There's No Business Like Snow Business Quiz

Answer: The Shining

Martin Scorsese rates "The Shining" as one of the eleven scariest movies of all time. Starring Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, a writer who takes a job as a caretaker at a remote Colorado hotel over the winter. He takes his wife (Shelley Duvall) and his young son Danny who has the "shining", a telepathic ability to see things in the past; in this case the horrors that occurred in the hotel's past. Because the hotel is haunted, Jack's sanity is affected but when the hotel becomes snowbound for a elongated period, causing total isolation, Jack descends into madness. (His book, he has been writing, consists of one line, "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"). Jack turns on his family, and the tension becomes unbearableas we watch to see if Danny and his mother will escape.
This was one of the most effective movies made from a Stephen King novel.
Many decades after this movie was released these movie still has an effect on this author and while it might have been literally thrilling to watch in 1980, this author has never subsequently stayed in a hotel if it was snowing outside.

Answer: "Yippee Ki Yay."

The one-liner has an enduring lifespan in American Cinema. A feature of the Western Genre (it was John Wayne who said in "The Searchers" "That'll be the day" in 1956 - and immortalised by Buddy Holly in a song of the same name in 1958). The phrase "Yippee Ki Yay...." [there was a profanity which followed] was actually used in context. Many people believed "Yippee Ki Yay" was Willis' McClane's invention but McClane, responded in context to the villain's question "Are you a Cowboy?". "Yippee Ki Yay" has its origins in the American West in the 1800: It means the same as "Yippee", or "That's great". McClane in a tight situation, used the moment to escape from said tight situation and turn the tables on the villain when asked by the villain, "Was he a cowboy?". The phrase became a signature of McClane overcoming the baddies in nearly always a spectacular way. It was used this way in "Die Hard 2" (sometimes referred to as "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" - however the "Die Harder" component was a tagline not a title) to promote the movie.
In "Die Hard 2", the formula stayed the same as the original. McClane takes on terrorists (who in this case shut down Dulles Airport) and the authorities who are slow to catch onto what is required, and single-handedly foils the terrorists, allowing the plane containing his wife, circling above, to land just in time.

The "Yippee Ki Yay" phrase became the signature of the movie franchise and while it served as a common link, its overuse turned it into a cliche when, in its original use, it was a brilliant one-liner.

Interestingly the snow backdrop in the first two movies of the franchise was not repeated in the subsequent three.

Answer: True

Roger Moore was the third James Bond in the franchise and ironically the first Englishman. Mr Moore bought a campy cheerfulness to the role as opposed to his predecessors: Mr Connery, a Scot, who played a hard-boiled brute; and Mr Lazenby, an Aussie, a laconic smooth operator. "Bond" films made a point of having cold intros, a device where there was an action sequence not necessarily connected to the main plot, where Bond escapes from a tough situation, before the opening credits appear.

In this case the action sequence stated above was arguably the best part of this rather drab "Bond" movie.

The plot was about Bond and XXX, a female Russian spy, trying to track down missing Soviet and British ballistic-missile submarines which were being stockpiled by Karl Stromberg to trigger a global nuclear war. (This was the movie that contained the fake-looking underwater Lotus Espirit).

Answer: Soviet Union

The Soviet Union's Ivan Drago (Dolph Lungren), wants to fight World champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) but Apollo Creed fights him instead, and is fatally beaten during the match. Rocky decides to avenge the death of his friend and fight Drago. The match has to be held in the Soviet Union to protect Drago. The fight preparation includes the Soviet's access to hi-tech equipment and methods including injections of some kind whereas this contrasts with bucolic training undertaken by Rocky which includes throwing logs and running though thigh deep snow. These "Siberian" training scenes were set in Jackson Hole WY, whereas the Rocky/Drago fight was filmed in Vancouver.

The movie was also notable as Drago's wife was played by Brigitte Nielsen, who later married Mr Stallone. All three of Mr Stallone's wives have appeared in "Rocky" movies but Ms Nielsen had by far the biggest role of the three.

This movie was the most commercially successful at the box office but the critics' reviews were mixed.

Answer: Frances McDormand

"Fargo" was a black comedy crime movie by the Coen Brothers, about a botched kidnapping in Fargo ND. Joel Coen's wife, Frances McDormand, played the lead and won an Oscar for Best Actress for the role in 1997, edging out Brenda Blethyn, Diane Keaton, Kristin Scott Thomas and Emily Watson.

While it was shot in North Dakota and Minnesota, none of the movie was shot in Fargo (unlike the 2017 television series). The movie was also nominated for a Best Movie Oscar but lost to "The English Patient" (1996) and in 1998, it was named as one of the 100 greatest American films in history by the American Film Institute.

Answer: True

While "Saving Private Ryan" (1997) was praised for its no-holds barred approach to the depiction of WWII, "Stalingrad" held its own in this department, making this a very realistic film. The movie was actually based on diary excerpts from Russian soldiers who fought this battle which was the bloodiest battle in history with over two million deaths in total from both sides.

The time frame was August 1942 to February 1943, the actual duration of the battle where, ultimately, the snow and resulting weather over the Russian winter played a decisive role. Neither side was able to get supplies through the inhospitable terrain but the Russians were better prepared and ultimately prevailed.

The movie was praised for its depiction of actual events.

Answer: The Andes

"Alive" (1993) was based on Piers Paul Read's 1974 book "Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors", which was the true story of Uruguay Air Force Flight 571 which crashed in the Andes when flying a Montevideo Rugby team to play a match in Chile. The snow on the mountain both caused difficulties for rescue teams to find them (they never did) as the plane was the same colour as the snow, but actually saved 16 survivors. (This occurred as the dead were buried in the snow but served as the only source of food when their meagre rations ran out, the snow acting as a preservative).

The film followed the book closely, which itself was written by an author who interviewed the survivors. For those who did not know the story, the film was suspenseful as the film-goer shared the pain of rescue planes flying overhead but not spotting the survivors, to wondering if the the two who left the plane to trek westward to cross the Andes to reach Chile would make it.

The cast were relatively unknown but Ethan Hawke played Nando Parrado who led three survivors to Chile. Senor Parrado served as a technical adviser on the film, and John Malkovich served as a technical adviser.

Answer: Scrat, a squirrel trying to hoard acorns for future food supplies

Scrat is a sabre-toothed squirrel who finds an acorn in every version of the film and tries to hide it away. The running joke is he keeps losing it. Scrat even gets his own short film, which is usually seen as a prelude to the main "Ice Age" movie. The three main characters in the movie all have character flaws but we, as the audience, grow to like them very much.

However by the fifth film in 2016, "Ice Age: Collision Course", the plot became absurd resulting in a decision not to pursue any further movies.

After the fifth movie, the franchise had earned $6 billion making it one of the most successful movie franchises in history.

Answer: The danger of Grey Wolves attacking the exposed men.

"The Grey" was a 2011 survival thriller movie starring Liam Neeson. Ottway (Neeson) is employed as a marksman by an oil company to keep the oilmen safe in a remote Alaskan oil well. He intends to commit suicide but it is unclear why. On a plane heading back, presumably to civilisation, the plane crashes and only a few survive, including Ottway.

They surmise correctly that they are in the wolves' territory, and need to get out. The survivors die one by one, leaving Ottway to face the alpha-wolf. It is now clear that Ottway's wife died and hence why he lost the will to live.

However in the face off with the last wolf, he clearly wants to live. The credits appear and the audience is unclear what happens. A brief scene after the credits showing the wolf lying on the ground near Ottway, both breathing but erratically does not illuminate the ending. The movie grossed $US77 million at the box office.

Answer: John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale

This Rom-Com depicts John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale fighting over a pair of gloves for sale in a NYC department store at Christmas time. They are attracted to each other but both are with someone else. Sara puts their names and phone numbers on a $5 note and the other on the flyleaf of a book that will be sold to somebody the day after. If each finds the other's item they decide they are meant to be together and will find the other. The movie is notable in that it shows a softer side to New York City and that it does not appear melodramatic, despite the flimsy concept. Unlike most of the other movies in this quiz, this one was actually shot in the same city it portrayed, though some interior shots were filmed in Toronto.

Incidentally, the other answer options all depicted couples who played opposite each other in a movie which was set in New York City. As an aside see if you can work out which movies they were.