The Grand Canyon in Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Griswold

In the movie 'National Lampoon's Vacation' (1983) actor Chevy Chase plays the role of Clark Griswold, the father of the Griswold family. The family travel from their home in Chicago across the USA to Walley World, an amusement park in California. When the others want to stay and look at the Grand Canyon for a while, Clark hurries them away as he has taken money from a hotel cash register and left a cheque there instead.

The names used as alternative answers all belong to families featured in other movies: 'The Family Stone' (2005), 'Meet the Fockers' (2004) and 'The Royal Tenenbaums' (2001).

Answer: Nicolas Cage

In the movie 'Next' (2007) the character played by Nicolas Cage is able to predict the short-term future. When this is discovered, both the CIA and Russian terrorists end up chasing him. A woman, played by Jessica Biel, gives him a lift in her car and takes him to the remote village of Supai near the Grand Canyon's Havasu Falls where she is a part-time teacher.

The other three actors named in the answers have all appeared in a number of movies. Among others, Jeff Goldblum co-starred in the 'Jurassic Park' (1993) and 'Independence Day' (1996) movies and their sequels. Robin Williams was nominated for Best Actor Oscars a few times, for instance for his role in 'Good Morning, Vietnam' (1987), and won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his part in 'Good Will Hunting' (1997). Daniel Day-Lewis was awarded Best Actor Oscars for his parts in 'My Left Foot' (1989), 'There Will Be Blood' (2007) and 'Lincoln' (2012).

Answer: Waking Up In Reno

Two couples who are friends decide to travel from Little Rock to Reno to see a monster truck show in 'Waking Up in Reno' (2002). The characters Lonnie and Darlene Dodd are played by Billy Bob Thornton and Natasha Richardson while Roy and Candy Kirkendall are played by Patrick Swayze and Charlize Theron. Darlene wants to see the Grand Canyon and the movie shows a few minutes of panoramic views as the couples look out over it.

'Duel' (1971) involves a psychopath truck driver trying to kill another driver who overtook him, 'The Cannonball Run' (1981) is about a cross-country race between several cars and in 'Convoy' (1978) some travelling truck-drivers face opposition from lawmen.

Answer: Into The Wild

Produced, directed and co-written by Sean Penn, the movie 'Into The Wild' (2007) is based on a 1996 non-fiction book with the same title by Jon Krakauer about a man who became disillusioned with society. The movie shows him travelling across parts of the US and experiencing setbacks but eventually reaching Alaska. At one point he travels along the Colorado river that runs through the Grand Canyon and kayaks through a stretch of rapids. The actual whitewater kayaking was filmed at a safer section of the river but the movie shows the Grand Canyon and the Colorado river running through it.

'A River Runs Through It' (1992) was directed by Robert Redford and concerns two brothers, 'City Slickers' (1991) shows three city-dwellers taking part in a cattle drive and 'Urban Cowboy' (1980) stars John Travolta and Debra Winger.

Answer: Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek

In the movie 'Fools Rush In' (1997) Matthew Perry plays a New York city architect who meets, impregnates and then marries a Mexican photographer played by Salma Hayek in a small ceremony in Las Vegas attended by an Elvis impersonator. They separate and she divorces him then they reunite and get married again but this time on a clifftop above the Grand Canyon with their families present.

Julia Roberts and Richard Gere were the stars of both 'Pretty Woman' (1990) and 'Runaway Bride' (1999) while Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman co-starred in 'Days of Thunder' (1990), 'Far and Away' (1992) and 'Eyes Wide Shut' (1999). Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt co-starred in 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' (2005) and co-produced and co-starred in 'By the Sea' (2015), a movie which Angelina also wrote and directed.

Answer: Robert Downey Jr

The movie 'Due Date' (2010) is a black comedy in which the two main characters, an architect played by Robert Downey Jr and an aspiring actor played by Zach Galifianakis, travel to Los Angeles. On the drive they have a number of misadventures and towards the end the actor accidentally shoots the architect but the latter survives.

Like Robert Downey Jr, who has played Tony Stark/Ironman in the series, the other actors in the answers have all appeared in the Marvel Avengers movies. In these Benedict Cumberbatch plays Doctor Stephen Strange, Tom Holland has the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Josh Brolin has appeared as Thanos, a very powerful Titan.

Robert Downey Jr and Benedict Cumberbatch played Sherlock Holmes in the movie 'Sherlock Holmes' (2009) and in the television series 'Sherlock' (2010-2017) respectively. Josh Brolin appeared in 'No Country For Old Men' (2007), among other movies, and Tom Holland reprised his role as Spiderman in the later movies 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' (2019) and 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' (2021).

Answer: Renee Zellwegger

Betty in 'Nurse Betty' (2000) is a waitress who drives across the US from Kansas to Los Angeles pursued by two criminals who want to retrieve drugs hidden in the car and to kill her for seeing them kill her husband. The older criminal, played by Morgan Freeman, gradually comes to like her from seeing her photograph and while standing on top of the Grand Canyon in moonlight imagines dancing with her.

Renee Zellwegger won the Best Actress Oscar for playing the title role in 'Judy' (2019) and the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her part in 'Cold Mountain' (2003). The other actresses mentioned in the answers have all won Oscars too. Kate Winslet was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for playing Rose in 'Titanic' (1997) and won the award for her role in 'The Reader' (2008). Both Gwyneth Paltrow and Halle Berry also won the Best Actress award for their roles as Viola in 'Shakespeare in Love' (1998) and as a widow in 'Monster's Ball' (2001) respectively.

Answer: The Addams Family 2

In 'The Addams Family 2' (2021) the Addams Family have stopped at a viewing point above the Grand Canyon when their Cousin Itt arrives to join them. He accompanies them on their tour for a while but leaves after receiving a telephone call from Grandma Addams to help her out. Cousin Itt was voiced by musician and actor Snoop Dogg in this 2021 sequel, as the character was in the earlier movie 'The Addams Family' (2019).

The movie 'The Flintstones' (1994) is based on the 1960-1966 television cartoon show of the same name but has live actors with John Goodman starring as Fred Flintstone. The other two movies are both animations and 'Encanto' (1992) is about the multi-generational Madrigal family in Colombia while 'Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation' (2018) concerns Dracula and his family going on a luxury cruise.

Answer: Ten Who Dared

The plot of 'Ten Who Dared' (1960) is based on a real expedition of 1869 as detailed in entries in the journal of its leader, Major John Wesley Powell. The men row along the Colorado River, and so through the Grand Canyon, and the expedition's survivors discover where the river enters Lake Mead. The movie was produced by Walt Disney Productions, directed by William Beaudine and released by Buena Vista Distribution.

'Brave' (2012) was similarly produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures but is an animated movie about a princess named Merida. 'Where Eagles Dare' (1968) is about the rescue of a captured US officer in the Second World War while 'The Ten' (2007) is a movie containing ten short stories, each illustrating one of the ten commandments.

Answer: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

In 'Hollywood or Bust' (1956) Jerry Lewis plays a man who wins a new convertible car in a raffle and travels in it with his Great Dane to Hollywood to meet actress Anita Ekberg. Dean Martin plays a singer who needs cash to pay betting debts and during their journey he tries to steal the car several times but is always foiled by the dog. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis co-starred in some 17 movies beginning with 'My Friend Irma' in 1949 but 'Hollywood or Bust' was the last movie they made together before going their separate ways.

Bob Hope and Bing Crosby made seven 'Road to . . .' movies between 1940 and 1962 while Robert Redford and Paul Newman co-starred in 'Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid' (1969) and 'The Sting' (1973). Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra both appeared in 'Anchors Aweigh' (1945), 'On The Town' (1949) and 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' (1949).