European Oscar Winners Trivia Quiz

Answer: Vivien Leigh

Vivien Leigh won the Oscar in 1939 for "Gone With the Wind" and in 1951 for "A Streetcar Named Desire".
Vivian Hartley was born in Darjeeling (India) in 1913. She debuted in 1935 under the alias "Vivien Leigh", for her official name didn't sound nice enough. She soon rose to fame with her role of Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind" (1939).
In 1940 she divorced from her first husband Herbert Holman and married Laurence Olivier. Her second marriage lasted for twenty years.
Her role as Blanche Dubois in "A Streetcar Named Desire" won her a second Oscar.
Vivien died of tuberculosis in 1967.

This question was brought to you by player JanIQ, who loves to quote Rhett Butler's final words in "Gone With the Wind": "Frankly, my dear..."

Answer: Christoph Waltz

Christoph Waltz (born October 4th 1956 in Vienna) made his breakthrough in Hollywood with his performance as the diabolic Colonel Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds". He was awarded with the Oscar, the Palme d'Or, the BAFTA Award, the Golden Bear, the Golden Globe and several other awards.
His professional career had already lasted for 33 years when he won the Oscar, his debut movie was "Der Einstand" (which actually roughly translates to "The Debut") in 1977.
Christoph Waltz was born in Austria from a German father and thus has the German nationality from birth. Since 2010, he added the Austrian nationality, so he now has a double nationality. Of these two nationalities, he prefers to present his Austrian citizenship.

This question was presented by Evil Sorcerer who hopes that the correct answer came out of the envelope for you.

Answer: The Aviator

Martin Scorsese's biopic "The Aviator" is depicting the early years of legendary business magnate, director and aviator Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio). The movie won five Oscars at the 77th Academy Awards in 2005.

The prolific art director, set decorator and costume designer Dante Ferretti was born in 1943 in Macerata in the Marche region in Italy.
He has worked with famous directors such as Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Francis Ford Coppola, Terry Gilliam and over and over again with Martin Scorsese. In 2007 he received his second Academy Award for the Art Direction of Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". At the Oscars 2012 he went home with the trophy for Art Direction again, this time for "Hugo".

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Answer: Paul Verhoeven

His nominated movies were "Turkish Delight" ("Turks Fruit", 1973), "Robocop" (1987), "Total Recall" (1990), "Basic Instinct" (1992), "Starship Troopers" (1997) and "Hollow Man" (2000). Not nominated, but voted the best Dutch film of the 20th century was his 1975 movie "Soldier of Orange" ("Soldaat van Oranje").

Verhoeven's cross examination scene in "Basic Instinct" became one of the most parodied scenes in the '90s. Leading actress Sharon Stone claimed that she was tricked into taking off her panties by Verhoeven who assured her that his camera position would be a bit higher (we're not that naive, are we?). Since the movie shot the then struggling actress to instant stardom, she wasn't complaining afterwards for too long.

In a move that earned him respect across the board, Verhoeven was the first person in Hollywood to personally accept his seven Raspberry Awards for his so-terrible-it-makes-you-laugh film "Showgirls". This feat was later repeated by Sandra Bullock and Halle Berry. Ironically, "Showgirls" became a cult hit on the home video market and made a small fortune for the MGM studios.

Not as famous as Verhoeven, but Rademakers with his movie "The Assault"("De Aanslag", 1986), Gorris with her movie "Antonia's Line" ("Antonia", 2005) and Van Diem with his movie "Character" ("Karakter", 2007) have perhaps been even more successful than Verhoeven. Each of them picked up the more prestigious Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

This question was brought to you by Debarrio who can lip sync every single line of "Soldier of Orange" and who was named after its leading actor.

Answer: For Whom the Bell Tolls

The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Hemingway and is set during the Spanish Civil War. An American volunteer fighter (Cooper) joins a Spanish resistance group to blow up a bridge.

"Guns of Navarone" is a 1961 movie based on a novel by Alistair MacLean and starring David Niven, Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn. "Boy on a Dolphin" is a 1961 movie starring Alan Ladd and Sophia Loren. "Phaedra" is a 1962 movie directed by Jules Dassin and starring Melina Mercouri, Anthony Perkins and Raf Vallone.

This question was authored by player gme24.

Answer: Marion Cotillard

Marion Cotillard was the first actress to win an Oscar for a French-language role when she played in "La Vie en Rose". She also won six other Best Actress awards for her part in the same movie.

Question submitted by Jomarion.

Answer: Yul Brynner

Born to a Swiss father and a Russian-Mongolian mother in 1920 in Vladivostok, all the way in Eastern Siberia, Brynner (Yuliy Borisovich Bryner) seemed quite an unlikely Oscar winner. Still he felt the need the mystify his background even more, claiming that his real name was Taidje Khan of Mongol-Tartar heritage and that he hailed from the Sakhalin Islands.

After a stint in Harbin, China, and a move to Paris, Brynner ended up in New York where he made a living as a French-speaking broadcaster for the US Office of War Information, nude model and as an actor with variable success. His big break came when Brynner was cast by Rodgers and Hammerstein for the role of King Mongkut in the musical production of "The King and I", a signature role he would perform over 4,500 times during his life.

The incorrect answers all have Russian ancestry.

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Answer: Short Film (Animated)

"A Greek Tragedy" was a short animated movie in which three caryatids in ragged outfits try to uphold the freeze of a Greek temple on the verge of collapsing.

Nicole Van Goethem (1941-2000) started her movie career as an actress in "Verloren Maandag" and as a background artist for the X-rated animation "Tarzoon, la honte de la jungle".
In 1985, "A Greek Tragedy" hit the theatres. This short animation was based upon a screenplay by Nicole Van Goethem, who also directed the movie.
The subsequent year, Nicole directed another short animation movie ("Vol van gratie" - if someone would ever search for an English translation, it would be "Full of Grace"), equally based on a script she wrote herself.

This question was brought to you by player JanIQ, who insists "A Greek Tragedy" has nothing to do with any financial crisis.

Answer: Penelope Cruz

Pénelope Cruz started her career on television as the host of the Spanish show "La Quinta Marcha". Her breakthrough role was in the 1992 movie "Jamón, Jamón" by director Bigas Luna, in which she starred opposite her future husband Javier Bardem. The couple married in 2010. She first appeared in an American movie in 1998 and gradually got more international recognition. Her appearance in the 2001 movie "Vanilla Sky", opposite Tom Cruise, ensured her international breakthrough. She would go on to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", a romantic comedy, directed by Woody Allen. Cruz portrays a mentally unstable woman called Maria Elena in this movie, which also features Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall.

This question was brought to you by James25, who apologizes for inadvertantly saying he would tackle Pénelope for this quiz. Naturally he meant to tackle the question. Fortunately nobody was harmed during the making of this question.

Answer: The Untouchables

"The Untouchables" is based upon a true police story, although some of the lines have been romanticized, of course. The movie tells the story of a small team of incorruptable agents, picked by federal agent Eliot Ness, that was formed in order to put an end to the illegal activities of Al Capone. Sean played an Irish-American officer called Jimmy Malone.

"The Hill" was a 1965 war movie directed by Sidney Lumet, "Marnie" was a 1964 thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and "The Hunt for Red October" was a 1990 espionage thriller directed by John McTiernan based on a book by Tom Clancy.

This question was crafted by player gme24.