Directors
Actors/Actresses
Oscars
Filmmaking
Potpourri
100

Jaws (1975), Schindler's List (1993), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1984)


Who is Steven Spielberg?

100

He won Best Actor for Gladiator (2000).

Who is Russell Crowe?

100

Spielberg told the studio exes that this film wouldn't win any awards or make any money because of its heavy material and graphic nature. It would go on to win seven Oscars including Best Picture and would gross just shy of $345 million at the box office.

What is Schindler's List?

100

In Jaws (1975), the mechanical shark rarely worked. This led the filmmakers to use what camera technique to stand in for the shark? It is now common practice to do this "less is more" type of shot, especially in horror films.

What is POV (point-of-view)?

100

This 2019 western starred an ensemble cast led by Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, and Chris Pratt.

What is The Magnificent Seven (2019)?

200

The Sixth Sense (1999), Signs (2002), Trap (2025)

Who is M. Night Shyamalan?

200

Before he played a Jedi in Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace (1999) this person played the title character of a WWII Holocaust drama.

Who is Liam Neeson?

200

Though he didn't win any Oscars for The Magnificent Seven (2016), he didn't mind too much, as he'd already gotten two: one for Best Supporting Actor in Glory (1989) and for Best Actor in Training Day (2001).

Who is Denzel Washington?

200

Filmmakers used two main methods of creating a sense that the film 1917 (2019) is one continuous shot. Name one of them.

What are "hidden" cuts and CGI?

200

True or False: Erin Brockovich (1999) is based on a real-life story.

What is True?

300

Titanic (1996), The Terminator (1984), Avatar (2009)

Who is James Cameron?

300

She won an Oscar for her performance in the film Erin Brockovich (2000) as the titular character.

Who is Julia Roberts?

300

This world-renowned cinematographer has 16 Oscar nominations and two wins under his belt. Most recently for the Sam Mendes war drama 1917 (2019). 

Who is Roger Deakins?

300

Why are Doc Brown and Marty friends? How do they defeat the time travel paradoxes they create? Why don't George and Lorraine recognize their own son in the future as the person they met in 1955? These inconsistencies from Back to the Future (1985) are answered with this psychological storytelling device.

What is the suspension of disbelief?

300

Two major setpiece scenes in The Fugitive (1993) were shot in the western part of which state?

What is North Carolina? (The train crash in Dillsboro and the waterfall jump at Cheoah Dam)

400

Back to the Future (1985), Forrest Gump (1994), Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

Who is Robert Zemeckis?

400

Before he became the Joker, Heath Ledger had his breakout role in this modern retelling of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew."

What is 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)?

400

Though this film won 11 Oscars, the one most people remember is the win for the hit song "My Heart Will Go On" sung by Celine Dion. 

What is Titanic (1996)?

400

These props were used on the set of Poltergeist (1982) as they were cheaper to get than to have the prop department create fake ones.

What are real skeletons?

400

Except for the opening and closing shots and the "girl in the red coat" scenes, the entirety of Schindler's List (1993) is filmed in this way to give it a more documentary feel and to keep the color distractions down.

What is in black and white?

500

The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Green Mile (1999), The Mist (2007)

Who is Frank Darabont?

500

This actor/actress duo first played alongside each other in Titanic (1996) and wouldn't reunite until 2008's Revolutionary Road.

Who are Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio?

500

Though Gladiator (2000) was nominated for twelve Oscars and won five (including Best Picture), Ridley Scott did not win for this category...again.

What is Best Director?

500

Though the story takes place in the North Atlantic Ocean, the majority of the scenes set in water were filmed in a 17-million-gallon tank. I don't think Jack would've survived even if it had been filmed in a kiddie pool. Name the film.

What is Titanic (1996)?

500

In The Sixth Sense (1999), we find out at the very end of the film that Malcom Crowe (Bruce Willis) has been dead since the opening scene. In screenwriting, we call this a what?

What is a plot twist?