Ten Degrees of Emma Thompson Trivia Quiz

Answer: Johnny English Strikes Again

'The Johnny English' series of films are comedy spoofs of spy movies such as those based on Ian Fleming's fictional MI6 agent, James Bond. 'Johnny English Strikes Again' is the third film in the series and saw the MI7 agent come out of retirement to investigate mysterious cyber attacks against the organisation. English tracked the perpetrators down to a yacht in the south of France but suffered the usual series of mishaps that prevented him from stopping their dastardly plot - at least until the very end of the movie when he finally managed it thanks to a series of lucky flukes. Emma Thompson played the unfortunate Prime Minister for whom the inept English was the only hope of avoiding an embarrassing data leak.

'Mr Bean's Holiday' (2007) starred Rowan Atkinson as the inept and child-like title character. 'Austin Powers in Goldmember' (2002) was the third film in the spoof spy series starring Mike Myers. 'Goldfinger' (1964) was the third film in the 'James Bond' series and featured Sean Connery as Bond.

Answer: The Lion King

The 1994 film 'The Lion King' was one of the most successful Disney films of all time, as it inspired a whole franchise of movie sequels, several TV series, video games and an award-winning stage musical. It also won two Academy Awards - one for Hans Zimmer's original score and the other for the Elton John song 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight'.

The storyline was loosely based on Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' and followed the life of a young lion named Simba whose world was turned upside down when his evil uncle arranged to kill his father and banished Simba from the kingdom. Luckily, Simba was able to gain some good friends in the form of a meerkat and a warthog and eventually returned to claim his birthright. Zazu was the hornbill who served Simba's father and grew increasingly exasperated with the young cub.

'Aladdin' (1992), 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1996) and 'Tarzan' (1999) were all animated films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Answer: The Cable Guy

'The Cable Guy' told the somewhat disturbing story of a creepy cable repair man (Jim Carrey) who preyed on his customers, initiating friendships with them before interfering in their lives, stalking them, blackmailing them and eventually becoming violent. Matthew Broderick played a man named Steve who lost his girlfriend, got thrown in jail and then sacked from his job as a result of the Cable Guy's "friendship". As well as directing the film, Ben Stiller played a murderer whose trial was an ongoing background item in local news discussed by the some of the main characters.

'Liar Liar', 'The Truman Show' and 'Dumb and Dumber' were three other Jim Carrey films of the 1990s, but none of them featured Matthew Broderick (or Ben Stiller).

Answer: Me, Myself and Irene

'Me, Myself and Irene' was first released in 2000 with Jim Carrey playing the first two title characters 'Me' and 'Myself' and Renee Zellweger as Irene. In fact 'Me' and 'Myself' were the two split personalities of a veteran police officer named Charlie, who unconsciously reacted to the stress of being constantly belittled by creating a loud, brash and violent alter ego called Hank. Irene was Charlie's prisoner who had been wrongly accused of being involved in a hit and run and was being targeted by a hitman. Charlie helped Irene to escape and the unlikely couple eventually fell in love and married - despite the regular emergence of Charlie's Hank persona along the way.

The incorrect options were simply other films with the word 'me' in their titles.

Answer: Bridget Jones's Baby

'Bridget Jones's Baby' (2016) was the third instalment in the 'Bridget Jones' series of films following the 2001 original 'Bridget Jones's Diary' and 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' released in 2004. Renee Zellweger played the title character in all three films with Colin Firth playing her on-off boyfriend, Mark Darcy. As the title might suggest, the third film focuses on Bridget's pregnancy. More particularly, it is about her struggle to determine whether the father of her child is the (sort of) dependable Darcy or a man she had a one night stand with at a music festival - who she later found out was Jack Qwant (Patrick Dempsey), a billionaire internet dating site founder.

While the original 'Mamma Mia!' musical film was about a woman trying to work out who her father was from three alternatives (one of them played by Firth), the sequel isn't really about her questionable paternity. 'Sex and the City 2' is about infidelity rather than pregnancy and 'The Bourne Legacy' is an action thriller (and not about being born).

Answer: Sweet Home Alabama

Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Sweet Home Alabama' reached number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1974, despite the fact that none of the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd were from that state. The 2002 romantic comedy film 'Sweet Home Alabama' used Lynyrd Skynyrd's hit as its theme song.

The plot of the film revolved around the main premise of a New York fashion designer Melanie Carmichael (Reese Witherspoon) returning to her old hometown in Alabama in order to get her estranged husband to sign the divorce papers she needed before her planned marriage to her new fiancé, Andrew (Patrick Dempsey). Melanie's embarrassment and disdain for her rural Southern roots as well as the web of lies she had weaved about both her name (her real surname was Smooter), marital status and family background eventually came back to bite her when Andrew unexpectedly followed her to Alabama and discovered her secrets.

'American Pie', 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and 'Love Story' are all the titles of both successful films and hit songs.

Answer: Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde

'Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde' was the sequel to the 2001 film 'Legally Blonde', which starred Reese Witherspoon as aspiring law student Elle Woods. At the start of this follow up, Elle was working for a Boston law firm but lost her job when she criticised the company for its connections to a large cosmetics firm that was using animals to test its products. She was particularly outraged because it was using the mother of her beloved chihuahua Bruiser, whom she had been trying to track down so that the dog could attend her upcoming wedding. Elle then embarked on a new career in politics in Washington D.C., working for Congresswoman Rudd (Sally Field) while trying to push through anti-animal testing legislation that she named "Bruiser's Bill". However, the Congresswoman was secretly accepting funds from supporters of the practice and therefore worked to derail Elle's plans - albeit unsuccessfully.

Despite negative reviews from a whole host of film critics (hardly surprising given the somewhat ludicrous plot), 'Legally Blonde 2' proved reasonably successful at the box office and Witherspoon's performance was praised.

All of the incorrect options were films first released in 2003.

Answer: Mrs. Doubtfire

In the 1993 film 'Mrs. Doubtfire', Robin Williams played a jobbing voice actor named Daniel Hillard who was refused joint custody of his children after his divorce from wife Miranda (Sally Field). In order to retain a close relationship with his three children, Hillard created the character of Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, an elderly Scottish nanny, and successfully applied for the job of Miranda's housekeeper. The rest of the film followed Hillard's (increasingly hilarious) attempts to keep up the deception while becoming a much-loved and indispensable part of his own family. Eventually the truth was revealed and after a period of embarrassment (especially when asked to explain his actions at a custody hearing) Daniel got the joint custody he originally wanted and was able to be part of his children's lives as himself.

The incorrect options are all films that featured Robin Williams.

Answer: Hamlet

The 1996 film version William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' was directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also starred as the titular character. Kate Winslet played Hamlet's love interest, Ophelia, who suffered significant heartbreak because of their relationship. Firstly, Hamlet failed to declare his love for her and instead told her "get thee to a nunnery" - Elizabethan slang for a brothel, in addition to its more usual meaning of a convent (although neither option would be a very encouraging response to receive in those circumstances). Secondly, Hamlet murdered her father, Polonius. Driven mad by grief, Ophelia's behaviour became increasingly odd until she was eventually discovered drowned in a stream. Given that 'Hamlet' is one of Shakespeare's tragedies, it shouldn't be too surprising that Hamlet himself suffered a grisly end when he was killed in a duel after being slashed with a poisoned blade by Ophelia's brother.

Robin Williams' role was a much more minor one as he portrayed a courtier of King Claudius - although it was a well-cast role as Osric was a bit of a comedian who attempts to get the somewhat moody Hamlet to engage in witty banter.

Answer: Sense and Sensibility

The 1995 film adaptation of 'Sense and Sensibility' won Emma Thompson an Academy Award - not for her role as the heroine Elinor Dashwood (although she did get a Best Actress nomination for it) but for the screenplay that she had adapted from Jane Austen's original words. That win meant that Thompson became the first person in history to win Academy Awards for both acting and writing.

'Sense and Sensibility' told the story of the love lives of the Dashwood sisters after the loss of their father reduced them to living in a small cottage on a distant relative's estate. Elinor, the elder sister, represented "sense" as she stoically faced the fact that the man she loved, Edward Ferrars (played by Hugh Grant), was secretly engaged to another woman. Meanwhile, her younger sibling Marianne (Kate Winslet) was all "sensibility" and believed that passionate love at first sight was the only worthwhile type of romance - at least until she had her heart broken.

All of the incorrect options are Jane Austen novels that have been adapted for the big screens (many on several occasions). Notable ones include 'Pride and Prejudice' (2005) starring Keira Knightley, 'Emma' (1996) starring Gwyneth Paltrow and 'Persuasion' (1995) with Amanda Root.