The Big Picture * Big Quiz { First Edition }

Welcome to the ultimate test of all knowledge filmular. The quiz is now closed and the complete answers are below, followed by a list of participants' scores . . .

The Answers
[ QUESTION 1 ]
From which Mozart opera does the music which Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) plays over the Shawshank prison PA system in The Shawshank Redemption come?
[ ANSWER 1 ]
The Marriage of Figaro.

[ QUESTION 2 ]
What person or place connects Pulp Fiction and Fargo?
[ ANSWER 2 ]
Steve Buscemi played Carl Showalter in Fargo and Buddy Holly in the Jack Rabbit Slim's diner scene in Pulp Fiction.

[ QUESTION 3 ]
In which New Zealand city was most of The Frighteners filmed?
[ ANSWER 3 ]
Technically, the answer is Wellington, but I gave a mark to Miramar as well, even though it's not a city.

[ QUESTION 4 ]
In which cult 1985 film did Robert De Niro play a plumber?
[ ANSWER 4 ]
Terry Gilliam's Brazil.

[ QUESTION 5 ]
Which Reservoir Dog has a real-life actress sister who shares her name with a US state?
[ ANSWER 5 ]
Michael Madsen, who played Mr Blonde. (His sister is Virginia Madsen.)

[ QUESTION 6 ]
In which 1989 film did Sylvester Stallone utter the immortal line "Rambo... is a pussy"?
[ ANSWER 6 ]
Tango & Cash.

[ QUESTION 7 ]
In Mallrats, the character of Brodie (Jason Lee) is referred to as "Bruce" in one scene, a reference to his resemblance of which actor?
[ ANSWER 7 ]
A toughie, I know. Jason Lee's resemblance is of Bruce Campbell, who starred in Army of Darkness and TV's The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.

[ QUESTION 8 ]
In which 1989 film did John Cusack exchange his heart for a pen, and who directed the film?
[ ANSWER 8 ]
Half a mark each for Say Anything and Cameron Crowe.

[ QUESTION 9 ]
In which Mel Gibson film did Graham Greene parody his Dances With Wolves character, Kicking Bird?
[ ANSWER 9 ]
Richard Donner's Maverick.

[ QUESTION 10 ]
Which actor tried to deceive an on-screen parent by playing a tape of plane sounds down the telephone, and in which 1984 film did this occur?
[ ANSWER 10 ]
Probably the greatest variation in answers for this question. Half a mark each for Johnny Depp and Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm St.

[ QUESTION 11 ]
Which actor has starred with a peach, a dragon, a falsely-accused murderer and a Keyser Soze in the past few years?
[ ANSWER 11 ]
British actor Pete Postlethwaite. (The films were James and the Giant Peach, DragonHeart, In the Name of the Father and The Usual Suspects.)

[ QUESTION 12 ]
What make of car did Sandra Bullock drive in A Time To Kill?
[ ANSWER 12 ]
Her car was a black Porsche Speedster.

[ QUESTION 13 ]
In which 1982 film did one of the stars of Dead Man Walking play a long-haired teen who dreamed of winning a surf contest?
[ ANSWER 13 ]
The actor was Sean Penn, and he played Jeff Spicoli in Amy Heckerling's Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

[ QUESTION 14 ]
A Boy's Life was the working title for which Hollywood blockbuster?
[ ANSWER 14 ]
Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

[ QUESTION 15 ]
Which Cuban-born actor said "Girls who glide need guys who make them thump", and in which 1995 gangster film?
[ ANSWER 15 ]
Again, several answers for this one. Half a mark each for Andy Garcia and Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead.

[ QUESTION 16 ]
Which member of the Pulp Fiction cast completed three weeks of filming as Marty McFly in the film Back To The Future before being replaced by Michael J. Fox?
[ ANSWER 16 ]
Eric Stoltz.

[ QUESTION 17 ]
What's the connection between The Usual Suspects, Flatliners, Glengarry Glen Ross and Mulholland Falls?
[ ANSWER 17 ]
Each of the films stars one of the Baldwin brothers (Stephen, William, Alec and Daniel respectively).

[ QUESTION 18 ]
In which Arnold Schwarzenegger film did the scriptwriter of Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout appear as a soldier who joked about his girlfriend's privates?
[ ANSWER 18 ]
The scriptwriter is Shane Black, and he played Hawkins in 1987's Predator. (The joke was something along the lines of "I told my girlfriend I could use a little pussy, and she replied, 'So could I - mine's as big as a house'.")

[ QUESTION 19 ]
Which actor played, in his first major role, a character bearing the same name as the title of a recent John Sayles movie?
[ ANSWER 19 ]
Bill Pullman played Lone Star (a spoof of the Star Wars trilogy's Han Solo character) in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs. John Sayles recently wrote and directed Lone Star.

[ QUESTION 20 ]
At the end of The Hunt For Red October, Jack Ryan carries a teddy bear onto his plane. In which Bruce Willis movie did the same bear also appear on a plane?
[ ANSWER ]
John McTiernan's Die Hard. (McTiernan also directed The Hunt for Red October.)

The Scorecard

And the winner is Francis Staat with a grand total of 18 correct answers. A very modest turnout judging from the number of visitors to the Big Quiz page over the last few weeks, the complete list of contestants who took part panned out as follows . . .

Masterminds [ 16 - 20 ]

Francis Staat .. 18
Terry Ritherford .. 17
Tim Starrs .. 16

Very good [ 11 - 15 ]

Randal Morris .. 15
Seb Duggan .. 14
Stuart Hume .. 13
D Armstrong .. 13
Dan Dodge .. 12
Terry Roehrig II .. 11

Fair [ 6 - 10 ]

Bill Merced .. 9.5
Meredith Lesly .. 9
Kris Stevenson .. 9
Doug Needham .. 7

Below par [ 1 - 5 ]

Mark Harrison .. 5
Max Jones .. 4
Laura Lancaster .. 4
Curtis Durham .. 3
Matthew Pelham .. 3
Nic Wise .. 3
Tammy Vickers .. 3
J H Johns .. 2
David Griffis .. 2
Morgan MacFarland .. 2
Doug Skiles .. 2
Jason McCann .. 2
Brian Everett Dewberry .. 1

Back to school [ no score ]

Tim Wickam .. 0
Eric Jay Seader .. 0
Brad Moore .. 0

Thanks for playing . . .