Michael Douglas' Films 1991-2005 Quiz

Answer: Shining Through

Michael played the role of spymaster Ed Leland, who wanted to find out what a top ranking Nazi (played by Liam Neeson) was involved in. He sent his untrained secretary (played by Melanie Griffith) on the mission, but when things went badly wrong, Leland had to go to Germany to rescue her.

Answer: D-Fens

The film was set in a single day, starting at the point where William Foster, played by Michael, became totally frustrated. His frustration was caused by being stuck in a traffic jam on a hot day, after losing his job. He abandoned his car and set off to walk across Los Angeles to his ex-wife's house, where his daughter was having a birthday party. On the way, his frustrations boiled over into a shooting spree across the city.

The police only knew him as D-Fens because of the number plate of his abandoned car.

Answer: Digicom Corporation

The film was set in the hi-tech world of computers. Michael's character, Tom, found that the promotion went to an ex-girlfriend (played by Demi Moore) who wanted him to re-start their relationship. When he refused, things got pretty nasty, and Tom had to fight to save both his job and his marriage.

Answer: Crime control

In the first meeting with his staff, Andrew Shepherd informed them that the crime bill was to be top priority in his domestic agenda. His staff, notably Lewis Rothschild (played by Michael J Fox), wanted handgun restrictions included in the bill, but Shepherd refused.

By the end of the film, he had changed his mind, and in his speech at the press conference, said that he was throwing out the crime bill and writing a new one that would address the problem of assault weapons and handguns.

Answer: South Africa

The film was based on a true story of two man-eating lions which terrorised the workmen who were building a bridge over the Tsavo River in East Africa. Michael (as executive producer) wanted to make the film in the Tsavo National Park in Kenya, but it was not suitable for the film.

Instead, much of the film was shot in the Songimelvo Game Reserve in South Africa. In addition to producing, Michael played the experienced hunter, who, with the bridge engineer (Val Kilmer), was recruited to hunt and kill the lions.

Answer: Basic Instinct

The ice pick was used at the beginning of this 1991 film in the vicious killing of a retired rock star and night club manager. Detective Nick Curran (Michael), one of the detectives investigating the murder, became more and more involved with the main suspect, the rock star's girlfriend (played by Sharon Stone).

The film ended with the suggestion that Nick himself might be the next victim of the ice pick ...

Answer: The Game

Michael played Nicholas van Orton, a wealthy investment banker who, as a birthday gift from his younger brother, was enrolled in a 'game'. This 'game' turned his life upside down, leaving him not knowing what was real life and what was part of 'The Game'.

Answer: Chicago

Michael played CIA deep cover agent Steve Tobias who, after meeting Jerry Peyser, the conventional father of his prospective daughter-in-law, dragged him into various zany adventures. Although the film started in Prague, and also involved a brief trip to France, most of the action took place in Chicago.

The action included a chase in a garbage truck, as well as a parachute jump from the top of a skyscraper. The final wedding scene also took place on the Chicago waterfront, where the wedding guests got soaked after Steve and Jerry managed to blow up a submarine in Lake Michigan!

Answer: 3

The film was about the dysfunctional Gromberg family, but also echoed some facets of the Douglas family. Michael played Alex Gromberg, his father Kirk played Alex's father Mitchell, his mother Diana Douglas (who was divorced from Kirk in 1950) played Mitchell's wife Evelyn, and Cameron Douglas (Michael's son by his first wife Diandra Luker) played Alex's son, Asher Gromberg.

Answer: Hart Island

Hart Island, in Long Island Sound, contained New York's City Cemetery, known as the 'Potter's Field' where unknown or unclaimed bodies were buried. This was where Nathan Conrad, the psychiatrist played by Michael, finally met Patrick Koster (played by Sean Bean), the gang leader who had kidnapped his young daughter.
An interesting footnote is that this was the first major Hollywood film to be released after the 9/11 attacks, and all shots of the World Trade Centre buildings (apart from one single long-shot) were cut from the film before its release.