Mixed Movie Taglines Trivia Quiz

Answer: Parenthood

"Parenthood" came out in 1989 and was directed by Ron Howard, with Steve Martin starring as Mr. Gil Buckman. The film revolves around the extended Buckman family and the various adventures of its members as they deal with the joys, stress, and occasional ridiculousness of raising children. Its official tagline was "It could happen to you."

The cast was absolutely stacked for your run-of-the-mill family comedy. It featured Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Jason Robards, Rick Moranis, Tom Hulce, Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reeves, and Joaquin Phoenix as part of the ensemble cast.

Answer: The Dark Knight

Directed by Christopher Nolan, "The Dark Knight" was released in 2008. It starred Christian Bale's Batman pitted against a nihilistic Joker played by Heath Ledger. In the opinion of at least one humble quiz-writer, it was, is, and shall forever be, the best Batman movie.

"Why so serious?" was one of the film's official taglines, appearing all over its marketing campaign and on theatrical posters. It also became one of the more memorable lines of Ledger's creepy role as the Joker.

Answer: Gettysburg

Clear your appointments for the day. At over four hours in length, "Gettysburg" is a movie you need to make some time for. It was released in 1993 and tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, from the early confused, fighting to the ill-fated Pickett's charge.

The movie was written and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell and featured a cast full of big names, including Tom Berenger, Martin Sheen, Jeff Daniels, Stephen Lang, Sam Elliott, and Richard Jordan.

Answer: Quiz Show

"Quiz Show" is a 1994 historical drama directed by Robert Redford that tells the story of how the 1950s television quiz show "Twenty-One" was rigged by those behind the scenes. The tagline "Fifty million people watched, but no one saw a thing" appears on the film's promotional posters.

The film focuses in on contestants Herbie Stempel and Charles Van Doren, whose rivalry becomes part of the scandal surrounding the rigged quiz show. Rob Morrow plays congressional investigator Richard Goodwin, while John Turturro and Ralph Fiennes play Stempel and Van Doren, respectively.

Answer: The Long Walk

"The Long Walk" is the 2025 dystopian thriller we're looking for. It was directed by Francis Lawrence and based on Stephen King's 1979 novel of the same name, originally published under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. The marketing used the tagline "The task is simple: Walk or Die" with the shortened version appearing in other promotional material.

If it sounds ominous, it is. But that's exactly the story of the movie. It's about a brutal contest in which teenage boys must keep walking at or over 3 miles per hour or be executed. The film stars Cooper Hoffman as Raymond Garraty, David Jonsson as Peter McVries, and Mark Hamill as the Major.

Answer: The Game

"The Game" came out back in 1997. It was directed by up-and-comer David Fincher, with Michael Douglas starring as Nicholas Van Orton, a wealthy investment banker whose brother gives him a pretty unusual birthday gift: participation in a mysterious, personalized, and sometimes terrifying "game". The film's taglines include "Are you ready to play?" and "You don't play it, it plays you."

Answer: Scream

Sure, that's "Scream" from 1996, a slasher film directed by Wes Craven. The tagline appears in the film's promotional material, including the theatrical poster. The movie stars Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, with David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, and Drew Barrymore among the cast.

The tagline warning was particularly apt for "Scream", where a masked killer known as Ghostface uses telephone calls to torment would-be victims before attacking them. The movie also plays on the old horror movie tropes with characters discussing the "rules" of surviving a horror film, for what good it does them.

Answer: Love Story

"Love Story" was released in 1970. It was directed by Arthur Hiller and starred Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal. The line "Love means never having to say you're sorry" is said twice in the movie. As a tagline, it was big in marketing the movie. As a way to smooth things over with your girlfriend, I recommend caution.

The screenplay was written by Erich Segal, who later turned it into a successful novel, released shortly before the movie came out.

Answer: Dr. Strangelove

"Dr. Strangelove" was released in 1964 and directed by Stanley Kubrick. I'm sure you all know the full title: "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb", but sacrifices must be made in the name of brevity. The original promotional tagline was indeed "The hot-line suspense comedy."

The tagline was a fun bit of marketing because the film's plot revolves around the Cold War nuclear hotline and a frenetic attempt to recall American bombers after an unauthorized nuclear attack on the Soviet Union has been launched. Peter Sellers plays three roles, including the eccentric former Nazi scientist Dr. Strangelove, while George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, and Slim Pickens are among the other major cast members. If you want to have a giggle or two as humanity is destroyed, then this is the film for you.

Answer: Goodfellas

1990's "Goodfellas" is the film we're looking for. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and starred Ray Liotta as Henry Hill, along with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Lorraine Bracco. The story follows Hill's life in organized crime from his youth in Brooklyn through his rise as a gangster and eventual cooperation with the FBI. As promised by the tagline, we watch the story of Henry Hill from the 1950s through 1980, when the hammer finally came down.

Scorsese and screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi adapted the film from Pileggi's 1985 nonfiction book "Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family," which tells the story of the real-life Henry Hill.