Surprising Screenwriters
'90s One-Hit Wonders
Name That Decade
TV Shows by Catchphrase
Chain Restaurants
Dead in Iowa
400
Before she was a "script doctor", tightening up the scripts for Hook, Sister Act and The Wedding Singer, she starred as Princess Leia Organa in the first three Star Wars movies
Who is Carrie Fisher?
400
The only song by Aqua to reach the charts in the U.S. was this song, later the subject of a lawsuit brought on by Mattel
What is "Barbie Girl"?
400
Facebook is formed
What is the 2000s (2004)?
400
"Everybody lies."
What is House?
400
Ultimate Feast
What is Red Lobster?
400
This actor, star of North by Northwest and Charade, died in Davenport, IA on November 19, 1986 after suffering a major stroke
Who is Cary Grant?
800
This author, who wrote the novel "The Godfather" and won two Oscars for adapting that book into the first two movies in the series, is credited with writing the story behind the first two Superman films
Who is Mario Puzo?
800
Lou Bega's only hit in the United States was this song from 1999, which was actually a cover of a song from 1950 by Pérez Prado, the "King of the Mambo"
What is "Mambo No. 5"?
800
The Chernobyl disaster
What is the 1980s (1986)?
800
"Make it work."
What is Project Runway?
800
Split decision breakfast
What is IHOP?
800
Painter Grant Wood, best known for this painting which today hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago, died February 12, 1942 in Iowa City, IA
What is American Gothic?
1200
This writer, who won an Oscar for Sideways and The Descendants, is credited with writing a draft of the Adam Sandler vehicle I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Who is Alexander Payne?
1200
Tom Cochrane had numerous hits in his native Canada, but his only hit down here was this song from 1991, which was later covered by Rascal Flatts for the Cars soundtrack
What is "Life Is a Highway"?
1200
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summit Mount Everest
What are the 1950s (1953)?
1200
"I'm listening."
What is Frasier?
1200
Chicken n' Dumplins
What is Cracker Barrel?
1200
"The Day the Music Died" was February 3, 1959, when Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper and this bespectacled rock star died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, IA
Who is Buddy Holly?
1600
In 1970, this longtime film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times co-wrote with Russ Meyer the screenplay for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, an X-rated parody/sequel to Valley of the Dolls
Who is Roger Ebert?
1600
This singer's only charting hit was 1996's "Barely Breathing", but he would later win Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Orchestrations for 2006's Spring Awakening
Who is Duncan Sheik?
1600
Gavrilo Princip assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand
What are the 1910s (1914)?
1600
"Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?"
What is Diff'rent Strokes?
1600
Lumberjack Slam
What is Denny's?
1600
This boxer, the only heavyweight champion to finish his career undefeated, died in 1969 at the age of 45 in Newton, IA
Who is Rocky Marciano?
2000
Joss Whedon is credited with doing last-minute script rewrites on this 1995 Kevin Costner flop about a world where the polar ice caps have melted
What is Waterworld?
2000
This singer, who released the critically-beloved album Fetch the Bolt Cutters in April of 2020, has had a career in the music industry that spans two and a half decades, yet her only charting single in the United States was 1997's "Criminal"
Who is Fiona Apple?
2000
Blue jeans are invented
What are the 1870s (1873)?
2000
"Book 'em, Danno."
What is Hawaii Five-0?
2000
Honey-Chipotle Full Order Ribs
What is Chili's?
2000
Jim Wilson, who died in Traer, IA in 1920, was the longest-serving Cabinet member in U.S. history, serving from 1897 to 1913 (under four different presidents!) as Secretary of this department
What is the Department of Agriculture?