MOVIE QUIZ
On this day in 1789, “The Power of Sympathy: or, The Triumph of Nature” by William Hill Brown was published in Boston. It’s generally considered to be the very first American novel.
Tomorrow, the film version of “The White Tiger,” based on the Man Booker Prize-winning 2008 debut novel by Indian-australian writer Aravind Adiga, begins streaming on Netflix.
From “Gone with the Wind” to “Gone Girl,” some of the biggest movies ever made had their starts in book form. Take this week’s quiz and see how much you know about award-winning fiction that became Academy Award-winning films.
1. Let’s start with the granddaddy of them all, Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone with the Wind,” which went from the 1937 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction to the classic 1939 movie that won the best picture Oscar. Which one of these things is NOT true about the film:
A. It’s the longest movie to ever win best picture B. It’s the first color film to grab the top Oscar C. It’s the first film to secure nominations in all four acting categories D. It’s the first film to have a black actor – in this case, Hattie Mcdaniel – nominated, and win, an Academy Award
2. Texas novelist Larry Mcmurtry’s novel “Terms of Endearment” became the best picture Oscar winner in 1984, but he had nothing to do with it. Much like his debut novel, “Horseman, Pass By,” which turned into the Oscar-winning 1963 movie “Hud.” He was nominated, himself, for the adaptation of his book, “The Last Picture Show.” But he won his sole Oscar for adapting another writer’s work, Annie Proulx’s short story, which was made into what 2005 drama?
3. Which one of these Oscar-winning best pictures is based on the oldest source novel: “Ben-hur,” “Tom Jones,” “Around the World in 80 Days” or “Mutiny on the Bounty”?
4. “The Silence of the Lambs,” based on Thomas Harris’ Bram Stoker Awardwinning thriller, is the only movie based on a novel to win the top five Oscars — best picture, lead actor, screenplay and lead actor and actress. True or false?
5. The 1958 best picture “Gigi” was based on a novella by Collette, but what 1968 movie was the only musical based on a novel to win the top prize?
6. Mario Puzo received two Oscars in 1973 and 1975 for co-writing screenplays derived from his novel, “The Godfather.” But what long-dead author’s works resulted in best picture nominations for three consecutive years, 2002-2004?
7. Which one of these best picture winners was based on a novel: “The Great Ziegfeld,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Out of Africa” or “Schindler’s List”?
8. Bess Flowers was one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood history, with more than 700 credits on her resume. Known as “The Queen of the Extras” for her often uncredited background work, she was a favorite of several directors like Frank Capra, and appeared in at least 24 movies nominated for best picture (five of which won), more than anyone else. And nine of those were based on novels – “Around the World in 80 Days,” “Anthony Adverse,” “Dodsworth,” “Mildred Pierce,” “Father of the Bride,” “A Place in the Sun,” “The Razor’s Edge,” “Giant” and “The Robe.” What actress was her “co-star” in “Father of the Bride,” “A Place in the Sun” and “Giant”?
9. The 2005 novel “Q&A” by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup – winner of South Africa’s Boeke Prize and the Paris Book Fair’s Prix Grand Public, as well as a nominee for the international Commonwealth Writers’ Prize – became (loosely) what 2008 film from a British director that went on to claim best picture?
10. Only one of the following films became an Oscar winner for best picture with a screenplay written by the author of the novel it was adapted from. Which is it?
A. “The English Patient” B. “No Country for Old Men” C. “Midnight Cowboy” D. “In the Heat of the Night” E. “Forrest Gump” F. “Dances with Wolves” G. “Ordinary People” H. “Kramer vs. Kramer” I. “The Bridge on the River Kwai” J. “From Here to Eternity”