, there won't be any footage of man's first steps on the moon.

From Quiz The Directors: Mike Nichols

Answer: Primary Colors

Joe Klein was a "Newsweek" reporter who followed the Clinton campaign for president in 1992. His novel "Primary Colors" was printed in 1996 anonymously but was later revealed to be authored by Klein. Critics say that it was a marketing ploy but some believe it may have been for fear of reprisal. Nonetheless, Nichols purchased the film rights for a reported million dollars and asked his old partner Elaine May to do the screenplay. The charismatic candidate Jack Stanton (John Tavolta) is obviously modeled after Bill Clinton. Much of the film is taken up with his staff trying to cover up or discredit Stanton's past indiscretions, particularly his womanizing. Tapes are produced that seem to lend credence to an extra-marital affair. An underage babysitter says he is the father of her unborn child. Staff go on the aggressive and use the past of his opponents against them. We last see him dancing with his wife at the inaugural ball. Elaine May was nominated for her screenplay and Kathy Bates for her supporting role. Rotten Tomatoes awarded an 80% freshness rating but the film lost money at the box office. Perhaps the public was weary of the Clinton affairs.

From Quiz Liam Neeson Times Five

Answer: Harry Boland

Early in the movie, Harry and Michael vie for Kitty's attentions, with Collins winning out. As a split between Collins and Eamon de Valera develops, Harry chooses the latter's side, which eventually results in Harry and Michael being on opposing sides in the Civil War.

From Quiz Rise Up Singing - The Voice of Marni Nixon

Answer: Sister Sophia

Sister Sophia is one of the nuns engaged in wondering "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" early in the film, and Marni Nixon has a few solo lines in that number. The director, Robert Wise, later said that he cast her to make it possible for movie audiences to finally see the woman behind the voice they had been enjoying for so long. Eleanor Parker portrayed Baroness Elsa Schraeder; Kym Karath presented Gretl, the youngest von Trapp child; Peggy Wood was the Mother Abbess, although her singing voice was provided by Margery McKay.

From Quiz Sam Neill

Answer: Vasily Borodin

Vasily Borodin is the Executive Officer. Peter Zinner plays Adm. Yuri Padorin, Joss Ackland plays Ambassador Andrei Lysenko and Michael Welden plays navigator Gregoriy Kamarov.

From Quiz The Directors: Mike Nichols

Answer: Charlie Wilson's War

Charlie Wilson was a congressman from east Texas who took a lighthearted approach to his office until he took leadership in defining the role of the United States in the Soviet/Afghanistan War. Tom Hanks, who was to star in the film, was also the producer and wanted Mike Nichols to direct. After visiting Afghanistan, Wilson becomes convinced that the Afghans need more US support. Wilson works with the CIA and the Reagan administration both on policy and funding on a program eventually called the Reagan Doctrine. In the end he fears that he may have been duped by the Afghans. This was to be Nichols last Hollywood film although he was active in the theater and in television for another seven years. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film 82% and Philip Seymour Hoffman got an Oscar nomination for his supporting role.

From Quiz Liam Neeson Times Five

Answer: The Second Crusade

The film begins as a Crusader noble is traveling in France on his return to the Holy Land, where he is a duke in the Crusader Kingdom held by European knights in and around Jerusalem. The year is 1184. The Normans conquered England in 1066. The Hundred Years' War ran from 1337 to 1453. The Thirty Years' War ran from 1618 to 1648.

From Quiz Rise Up Singing - The Voice of Marni Nixon

Answer: Mulan

"Mulan", based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, tells the story of a young girl who disguises herself as a man in order to join the army and fight off an invading army, taking the place of her elderly father who has been called to fight. Needless to say, she saves the empire. Marni Nixon provided the singing voice for Grandmother Fa, while June Foray completed the spoken lines. "Aladdin" was set in the fictional mid-east country of Agrabah, "The Lion King" in Africa, and "Pocahontas" in North America.

From Quiz Sam Neill

Answer: The Final Conflict, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, The Horse Whisperer

"The Final Conflict", released in 1981, stars Lisa Harrow and Rossano Brazzi. "Memoirs of an Invisible Man", released in 1992, stars Chevy Chase and Daryl Hannah. "The Horse Whisperer", released in 1998, stars Robert Redford and Kristin Scott Thomas.

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Last Updated Apr 22 2024 11:00 AM

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