A Tea Time Quiz - Ten Top 'T's

Answer: There Will Be Blood

'There Will Be Blood' was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar at the 80th Academy Awards in 2008, but lost out to the Coen brothers' movie 'No Country for Old Men'. It was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who set the drama in the oil boom of the early 20th century. Daniel Day Lewis played Daniel Plainview, a complex but brutal character, who started out as a silver miner before he set his sights on making his fortune by drilling oil. However, his path to success was littered with the blood of others - two of his workers were killed in drilling accidents and he murdered both a man who pretended to be his brother and a desperate priest who had previously humiliated him. Even Plainview's charity in adopting the orphaned son of one of the dead workers was a cold and calculated act to portray himself in a positive light. In the end his "son" was relieved to discover that he wasn't actually related to such an evil man.

Although the film itself didn't win Best Picture, it did gain Daniel Day Lewis his second Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Plainview.

Answer: Terms of Endearment

'Terms of Endearment' won the Best Picture Oscar for films of 1983, as well as the Best Director award for James L. Brooks and Best Supporting Actor award for Jack Nicholson. Both Shirley MacLaine (who played the mother, Aurora) and Debra Winger (who played her daughter, Emma) were nominated for the Best Actress award, which in the end went to MacLaine.

The film told the story of the complex relationship between overbearing and controlling Aurora and desperate-to-please Emma. Aurora's initial dislike and disapproval of Emma's husband, Flap, proved warranted when, around ten years later, Emma discovered that he had been cheating on her and moved herself and her children back home to her mother. On her return she discovered that her mother had finally moved on from the loss of Emma's father and found love with a womanising astronaut (Nicholson). However, when tragedy struck in the form of Emma's diagnosis with terminal cancer, Aurora needed the help of her unlikely new partner to support her daughter and raise her grandchildren.

Answer: Titanic

While the love story between Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) and Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) was created by James Cameron, the story of the ill-fated RMS Titanic is a famous one from 20th century history. Cameron, who wrote, produced and directed 1997's 'Titanic', wove fact and fiction together to produce a movie that garnered a record 14 Academy Award nominations and won 11 of them - including Best Picture and Best Director.

Rose boarded the Titanic as a first-class passenger alongside her mother and rich fiancé, Cal Hockley. However, the wealth she was surrounded by proved to be no comfort against the thought of a future in a loveless marriage and she attempted to throw herself from the ship's deck in the mid-Atlantic. She was duly saved by Jack - who had won his third-class ticket in a last-minute poker match - and the couple fell deeply in love despite the differences in their backgrounds. After the Titanic's infamous encounter with the iceberg, Rose refused to board a lifeboat without Jack and the two of them ended up together in the icy Atlantic waters. While Rose was able to survive long enough to be rescued, Jack's body sank down to join the Titanic in its watery grave.

Answer: Toy Story 3

The third instalment in Disney-Pixar's series of 'Toy Story' films focused on what happens to children's toys once their children have grown up and no longer have any desire to play with them. Andy - the owner of the featured toys - decided to bag up his former prize possessions to put away in the attic, but his failure to clearly label the bag led his mother to put them out with the trash. Although Woody soon realised the mistake, the other toys (led by Buzz Lightyear) were so angry and/or hurt at apparently being dumped by Andy that they preferred to start a new life at a day-care centre. However, it soon turned out that the toys had not found a new loving home but were in fact the prisoners of the despotic "Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear". After a daring escape bid and a dangerous trip to the local landfill site, the toys were reunited with Andy and he donated them to a young girl named Bonnie who was able to truly appreciate them.

While the original 'Toy Story' movie and its first sequel 'Toy Story 2' gained Oscar nominations in categories such as Best Screenplay and Best Original Song, 'Toy Story 3' went one stage further and in 2011 gained both a nomination for the coveted Best Picture award and the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

Answer: Tootsie

'Tootsie' starred Dustin Hoffman as the cross-dressing actor who changed his name and apparent gender to escape his reputation as a difficult perfectionist. Although he got the job, Michael's masquerade brought him many other comedic difficulties to contend with, including being propositioned by a male co-star, turned down by his female co-star and offered marriage by the said female co-star's father. In addition he ends up sleeping with his friend Sandy, despite the fact that she had previously auditioned for his new job and as a result had developed a deep dislike of his alter ego, "Dorothy".

The film received ten nominations for the 55th Academy Awards, held in 1983 (including the Best Picture award). Dustin Hoffman received a nomination for Best Actor, but lost out to Ben Kingsley's portrayal of Gandhi in the film of the same name. In fact, 'Tootsie' achieved only one Oscar win - Jessica Lange's Best Supporting Actress award (for the role of Julie, Michael's female co-star and love interest who initially turned him down because of her confused feelings for "Dorothy").

Answer: To Kill a Mockingbird

'To Kill a Mockingbird' was first released in 1962 and was based on the 1960 book of the same name by Harper Lee. The story focuses on young Jean Louise "Scout" Finch and her brother Jem. Their father, Atticus (Gregory Peck), made an impassioned attempt to defend a black man named Tom Robinson against the charge of raping a white woman called Mayella Ewell. However, the jury found Robinson guilty despite the many flaws in the case that were exposed by Atticus. Later, Scout and Jem were attacked in the woods before being rescued by a mysterious and reclusive neighbour; their attacker, who was stabbed to death during the fracas, turned out to be Mayella's father.

Lee's novel won the Pulitzer Prize and has been identified as one of the best American novels of the 20th century. The film version of it garnered eight Academy Award nominations, including the Best Picture award. However, it only won three of them - Best Actor for Gregory Peck, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Art Direction.

Answer: Taxi Driver

Nominated for four Oscars (including Best Picture) at the Academy Awards ceremony held in March 1977, 'Taxi Driver' has been consistently named as one of the best films of all time, despite the fact that it failed to convert any of its nominations into Oscar success. It did however win the prestigious Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.

It was directed by Martin Scorsese and starred Robert De Niro as the titular taxi driver (and former U.S. marine) Travis Bickle. It told the story of Bickle's growing disillusionment with society as his new job exposed him to the city's crime issues, including armed robbery and prostitution. Bickle then took matters into his own hands, obtained an illegal gun and set out to assassinate Senator Palatine (who also happened to be the employer of Bickle's estranged girlfriend). After his attempt was thwarted by the Secret Service, Bickle instead turned his gun on the pimp of a child prostitute (Jodie Foster) whose plight had been one of the drivers behind his actions.

Answer: Tom Jones

'Tom Jones' was based on the 18th century novel 'The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling' by Henry Fielding. The titular character (Albert Finney) was believed to be the illegitimate son of one of Squire Allworthy's servants, but the squire chose to raise him as his own son despite his unfortunate background. However, this background prevented him from marrying the love of his life, Sophia Western (Susannah York), and Jones's woes were compounded when he was unfairly discredited by Allworthy's nephew and forced to leave his home. Eventually he ended up in London where he had several romantic encounters with older women (including the servant believed to be his mother) and was then framed for attempted murder, convicted of the offence and sentenced to death. Fortunately, Squire Allworthy had become aware of his nephew's perfidy, obtained a pardon for his 'son' and sent his friend Squire Western to rescue Jones from the gallows. Jones and Sophia were then able to get married and live happily ever after.

The film was nominated for nine Oscars at the 36th Academy Awards and won four of them, including the Best Picture award and Best Director for Tony Richardson.

Answer: Traffic

The 2000 film 'Traffic' delved into the topic of the supply of illegal drugs in North America, ranging from the Mexican drug cartels who organised the transport of drugs across the border; the drug lords who worked for the cartels in the U.S. and supplied the drugs to users; and the impact of drugs on the lives of addicts and their family members. Benicio del Toro played a Mexican police officer who was tricked into working on behalf of a cartel by a corrupt government official, but ended up exposing the extent of the country's corruption problem to the media. Catherine Zeta-Jones played the pregnant wife of an arrested San Diego drug lord who attempted to arrange the assassination of a key witness against her husband. Zeta-Jones's real-life husband, Michael Douglas, played an Ohio judge in charge of a policy called a "War on Drugs" who discovered that his daughter was a heroin addict.

The film won four Oscars at the 73rd Academy Awards, including Best Director for Steven Soderbergh. It was also nominated for Best Picture, but lost out to 'Gladiator'.

Answer: Tess

'Tess' starred Nastassja Kinski as the titular Tess Durbeyfield, a poor and naïve country girl who was sent by her parents to ingratiate herself with the rich D'Urberville family because it was believed that they were their long lost relations. Needless to say, there was no actual connection between the families and Alec D'Urberville used the opportunity to attempt to seduce Tess before raping her when she refused his advances. Tess returned to her family, gave birth to a baby girl who died shortly afterwards, and started a new life as a dairy maid. She then met and fell in love with Angel Clare (Peter Firth) who was so shocked by her confession to him on their wedding night that he left the country without her. Tess was left with no choice but to go back to Alec as his mistress, but eventually snapped and murdered him when the opportunity to reunite with Angel arose. The tale of woe did not have a happy ending as Tess was arrested for her crime and hanged.

The film was based on Thomas Hardy's controversial novel of 1891, 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'. It was nominated for both a Best Picture and Best Director (for Roman Polanski) Oscar, but failed to win either - however, it did win three Oscars in other categories.