Melodic Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Simon and Garfunkel - "Bookends"

"Bookends" was released in 1968 by Simon and Garfunkel. It has been listed among the greatest albums of all time by both VH1 and "Rolling Stone" magazine. The most recognizable singles from the album include "Hazy Shade of Winter" and "Mrs. Robinson". Side one of the album both began and ended with versions of the "Bookends Theme". Between these tracks are songs written about progressive themes from youth to old age. Side two includes "Mrs. Robinson", recognizable for its inclusion in the film "The Graduate".

Other songs on side two were also written for the same film but never included. This mother and daughter exchange takes place early in the movie when Anita is caught trying to hide the album. She asks her mother to listen to the song "America" because it will explain why she is leaving home to become a stewardess. Writer and Director Cameron Crowe won an Oscar for the "Almost Famous" screenplay. Frances McDormand and Kate Hudson were both nominated for Oscars for their supporting roles.

Answer: Jack Black

Jack Black has been seen in numerous other films, including "Nacho Libre", "Tropic Thunder", "School of Rock", and "The Big Year". He also provided the voice for Po the panda in the 2008 animated film "Kung Fu Panda" and the 2011 sequel. Black can be found in the soundtrack credits for many of the films in which he has starred. "High Fidelity" ends with a Jack Black rendition of "Let's Get it On".

The band Tenacious D was formed in 1994 and the two permanent members are Black and Kyle Gass. Their blend of comedy and rock has been featured on the albums "Tenacious D" (2001), "The Pick of Destiny" (2006) and "Rize of the Fenix" (2012).

Answer: Jeff and Beau Bridges

"The Fabulous Baker Boys" was the first feature film in which both Jeff and Beau Bridges starred. The two brothers are the children of actor Lloyd Bridges, star of the television series "Sea Hunt" and later in his career comedy films such as "Airplane!" and "Hot Shots!". Beau Bridges is the older of the two brothers, and celebrated his 48th birthday in 1989.

He was born Lloyd Vernet, but his parents called him Beau based on the character Beau Wilkes in "Gone With the Wind". He played basketball at UCLA under legendary coach John Wooden for one season before transferring schools and ultimately leaving the game and pursuing an acting career. Beau has significant television credits including the role of Major General Hank Landry on both "Stargate SG-1" and "Stargate: Atlantis". Jeff Bridges celebrated his 40th birthday in the year "The Fabulous Baker Boys" was released.

He has been nominated for an Oscar six times, and won for his 2009 role in "Crazy Heart". He may be best recognized for his part in "The Big Lebowski" (1998).

He has more feature film credits than his brother, including "The Last Picture Show", "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot", "Starman", "The Fisher King", "True Grit", "Iron Man", and "R.I.P.D." There was also a third Bridges brother who passed away in 1948 from sudden infant death syndrome.

Answer: Bethel, New York

White Lake, New York, is about three miles from the 1969 site of the Woodstock concert, about 90 miles from New York City. The community is considered a hamlet in the town of Bethel, and was the home of Elliot Tiber. In 1969 Tiber obtained from the town of Bethel, for the price of one dollar, a permit for a music festival, and he took advantage when the Woodstock organizers were denied a permit in Wallkill, New York.

The official town motto of Bethel is Home of the 1969 Original Woodstock Festival. Today the site of the concert is home to the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Bethel Woods is a non-profit organization intended to preserve the site of the 1969 concert and art fair.

The Center opened in 2006 and has hosted concerts by the Dave Matthews Band, Santana, Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Pops Orchestra, and many others.

In 2008 a museum was opened to commemorate the concert and the 1960s. Although the film is centered around one of the most iconic musical events in American history, the actual concert is almost ignored in the movie.

Answer: Both bands traveled to India to study Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

The Wonders never traveled to India, or studied Transcendental Meditation. Pete Best was the Beatles drummer who preceded Ringo Starr, who joined the band in August, 1962. In the film Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) replaces drummer Chad, who had suffered a broken arm.

While participating in a talent show Guy sets the beat at a faster pace and helps The Wonders (then called The Oneders) win the contest. The Beatles second single and first big hit, reaching number two on the UK charts, was "Please Please Me" in 1962. John Lennon said that he was attempting to write a song in the style of Roy Orbison, and producer George Martin was quoted as saying that the original version was "rather dreary". Martin asked the band to play the song with a faster beat and a hit was created.

The Beatles first single, "Love Me Do", was a hit but did not break the top ten, peaking at number 17 on UK charts. This was in part because the Beatles were out of the country and unable to promote the song at that time. "Love Me Do" was eventually a number one hit in the US, but not until 1964. Stuart Sutcliff was the original bass player for The Beatles. Sutcliff elected to leave the band and study art in Germany in 1961. Paul McCartney subsequently became the band's bassist. Sutcliff passed away in Germany in April, 1962.

The bass player for The Wonders leaves the band to join the Marines. "That Thing You Do" starred, and was written and directed by Tom Hanks. If you watch there are other similarities between the two bands. (Bonus trivia: Did you know that the song "Sexy Sadie" by The Beatles was originally titled "Maharishi"?)

Answer: Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Phillip Seymour Hoffman played the role of "Creem" magazine rock music columnist Lester Bangs in "Almost Famous". In "Pirate Radio" he was cast as an American DJ and the current on-air star of the pirate radio ship which was featured in the movie. He won an Oscar for his lead role in the 2005 film "Capote". That portrayal resulted in numerous additional awards including a Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild.

He has been nominated for Oscars three times for supporting roles in "The Master" (2012), "Doubt" (2008), and "Charlie Wilson's War" (2007). Hoffman has also been nominated multiple times for Tony Awards for his theater work, including the 2012 leading role of Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman".

He has directed multiple stage productions and the 2010 film "Jack Goes Boating".

His first film credit was in a 1991 episode of Law & Order. He appeared in four films in 1992 including "Leap of Faith" and "Scent of a Woman". Since that time he has been commonly cast in a supporting role rather than the lead.

His credits include "Boogie Nights" (1997), "The Big Lebowski" (1998), "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999), "State and Main" (2000), the television miniseries "Empire Falls", and "Moneyball" (2011). He also stars in the 2002 film "Love Liza" for which his brother, Gordy, wrote the screenplay.

Answer: "Blue" Lou Marini

Lou Marini is a saxophonist, jazz musician and composer. He was with Blood Sweat & Tears for the albums "New Blood" (1972), and "No Sweat" (1973), and appeared in both the original "The Blues Brothers" (1980) and the sequel "Blues Brothers 2000" (1998) . Marini is often recognized from his years as a member of the "Saturday Night Live" house band where he performed from 1975 through 1983.

He has recorded with many musicians, including Frank Zappa, Robben Ford, Aerosmith, Lena Horne, B. B. King, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, Curtis Mayfield, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, Michael Franks, and Peter Tosh.

He has released three albums of his own, "Lou's Blues" (2004), "Highly Classified" (2010), and "Starmaker" (2012). There are actually two musicians in both the film scene and on the Blood Sweat & Tears album cover. Tom "Bones" Malone played trombone, trumpet, saxophone, and other instruments with both bands, and was also a member of the "Saturday Night Live" band. Malone did musical arrangements for "SNL" and served as the musical director on the television show for five years, ending in 1985.

Answer: Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett was an American singer and songwriter who was a significant contributor to the development of what would come to be known as soul music. He is most often recognized for his recordings of "Mustang Sally" and "In The Midnight Hour", both of which are covered in the "The Commitments".

In the film, as the band encounters conflict and stress, they find motivation in the belief that Wilson Pickett may attend their show. Pickett wrote songs that were recorded by many popular rock bands, including Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Wilson Pickett passed away in 2006 at the age of 64.

Answer: Christopher Guest and Rob Reiner

Rob Reiner directed "This is Spinal Tap" and played the part of Marty DiBergi, the fictional director of the documentary about the band Spinal Tap who are touring to promote their album "Smell the Glove". Christopher Guest was cast as Nigel Tufnel, the lead guitarist. Both Reiner and Guest contributed to the screenplay.

The quoted exchange takes place as Nigel is showing Marty his guitar collection. This film is the only movie on the website iMDB.com to be rated on a scale of eleven, rather than the standard ten. Reiner is the child of famous actor and producer Carl Reiner.

He is most often associated with the role of Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the television series "All in the Family". Reiner was nominated for a Golden Globe for that role five times, but never won.

His directorial credits include "The Princess Bride", "When Harry Met Sally...", "The Bucket List", and "A Few Good Men". Christopher Guest is also an accomplished director with credits such as "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind". Guest married actress Jamie Lee Curtis in 1984. Curtis claims to have fallen in love with Guest after seeing him in full Spinal Tap costume on the cover of "Rolling Stone".

The couple have two children.

Answer: John Lennon

When the movie chronology reaches the year 1980, archive film footage related to the death of John Lennon is included. John Lennon was a member of The Beatles, and with Paul McCartney one of the most popularly successful songwriters in history. After The Beatles, Lennon had a very successful solo career, releasing six albums from 1970 through 1975. Popular singles from his solo career include "Imagine", "Whatever Gets You Through the Night", "(Just Like) Starting Over", "Happy Christmas (War is Over)", and "Woman". Lennon was an accomplished musician, playing guitar, bass, harmonica, and piano. Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono were outspoken against the Vietnam war and popular peace activists.

This lead to Lennon becoming the subject of deportation attempts by US President Richard Nixon. John Lennon was murdered in New York City in 1980, only weeks after the release of his solo album, "Double Fantasy".

In 1987 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 1994 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.