The End of the Beginning Trivia Quiz

Answer: 2012

Roland Emmerich (who I've been calling Mr. Blow-Everything-Up for a while now) directed this 2009 movie starring John Cusack and Amanda Peet (amongst others). When solar flares change the polarity of the Earth and heat things up in the planet's core (in the year of the Mayan calendar's foreseen end), the world's leaders take action to sell seats on large 'arks' that will be used to house the people who will populate the Earth once everything subsides. Emmerich has had a knack for destroying international landmarks, and he didn't fail to meet this expectation here. "2012" earned over $750,000,000 in the box office despite mediocre reviews.

Answer: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Based on Douglas Adams' best-selling book of the same name, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" was a film that released in 2005. Although it earned over $100,000,000 in the box office, it wasn't greenlit for a sequel as more success was anticipated. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" starred Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, and Mos Def.

In the movie, Arthur and his friend, Ford, hitchhike their way off the planet Earth before it's destroyed by a fleet of Vogons. Their exploits are followed as they need to make their way around the galaxy to find the planet of Magarathea and find the meaning behind life, the universe, and everything.

Answer: Scream

"Scream", directed by Wes Craven, was released in 1996 and became one of the most critically-enjoyed horror films released in the 1990s due to its tongue-in-cheek, satirical approach. The opening scenes featured Drew Barrymore, a major name in film, as she received a call from the killer about horror movies themselves.

She was killed off in quite the graphic method before the title card for "Scream" actually appeared. All three of the first "Scream" movies followed the same pattern, killing off a character in the opening.

Other early victims include Jada Pinkett, Omar Epps, and Liev Schreiber.

Answer: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Starring Mike Myers in the title role, "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" was the second film in the cult classic "Austin Powers" series. Having married Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley) in the end of the first film, Austin takes her on a honeymoon at a fancy hotel only to discover that she's one of Dr. Evil's fem-bots, sent to kill him while Dr. Evil is frozen in Earth's orbit. All of the movies in this series were spoofs of the James Bond series and featured a number of famous actors and actresses in cameos.

The second film, for example, also featured Seth Green (in a supporting role), Will Ferrell, Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, Kristen Johnston, and many others.

Answer: Wild Wild West

A western film with a steampunk attitude, "Wild Wild West" was never a critical success. Though it surpassed its budget in box office receipts, the obscure approach to the film (mechanized spider...? wha?) didn't fare too well. Will Smith both stars as Jim West and sings the theme song to the 1999 film while Kevin Kline acts extremely intelligent and Salma Hayek appears in little clothing (more than "From Dusk Till Dawn", but less than "Frida").

The film follows the two main characters as they set out to stop the evil, legless Dr. Arliss Loveless, who has kidnapped the nation's leading scientists to take over the country in a gigantic, mechanical, explosive-shooting spider.

Answer: The Emperor's New Groove

Spawning a made-for-DVD sequel and a Disney Channel TV show after its theatrical success, "The Emperor's New Groove" starred David Spade as Kuzco and John Goodman as Pacha. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen story "The Emperor's New Clothes" (albeit extremely loosely), the film follows an evil adviser's attempt to overthrow Kusco as the emperor by murdering him with poison.

Instead, he transforms into a llama and needs to find a way to change himself back to normal while thwarting her evil plans. Along the way, he realizes a lesson about himself.

Its nonsensical, comic moments were a welcome change from other recent Disney theatrical films such as "Fantasia 2000" and "Dinosaur" and it received an Academy Award nomination.

Answer: Sin City

Pulling stories from Frank Miller's graphic novel series of the same name, "Sin City" was directed by Robert Rodriguez and released in 2005. Based on "That Yellow Bastard", "The Hard Goodbye", and "The Big Fat Kill", the story weaves its way through the goings-on of Sin City's residents from a lumbering tough guy to the prostitutes of Old Town to a cop placed in jail for preventing a crime.

The movie earned over $150,000,000 in the box office and became one of the more favourably-received comic book adaptations to be released.

The film starred Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Brittany Murphy, Benicio Del Toro, and many others as part of its large ensemble. The opening sequence involving Josh Hartnett as The Salesman and Marley Shelton as The Customer was shot before the film was picked up.

As a result of its style, Dimension Films greenlit the movie.

Answer: Goldeneye

"Goldeneye" was the first James Bond film in the series to star Pierce Brosnan, and while it was the first film in the series in six years, it went on to gross over eight hundred million dollars in the box office. Also starring Sean Bean, Famke Janssen, and Alan Cumming, "Goldeneye" followed Bond's attempt to defeat Russian terrorists who have planted a satellite in the night sky designed to send an electromagnetic pulse capable of destroying entire computer infrastructures.

The trip takes him to Russia and Cuba in this installation.

This movie was followed by "Tomorrow Never Dies" in 1997.

Answer: Ice Age

Created as the first feature length film by Blue Sky Studios (owned by FOX), "Ice Age" was a box office hit featuring the voices of Ray Romano, Denis Leary, and John Leguizamo. Its earning nearly $400,000,000 resulted in two sequels being produced soon after, the first being called "The Meltdown" and the second known as "Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (in 3D).

The opening scene follows Scrat, an odd squirrel-like creature with tusks, as he tries to claim his acorn at all costs. His story is followed throughout the main narrative featuring Manny the Mammoth, Diego the Sabre-Tooth Tiger, and Sid the Sloth as they try to find their way in the ice age.

Answer: Misery

Directed by Rob Reiner, the film was one of the most popular to be released in 1990 due to Kathy Bates' critically-renowned performance as Annie Wilkes, the deranged psychopath who takes in James Caan's character. For this, she won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for her role. Based on the Stephen King book of the same name, "Misery" follows Paul Sheldon, an author, as he crashes his car during a Rocky Mountain snowstorm.

He's 'saved' by Annie Wilkes, his self-proclaimed #1 fan, and he comes to realize that he's most certainly trapped in more ways than one.

The film tripled its budget, grossing over $60,000,000 in the box office.