31 Contact Trivia Questions & Answers

Answer: Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster plays Ellie Arroway, a brilliant, ambitious astronomer driven by her absolute belief that we are not alone in the universe.

Answer: Pensacola, FL

Her father declares it a new distance record.

Answer: S.R. Hadden

After more than a year of seeking new funding to continue her research, it seems like the end of the line for Ellie, until she impresses S.R. Hadden with her intelligence, dedication and tenacity.

Answer: Landslide

I had this game as a kid -- it's all about winning a political election, and the box is sized nicely for a lap easel.

Answer: Vega

At first, the astronomers have doubts that the signal originates from Vega because the system is too young. They get confirmation that Vega is the origin from a radio telescope in Australia.

Answer: Sparks

Probably a reference to her energetic personality, her interest in electronics, or both.

Answer: Jena Malone

Ellie's father always nurtured her interest in radio. She became interested in astronomy, and subsequently radio astronomy, after her father told her that the "star" she was viewing was actually a planet.

Answer: He uses a phrase that her father used to say to her

After Ellie muses that the size of the universe demands that there must be intelligent life out there somewhere, Palmer replies: 'Well, if not, it'd be an awfully big waste of space.' Freud would probably have something to say here, but I'll let the issue lie.

Answer: Plans to build some type of machine.

In one of the most shocking scenes in the movie, the scientists clean up the video signal only to see an image of Adolf Hitler! They soon realize that it is the first TV signal of any strength to have left Earth, and is being sent back greatly amplified.

Answer: a pack of thumbtacks

She uses thumbtacks to mark the spots on her star map where she has heard anomalous signals. She buys a beer along with the thumbtacks, and when she sits down to drink it, Palmer approaches her and turns on the charm.

Answer: On his private jet

Hadden hacks into the computer files containing the encrypted data from the signal. Ellie meets his jet at a small airport, where Hadden tells her that this is his home because of his desire to keep his interests mobile. More importantly, he informs Ellie that he has found the primer to unlock the message.

Answer: Cracker Jack

In the Cracker Jack box, Palmer finds a small toy compass that gets handed back and forth between the two characters several times in the film.

Answer: International Machine Consortium

After the U.S. government decides to build the Machine, it finds ways to spread the cost internationally. The final price tag is said to be almost half a trillion dollars!

Answer: the planet Venus

Ellie tells Palmer that after her father explained that what she thought was an especially bright star was actually a planet, she was 'hooked.' There's a scene in which young Ellie watches a meteor shower -- it's the night of her father's death, in fact -- but that's long after she's become interested in astronomy.

Answer: Matthew McConaughey

Ellie first meets Palmer Joss in Puerto Rico. He is an author and theologian. After a brief fling, Ellie leaves him behind. Years later, after the signal is received, they reunite. By this time he is a well-respected religious advisor to The President.

Answer: two

Drumlin: 'One, that there IS life out there, but it's so far away that you'll never reach it in your lifetime...and two, that there's nothing out there but noble gases and carbon compounds.'

Answer: David Drumlin

David Drumlin resigns as President Clinton's Science Advisor to become a candidate for the trip. He is selected, only to be killed when a terrorist explodes a bomb during a systems test, which also destroys the Machine. Ellie Arroway is chosen to take the trip in the second Machine.

Answer: Japan

The second Machine is kept secret until S.R. Hadden acquires the Japanese firm that built it, and informs Ellie. He does this in a very unique way, a direct link with the Russian space station Mir, where he is now living.

Answer: washing machines

Ellie: 'I'm looking for patterns in the chaos!'

Answer: Larry King Live

Larry King was one of the many real-life TV journalists who appeared as themselves in the movie.

Answer: Meaning In The Age Of Reason

Larry King mentions that the book is number one on the 'New York Times' bestseller list.

Answer: everybody

Odds are good that her first call was to NASA.

Answer: 26 years

The star Vega is about 26 light-years away from Earth, and the signal traveled at the speed of light.

Answer: Kent Clark

Kent Clark, the blind astronomer who is Ellie's most valued colleague, is based on Dr. Kent Cullers, an actual scientist with SETI.

Answer: 95 per cent

Personally, I consider that figure to be a little low.