Wednesday Tribute to FLIX

A simple quiz dedicated to my dear FLIX. 10 questions with highly
guessable answers for you movie aficionados...keep them cracking....

1) Steven Spielberg refused to accept a salary for this film.
Ralph Fiennes put on 13kg by drinking Guinness for his role. Billy
Wilder contributed to the first draft of the screenplay for this
film, and at one time early in its production, was set to direct it.
Martin Scorsese turned down the chance to direct the film in the
1980s. Steven Spielberg offered the job of director to Roman
Polanski. Polanski turned it down because the subject was too
personal. Which flick?

2)
Filmed at the defunct Mansfield State Penitentiary in Ohio.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals monitored the filming of scenes and objected to a
particular scene on
grounds that it was cruel to a maggot, and required that they use
a maggot that had died from natural causes. One was found, and the
scene was filmed.Although a very modest hit in theaters, it became
one of the highest grossing video rentals of all time. There are
several similarities to the Alexandre Dumas novel, "The Count of
Monte Cristo" (which is also mentioned during the film). Which film?

3)
Three years before production began, Spielberg assembled a team of
sixteen future experts in Santa Monica to brainstorm out the year
2054 for him. Steven Spielberg turned to Lexus for some ideas in
designing a car for the future, but the bulk of the designs were
done by Harald Belker, who has also designed vehicles featured in
Armageddon (1998) and XXX (2002). The small storage media used
throughout the film are clear plastic versions of Iomega's PocketZip
disks. Steven Spielberg used the town of Gloucester, Virginia as a
location for a portion of the film. Though the crew was in the town
for a little over a month shooting, the scenes are only shown in the
movie for a minute or so. The town was given no acknowledgement in
the credits. This is the first movie Spielberg has directed for 20th
Century Fox. The studio financed the film along with Dreamworks. Fox
released the film worldwide except US and Canada. Which movie?

4)
Based on the real-life story of John Wojtowicz, who attempted to rob
a Chase Manhattan bank branch in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York on 22
August 1972. He and Salvatore Naturale held nine bank employees
hostage for over eight hours. Wojtowicz was trying to get money for
his lover, Ernest Aron, to have a sex change operation. Naturale was
killed in the standoff, and Wojtowicz received 20 years in a federal
penitentiary. After the initial title sequence (Elton
John: "Amoreena") there is no background or incidental music on the
soundtrack. The real robbers stole $213,000, held the hostages for
14 hours. Which movie?

5)
Ellen Burstyn agreed to doing the movie only if her character didn't
have to say the scripted line: "I believe in the devil!" The
producers agreed to eliminate the utterance. John Boorman had been
offered the chance to direct this film but declined because he felt
the storyline was "cruel towards children". Mercedes McCambridge had
to sue Warner Brothers for credit as the voice of the demon. The
agency representing Linda Blair overlooked her, recommending at
least 30 other clients for the part of Regan. Blair's mother brought
her in herself to try out for the role. Ellen Burstyn received a
permanent spinal injury during filming. In the sequence where she is
thrown away from her possessed daughter, a harness jerked her hard
away from the bed. She fell on her coccyx and screamed in pain,
which was filmed for the movie. Director William Friedkin went to
some extraordinary lengths to abuse the cast. He fired off guns
behind the actors to get the required startled effect. He was said
to have slapped one actor across the face before rolling the camera.
When released in 1973, the film caused such mass hysteria, with
people screaming, fainting and paramedics being called to theaters,
making it one of the most controversial films ever made. Which
movie?

6)
Although 216 minutes long, this film has no women in speaking roles.
Almost all movement in the film goes from left to right. David Lean
said he did this to emphasize that the film was a journey. While
filming, Peter O'Toole referred to co-star Omar Sharif as "Fred"
stating that "no one in the world is called Omar Sharif, your name
must be Fred."
Production was halted to move to Spain, but filming did not resume
for three months because writer Robert Bolt had been jailed for
participating in a nuclear disarmament demonstration. He was
released only after Sam Spiegel persuaded him to sign an agreement
of good behavior. Which movie?

Q7
Hitchcock bought the rights to the novel anonymously from Bloch for
just $9,000. He then bought up as many copies of the novel as he
could to keep the ending a secret.
Hitchcock tested the "fear factor" of "Mother's corpse" by placing
it in the lead actress' dressing room and listening to how loud she
screamed when she discovered it. The film only cost $800,000 to make
yet has earned more than $40 million.Which movie?

Q8
This was the last film printed in the US in the
Technicolor "imbibition" printing process. The lab was held open for
about three weeks for the film to be ready to print, and then it was
disassembled and sent to Peking, China. The imbibition process was a
three stripe dye transfer process that photochemical processes have
yet to equal in richness and longevity of color rendition. As of
2001, Robert De Niro is one of only four actors (with Sophia Loren,
Roberto Benigni and Benicio Del Toro), to win an Academy Award for a
role primarily in a language other than English. Which picture?

Q9
A 1991 movie. Gene Hackman was first offered the lead male role and
was set to direct, but he withdrew after watching a clip of himself
in "Mississippi Burning" at the 61st Annual Academy Awards, which
made him uneasy about taking more violent roles. When Jonathan Demme
took over as director, he offered the role of Clarice first to
Michelle Pfeiffer and also to Meg Ryan. The Tobacco horn worm moths
used throughout the film were given celebrity treatment by the
filmmakers. They were flown first class to the set (in a special
carrier), had special living quarters (rooms with controlled
humidity and heat) and were dressed in carefully designed costumes
(body shields bearing a painted skull & crossbones). This was the
third movie to win all five major Oscars: Best Picture, Best
Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. Thomas
Harris, author of the novel on which the movie is based has never
watched the film because he is afraid it will influence his writing.
Which movie?

Q10
Before filming, the principal actors spent four months with martial
arts experts learning the fight moves.
The actors had originally thought that it would take just a
few weeks. Carrie-Anne Moss twisted her ankle while shooting one of
her scenes but decided not to tell anyone until after filming, so
they wouldn't re-cast her. The hero was also recovering from neck
surgery while training for this film. During the four months of
training, he had to wear a neck brace. According to some crew
members, the hero was really vomiting as shown in the film. It was
because of a chicken pot pie he ate, apparently. Which
movie?