On the BIG Screen Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Big Chill

In "The Big Chill" (1983), when one of their college friends commits suicide, seven thirty-something adults get together for the weekend, reconnecting and re-evaluating their lives.

Technically, Kevin Costner is in this movie, playing the friend who died. But all of his flashback scenes were cut, and all that remains of his performance are early scenes of his corpse, where his face is never shown. Costner may have been (essentially) cut from the film, but director Lawrence Kasdan cast him in "Silverado" (1985) to make up for it.

Answer: Adventure

In "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" (1985), Paul Ruebens is his fictional character Pee-wee Herman who gets into misadventures as he goes on a cross-country trip looking for his stolen bicycle.

It is the first feature-length film of Tim Burton and the first collaboration between Burton and his usual musical collaborator Danny Elfman.

The 1988 sequel, "Big Top Pee-wee", where Pee-wee gets involved with a traveling circus that ends up in his backyard, is also a BIG movie that could have been part of this quiz.

Answer: in Little China

"Big Trouble in Little China" (1986) features Kurt Russell as Jack Burton, a truck driver who gets involved with an ancient Chinese sorcerer, Lo Pan, and his three magical bodyguards, Thunder, Rain, and Lightning.

The character of Lightning was an influence on Raiden, a character from the "Mortal Kombat" series of video games.

The film was originally written as a western, set in 1880s San Francisco, before undergoing a rewrite to contemporize the film into a modern setting.

Answer: Big

12-year old Josh isn't tall enough to go on an amusement park ride, so he makes a wish to be "Big" (1988), and then becomes an adult overnight.

David Moscow played "Young Josh", and was on set for much of the film. The director, Penny Marshall, ran through each scene with Moscow in order to inform/inspire Hanks' performance.

Answer: Bright Lights, Big City

Michael J. Fox stars in "Bright Lights, Big City" (1988) as a magazine employee trying to escape the pain and suffering in his life by turning to drugs and the New York City nightclub scene.

The screenplay was written by Jay McInerney, who also wrote the 1984 novel of the same name. The novel is a rare example of a successful second person narrative ("you").

Answer: The Big Lebowski

Jeff Bridges doesn't play the title character in "The Big Lebowski" (1998) - the title actually refers to the millionaire played by David Huddleston. Due a case of mistaken identity, "The Dude" gets involved in a kidnapping scheme gone wrong.

Donny, played by Steve Buscemi, bowls strikes throughout the movie, until right before he dies of a heart attack. This may be foreshadowing, since one of the early signs of a heart attack is weakness in the arms.

Answer: Big Daddy

In "Big Daddy" (1999), Adam Sandler plays an irresponsible slacker who has to take care of his roommate's previously unknown son. At first he poses as the boy's father to win back his ex-girlfriend, but eventually he learns to take care of (and care for) the boy.

The film was the first major film role for Dylan and Cole Sprouse, twin actors who started in show business sharing roles before eventually finding fame starring in multiple sitcoms on the Disney Channel.

Answer: Big Momma's House

"Big Momma's House" (2000) stars Martin Lawrence as an FBI agent who goes undercover as "Big Momma" in order to catch an escaped bank robber.

This movie was one of only four films ever released on enhanced versatile disc (EVD), a format developed by Beijing E-World. The other titles are "Black Mask 2: City of Masks", the Director's Cut of "Hero", and "House of Flying Daggers".

Answer: Greek Wedding

Based on Nia Vardalos' one-woman play, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (2002) is a romantic comedy about a Greek American woman (Vardalos) falling in love with a (non-Greek) American man, and having to deal with her family's reactions.

In the title and opening credits, the Greek letter sigma, "Σ", replaces the letter "E". While the letters look similar, sigma is actually analogous to the letter "S".

Answer: Big Fat Liar

Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti, and Amanda Bynes star in "Big Fat Liar" (2002), about a film producer (Giamatti) who bases a movie on an assignment left in his limo by a 14-year-old boy (Muniz) who travels to Hollywood to torment the producer into admitting that the boy had completed the assignment and to get credit in the film.

One of the torments involved putting blue dye in a pool. Blue tattoo ink was sprayed on Giamatti throughout each day's filming to maintain the color.

There are two different movie posters that feature almost the same image of Giamatti tied up. In one he has his normal skin color and a gag, in the other he is blue without a gag.

Answer: Big Fish

Based on the 1998 novel "Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions" by Daniel Wallace, "Big Fish" (2003) is a layered story about a man trying to reconcile with his dying father and the fantastic tales that the father claims are true.

Daniel Wallace (the author of the novel) makes a cameo appearance in the film as an economics professor.

Answer: Big Miracle

"Big Miracle" (2012) is a fictionalized account of "Operation Breakthrough" (1988), as described in the 1989 book "Freeing the Whales: How the Media Created the World's Greatest Non-Event" by Tom Rose. It is the story of three gray whales trapped in the ice near Point Barrow, Alaska, and the international efforts to free them.

While in the movie the whales are given the names Fred, Wilma, and Bamm-Bamm, the real whales were given the Inuit names Putu, Siku, and Kanik and English names Bonnet, Crossbeak, and Bone.

Answer: Big Hero 6

"Big Hero 6" (2014) is an animated film loosely based on the Marvel comic of the same name. To avenge the death of his brother, Hiro joins four of his friends and the robot Baymax to become a superhero team.

In the background of the science fair, a character is seen demonstrating a device similar to Dr. Emmett Brown's brain-wave analyzer from the film "Back to the Future" (1985).

Answer: Big Eyes

"Big Eyes" (2014) is the story of artist Margaret Keane. Her husband took the credit for her popular paintings, most of which included figures with big eyes. Keane takes her husband to court in order to prove she was the artist behind the paintings.

The main characters of the 1998-2002 animated series "The Powerpuff Girls" have large eyes, inspired by Keane's work.

Answer: The Big Short

Based on Michael Lewis' 2010 book "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine", "The Big Short" (2015) is about several people predicting and then trying to profit from the financial crisis triggered by the housing market collapse of the 2000s.

Brad Pitt also starred in another film adaption of a Michael Lewis Book. The 2011 film "Moneyball" was based on Lewis' 2003 book "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game", about the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team using statistical analysis to make roster decisions.