Add-ing Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Right Stuff

Stuffing is a mixture of herbs, breadcrumbs and other foods such as vegetables, meat or fruit, that is placed inside a roasting bird to prevent the meat from cooking too fast and drying out. "The Right Stuffing" would be a seasonal hit no doubt as stuffing is frequently served with turkey at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

"The Right Stuff" (1983) was based on the novel by Thomas Wolfe. It told the story of the test pilots at Edwards Air Force base and those who would compete to be chosen as the Mercury Seven astronauts. Following the selection process it followed the newly named astronauts as they completed the Mercury missions that would see the first Americans go into space.

The movie received eight Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture and for Sam Shepard as Best Supporting Actor in his role as pilot Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier. It took home four Oscars in total.

Answer: The Jungle Book

Though the story of how a travel agent might book a flight and hotels for a family might have made for an interesting tale, "The Jungle Booking" remained unwritten upon Kipling's death.

What he did write was a collection of stories published together in 1894 as "The Jungle Book". The stories have been adapted into movies numerous times. Arguably, the most famous of these is the 1967 animation, the very last movie produced by Walt Disney. Voiced by Phil Harris, Sterling Holloway and George Sanders, it told the tale of the orphaned man-cub Mowgli who was raised by Raksha, a wolf mother, as one of her own cubs. When the residents of the jungle were threatened by the arrival of the tiger Shere Khan, the black panther Bagheera offered to escort him back to the human village.

The film was remade as a live action picture in 2016.

Answer: Jurassic Park

"Jurassic Parking" is the blockbuster movie that we all need in our lives. However, it was never made because dinosaurs couldn't drive, let alone park.

"Jurassic Park" (1993) is based on the novel by Michael Crichton about a theme park where dinosaurs have been brought back to life. Cloned from DNA harvested from a mosquito trapped in amber, the dangerous dinosaurs are kept apart from the humans in the park by a series of security fences. A unhappy member of the park's staff temporarily deactivates the fences so that he can steal dinosaur embryos from a laboratory lets all the dinosaurs out and all sorts of mayhem ensues.

Answer: Dude, Where's My Car?

Though Jesse and Chester no doubt grew up to be very caring individuals, the comedy "Dude, Where's My Car?" (2000) catches them in their more selfish stoner phase.

Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott star as Jesse and Chester who can't recall where they left their car, or indeed anything else about the previous evening's shenanigans. Having been left a message by their girlfriends that make them think they are on a promise, they desperately search for the car so they can get back to them. As they piece together the events of the night before they encounter a raggle-taggle mix of curious people, animals and aliens who make them realise that their true objective is to save the universe.

Answer: Schindler's List

Had Oskar Schindler listed his factory for sale and walked away then the fate of over a thousand people would have been far worse. Thankfully, the story that Steven Spielberg was able to portray in his film "Schindler's List" (1993) was one of a businessman whose developing conscientiousness and bravery saved the lives of Jewish people in World War II.

Liam Neeson played Schindler with Ben Kingsley as his accountant, Itzhak Stern, who helps him raise funds to buy a factory in Krakow, Poland. Over time, his desire to make money transforms into a desire to save lives. Through his connections as a member of the Nazi party and the spending of vast sums bribing officials, Schindler concocted a scheme that classified his Jewish workers as essential to the war effort, thereby allowing them to avoid transportation to the death camps at Auschwitz.

The movie was awarded Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 1994 and was placed at 8th in the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American films in 2007.

Answer: Ghost

Ghosting, for those not familiar with the term, means suddenly ceasing and ignoring all contact with somebody without explanation.

"Ghost" (1990) was a romantic drama starring Patrick Swayze as Sam, who had been killed by a mugger. Upon his return as a ghost he discovered that his killing was not random and seeks to protect his grieving partner Molly, played by Demi Moore, from his killer with the help of a psychic played by Whoopi Goldberg.

The movie was a huge commercial success and Goldberg won multiple awards for her performance including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Answer: Carry On Doctor

To doctor is a verb that has many meanings, one of which is to adulterate substances such as medicines by adding undesirable ingredients.

"Carry On Doctor" (1967) was the 15th in the British series of saucy comedy "Carry On" movies. Like almost all of the films, it starred Kenneth Williams and Sid James, this time as registrar Dr Tinkle and a malingering patient respectively. To spend too much effort describing the plot would be to miss the point of the movies, which were there as vehicles for plenty of puns, double entendres and slapstick visual comedy. However, in a nutshell, Dr Tinkle, a disliked senior doctor, feels threatened by a young and popular rival. When he takes advantage of a misunderstanding with a nurse to get the young doctor fired, the patients work together to bring Tinkle down.

Answer: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

A colloquial use of the word "offing" is to kill someone, particularly used with reference to a professional killing to silence someone.

The comedy "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986) thankfully doesn't tread that path. Instead it follows Ferris, a high school student played by Matthew Broderick, as he plays truant from school. He borrows his best friend Cameron's dad's Ferrari and takes him and his girlfriend for a day out in Chicago. At the same time, the high school principal, played by Jeffrey Jones, suspecting that Ferris is not ill as is claimed, attempts to catch him out.

Answer: Die Hard

Warren G. Harding was the 29th President of the United States. He died in office in 1923 and his administration suffered huge posthumous reputational damage when a series of scandals, including the Teapot Dome bribery scandal, were revealed.

"Die Hard" (1988) is a thriller about a siege at Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles. Hans Gruber, played by Alan Rickman, takes the occupants of the building hostage in an attempt to steal hundreds of million dollars' worth of corporate bonds. John McClane, played by Bruce Willis, is a New York cop whose estranged wife is one of the hostages. In the building when the siege begins, he fights to thwart Gruber and his armed supporters and save the lives of the hostages so that they can get back home in time for Christmas.

Answer: Heat

The first ever on-screen scene between two acting legends was not a meeting of rival plumbers to discuss heating matters but of a master criminal (De Niro) and the detective pursuing him (Al Pacino).

"Heat" (1995) is about a group of armed robbers who live by the maxim "Never have anything in your life that you can't walk out on in thirty seconds flat, if you spot the heat coming around the corner". As they prepare for one last heist, Pacino's Detective Hanna puts the heat on them and De Niro's maxim is put to the ultimate test.