Interesting Facts About Movie Directors Quiz

Answer: Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock directed more than 50 feature films over six decades. He studied at the London County Council School of Engineering and Navigation and became a draftsman and advertising designer upon graduation. In 1920 he began work at Islington Studios designing the titles for silent movies and rose to become a director within five years.
In 1926 Alfred Hitchcock married his assistant director Alma Reville. In 1940 he won Academy Award for Best Picture for "Rebecca".
Ingmar Bergman's film career began in the early forties rewriting scripts. Christopher Nolan began his education at Haileybury and Imperial Service College in England. Robert Wise won Academy Awards as Best Director for "The Sound of Music" (1965) and "West Side Story" (1961).

Answer: George Lucas

George Lucas has produced more than 20 feature films but has directed only six of them. In 1971 "THX 1138" became his first feature directorial credit. He had directed a number of short films in the sixties. Two years after "THX 1138" "American Graffiti" became a successful film for Lucas. He founded Industrial Light and Magic in order to assist in making the special effects while producing "Star Wars".
George Lucas wrote and served as executive producer on the Indiana Jones series of films. His wife, Marcia Lou Griffin, earned an Academy Award for editing the original "Star Wars" film.
Roger Corman began to direct films in the mid-fifties with such B-Movie classics as "Swamp Woman" (1955). One of Ed Wood's early film efforts was "I Changed My Sex" (1953). One of Curtis Lee Hanson's early directing efforts was "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" (1992).

Answer: Woody Allen

Woody Allen appeared in and produced "What's New Pussycat?" in 1965, but didn't direct his first film until "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" was released the next year. Upon completion of high school Woody Allen studied Communication and Film at New York University. In his late teens he was writing for "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "The Tonight Show" as well as some special features. In 1961 he debuted as a comedian at a Greenwich Village club called the Duplex.
Warren Beatty hired him to write a script and Allen was given in a small part in "What's New Pussycat?". Woody's role was expanded and Beatty eventually left the project. Woody Allen went on to direct several movies earning Academy Awards for three of them.
Independent film pioneer and director John Cassavetes appeared in films such as "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) and "The Dirty Dozen" (1967). Robert Bresson made his first short film in 1934. Terrence Malick earned an MFA from the AFI Conservatory in 1969.

Answer: John Singleton

John Singleton earned an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay and as Director for his first directorial effort, "Boyz n the Hood" (1991). He was only 24 at the time, making him the youngest person at that time to be nominated as well. Singleton attended Pasadena City College and followed with the USC School of Cinematic Arts before enrolling at the University of Southern California's Filmic Writing program.

He directed Michael Jackson's video for the 1991 single "Remember The Time" and has gone on the direct several other feature films including "Shaft" (2000) and "2 Fast 2 Furious" in 2003. Larry "Flash" Jenkins was an American actor and director who appeared in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986) and "Fletch" (1985). Reginald Hudlin's directing credits included "House Party", (1990) "Boomerang", (1992) and "The Great White Hype" (1996). Scott Sanders' credits include "Black Dynamite" (2009) and "Thick as Thieves" (1998).

Answer: Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese was raised in a strict Catholic family in New York. He was asthmatic and unable to participate in sports so going to the movies became a passion. He expressed a sincere desire to become a Catholic priest and attended Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx. Scorsese eventually gave in to his desire to be a filmmaker and enrolled in NYU's University College of Arts and Science.

He earned a M.F.A. from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 1966. In 1968 he directed "Who's That Knocking at My Door" and went on to earn not only Oscars, Emmys and Golden Globes but also garnered BAFTAs and DGA Awards. Sir Ridley Scott started his film career as a set designer and making television commercials in the UK. Terry Gilliam began as an animator and strip cartoonist who went on to direct films including "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" (1988), "The Fisher King" (1991) and "12 Monkeys" (1995). Roberto Rossellini's dad built the first movie theater in Rome.

Answer: Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg became a Boy Scout in 1955. He completed the requirements for earning the photography merit badge by making a short film entitled "The Last Gunfight".
At age 13 he produced a 40-minute war film titled "Escape to Nowhere" and at age 16 he wrote and directed his first independent film titled "Firelight". He made the film at a cost of $500. When it was shown at a local theater he grossed $1.
He went on to make several novice WWII films after hearing his dad's war related stories.
In 1989 the badge for cinematography was launched at the 1989 National Scout Jamboree. Spielberg attended and he personally counseled many boys regarding the requirements for getting their own badges.
Howard Winchester Hawks was known for many great films such as "Scarface" (1932) and "Bringing Up Baby" (1938). As a teen David Lean entered his father's accountancy firm as an apprentice. James Cameron Cameron started his film career working as a miniature model maker for Roger Corman.

Answer: William Beaudine

William Beaudine started his film career as an actor in 1909 for The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. In 1915 he was hired as an assistant to director D.W. Griffith while filming "The Birth of a Nation" (1915) and "Intolerance" (1916). Beaudine directed his first short film by the time he was only 23.

He had directed 30 films before the era of talkies while working for several studios. Later in his career Walt Disney hired him to direct some television projects and a feature western called "Ten Who Dared" in 1960.

He also worked as a director in television on such shows as "Naked City" (1958), "The Green Hornet" (1966) and many episodes of "Lassie" (1954). Buster Keaton wrote and directed several silent films beginning with "The Rough House" in 1917. Steven Soderbergh's first major production was "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" (1989). James Whale gained notoriety in Hollywood for directing Horror films such as "Frankenstein" (1931), "The Invisible Man" (1933) and "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935).

Answer: Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle

"Fatty" Arbuckle began his film career working making single reel shorts for the Selig Polyscope Company in 1909. As his career developed he mentored Charlie Chaplin and helped Chaplin develop his memorable "Tramp" costume. He was also credited with discovering Buster Keaton and Bob Hope.

He began working with Mack Sennet as an extra on the "Keystone Cops" shorts and worked his way up to lead roles and directing. By 1921 he had entered into a $1,000,000 contract with Paramount Pictures. Harold Lloyd was known for his spectacle-wearing characters and made close to 200 comedy films in both silent and talkie formats between 1914 and 1947. Hal Roach began his lengthy film career working as an extra in silent films beginning in 1912.

Answer: John Ford

John Ford asserted that his given name was Sean Aloysius O'Feeny when he was born in Maine. His older brother worked successfully in the film business so Ford went to California in 1914 to break into movies. He worked as an assistant for his brother, working his way up to lead acting and directing. Between 1917 and 1928 he made over 60 films and began working on Westerns.
In 1917 his first feature-length production was "Straight Shooting". In 1939 "Stagecoach" became Ford's first Western shot with sound. During WWII he was a commander in the Navy, was present on D-Day and became a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy Reserve.
In 1966 "Seven Women" became Ford's final feature film as director. He won four Academy Awards for directing during his career, none of which were for his Westerns.

Answer: D W Griffith

Biograph hired David Llewelyn Wark Griffith to direct short films. When Griffith tried to convince the studio that longer feature films would be more profitable they balked. The studio believed that long films would ruin the eyes of viewers.
Griffith left Biograph and formed a studio with Harry Aitken, manager of Majestic Studios. Because he had gone over budget while producing and directing films for Biograph and because he believed in the viability of feature films he directed "Birth of A Nation" for a percentage of the net revenue rather than talking a salary. His gamble paid off and he became one of Hollywood's first multimillionaires.
Robert Altman once worked as a director for Alfred Hitchcock's weekly television series, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955). Francis Ford Coppola's grandfather was one of the inventors of the Vitaphone. One of Orson Welles' first jobs in Hollywood was narrating RKO's production of "The Swiss Family Robinson" in 1940.