Superbad Trivia: Continuity Errors

Continuity errors happen in every film, because it’s difficult to make sure every little detail is perfect. Superbad is no exception; it had a lot of them. Here are just some of those Superbad trivia gems:

• McLovin’s wound, which resulted from being punched in the liquor store, is seen at first on the side of his face under the stem of his glasses. Later, it appears on the front of his cheek.

• A red chair at the end of the table disappears and reappears while Seth and Evan eat lunch.

• You can see it’s getting dark when Evan and Seth are in the store, because car lights and streetlights come on. But when they come out of the store, the sun is out.

• After Seth gets hit by the guy’s car in the store parking lot, the “open” sign seen behind the car owner changes from off to on from one shot to the next.

• Fogell’s fake I.D. signature is spelled “McLovin” when he shows it to Seth and Evan, but when it’s seen again in the store, it’s spelled “McLoving.”

• Seth has blood on his jeans at the party, but it’s gone when he sees the officers after the party. It then reappears when he gets to the next party.

• The dent on the detergent bottle that Evan holds in his left hand disappears and reappears while he and Seth argue.

• The cops run the red light on James Street twice on their way to the bar.

• The policemen and dispatcher on the intercom say that the cop car number is 98, but the number on the car is actually 96.

I hope you enjoyed this Superbad trivia!

If you haven’t done so already, take our Superbad and other Seth Rogen films movie trivia quiz and read our Superbad movie review.

Tags: celebrities, movies, movie trivia

Classic Movie Review: Now, Voyager

More Tricky Movie Trivia classic movie reviews: To Kill a Mockingbird I My Man Godfrey I The Enchanted Cottage

I can’t help but think of Now, Voyager as one of the original chick flicks. It has all the components that make Lifetime movies so popular: forbidden romance, an ugly duckling who turns into an elegant swan, an oppressive mother who is eventually put in her place and a backdrop of the high-class world of wealth.

But Now, Voyager is a world apart from the chick flicks of today. It set the bar high when it came out in 1942. Part of the reason for that was its star, Bette Davis. Never better, she fully embodied the character of the bespectacled, caterpillar-browed Charlotte Vale who appeared early in the film. Many beautiful actresses have allowed themselves to be made ugly for movie roles, but few have achieved the transformation as well as Bette Davis did in this movie.

But looks are only part of the story. Our ugly duckling is so oppressed, you can’t help but squirm a little as you watch her. This causes you to root for her right from the start. Her transformation is amazing to watch, because she changes more than just her external appearance — that’s the easy part. You actually watch her become a full person as the film moves on. As is often the case in real life, that doesn’t come easily. And when a man and his troubled child come along who are struggling, too, their effort to preserve the strip of territory that belongs just to them is believable and compelling. The realistic way this mutual effort survives against all obstacles is what keeps the movie from sinking into being maudlin. You don’t actually stand up and cheer at the end; the experience is more low-key and satisfying than that. Instead, you’re left with the quiet feeling that with determination, strength and love; anything is possible.

Movie trivia from Now, Voyager

• Max Steiner and Now, Voyager won the 1943 Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. Bette Davis was nominated for the Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar, but lost to Greer Garson for Mrs. Miniver. Gladys Cooper was nominated as Best Actress in a Supporting Role but lost to Teresa Wright for Mrs. Miniver.

• The movie title is based on these two lines from the Walt Whitman poem, “The Untold Want” from Songs of Parting: “The untold want, by life and land ne’er granted. Now, Voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find.

• Claude Rains turned down the role of Dr. Jaquith because he said it was too small. So, the part was increased to lure him and he was paid the princely sum of $5,000 a week for six weeks’ work.

• When Voyager was released in October 1942, the critics’ movie reviews were mixed but the public loved it. In fact, it was the biggest box office hit of Bette Davis’s career.

• The movie was based on the book by Olive Higgins Prouty, which was the third of four books about the wealthy Vale family. The screenplay stuck pretty close to the story in the novel, except that in the book Charlotte goes to the Mediterranean on her cruise, not to South America.

• Director Hall B. Wallis made five other films besides Now, Voyager in 1942:
• Casablanca
• Air Force
• Desperate Journey
• Princess O’Rourke
• Watch on the Rhine.

I hope you enjoyed this movie review! To be updated whenever there’s a new movie review or movie trivia quiz, please subscribe using the free subscription options in the sidebar.

Classic Movie Review: My Man Godfrey

More Tricky Movie Trivia classic movie reviews: To Kill a Mockingbird I The Enchanted Cottage I Now, Voyager

Leave it to Carol Lombard to make the Great Depression so funny. Set in 1936, My Man Godfrey contrasts the hard times most Americans were experiencing with the wealthy and privileged world of socialite dingbat Irene Bullock, played to perfection by Lombard.

Irene happens upon Godfrey, played by William Powell, in the city dump, when she and her too-rich friends are in the midst of finding a forgotten man as one of the items in a scavenger hunt. Seeing that her rude and hateful sister Cornelia, played by Gail Patrick, also wants to bring Godfrey back only makes Irene more determined to have him as her prize.

Once Irene spends a little time with Godfrey, she decides she wants him to be her protégé. There’s precedent for this, as her mother also has a protégé — the useless but hilarious musician Carlo, played by Mischa Auer. (His imitation of a gorilla alone is worth watching the movie for.) So she makes Godfrey the family’s butler, because the last butler in a long line had just quit the day before. It seems no one wants to live with the nutty Bullock family.

But Godfrey is unphased by the lunacy that surrounds him, even though Irene and Cornelia fight over him, the family matriarch sees pixies, the father is a gruff but ultimately reasonable man who often yells with a booming voice, and police officers have come to find out which one of the crazy family members stole a policeman’s horse and rode it up the front steps of the Bullock mansion.

The more sturdy Godfrey behaves, the more the women fall in love with him. Not only is Irene smitten but the maid falls hard for him too. Hilarity ensues as they — especially Irene — fall all over themselves to be with him. Little do they know that Godfrey is hiding a secret, one that will change everything when revealed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Movie trivia and goofs from My Man Godfrey

• My Man Godfrey is the only film to ever win Oscar nominations for directing, writing and all four acting awards without also being nominated for Best Picture. It’s also the only film to get those six nominations and lose them all.

• This was the first movie to receive four acting Oscar nominations. It did so in the year that supporting categories were introduced.

• William Powell and Carol Lombard had been married and divorced before this movie was shot. Powell, however, insisted that Lombard play Irene, knowing she would be the best person for the part. He was right. I can’t imagine anyone else playing that role but her.

• My Man Godfrey was voted one of “The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time” in 2006 by Premiere.

• When Irene first goes into Godfrey’s room, the door opens in the direction of the kitchen, where we see Molly in the background. In the next shot, the door opens in the direction of the bedroom.

• In one scene, Godfrey is placing roses in a vase while ignoring Irene. In one shot we see that there are already five stems in the vase. When the camera cuts away to the rest of the cast and Godfrey is seen again, there is only one rose in the vase.
• While Irene is talking to Charlie Van Rumple at the tea party, you see Godfrey in the background serving Cornelia with a tray, and she takes one item in each hand. A few seconds later, we see Cornelia close up as Godfrey serves her and she takes the same two items again.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Versions

My Man Godfrey is available on DVD in the original black and white form, as well as in a computer colorized version.

I hope you enjoyed this movie review! To be updated whenever there’s a new movie review or movie trivia quiz, please subscribe using the free subscription options in the sidebar.

Classic Movie Review: To Kill a Mockingbird

If you enjoy this movie review, check out our movie trivia quiz about the star of To Kill a Mockingbird, Gregory Peck.

It’s hard to summon enough superlatives to describe To Kill a Mockingbird, which I consider one of Hollywood’s greatest black and white movies. I suppose it would have been difficult to go wrong, considering the book it came from continues to be a huge success. In my opinion, though, the movie transcended the book. The timeless story of a good man standing up for what is right is dynamic on the page, but it becomes even larger on film.

Artfully directed by Robert Mulligan, the movie was filmed on the Universal Studios backlot. Due to set decorator Henry Bumstead efforts, the set didn’t look like yet another Hollywood creation. It was made to look like Macomb County, Alabama, with the help of houses scheduled to be destroyed to make way for the Pasadena Freeway. Bumstead found the Craftsman-style houses just in time and moved them to the Universal lot to recreate the specific world that was the South in the 1930s.

The perfect set is in keeping with the exemplary cast. Gregory Peck, who embodied the part of dignified Southern lawyer and father Atticus Finch as if he were born to play him, was joined by unknowns Mary Badham and Phillip Althorp as his children Scout and Jem. Also in the mix was Macomb visitor Dill, an odd-looking little boy based on author Harper Lee’s childhood friend, Truman Capote. John Megna’s Dill visits Macomb County during the summer and it’s through his, Scout and Jem’s perspectives that the story unfolds. It’s also through their eyes that we’re introduced to the town boogeyman, played by Robert Duvall in his first film role. But Duvall’s Boo Radley isn’t the only supposed monster in town. Robert E. Lee “Bob” Ewell and his daughter Mayella Ewell (played by James Anderson and Collin Wilcox), who wrongly accuse black man Tom Robinson (played by Brock Peters) of rape, are frightening in a much more substantial way.

I know most people wouldn’t consider this a Halloween movie, but for me, the final moments of the film invoke that spirit. I won’t ruin the ending; I’ll just say that it’s scary in the way that only old-fashioned story-telling can be. There are no special effects; the characters have just been so well developed by the end, you feel like you’re right there with them in Macomb County. You can’t help but sit on the edge of your seat as they move through harrowing circumstances and then find safe haven once again on their faded but cozy Alabama front porch.

Movie trivia and goofs from To Kill a Mockingbird

• Mockingbird was Robert Duvall’s first movie. He stayed out of the sun for six weeks before production started and dyed his hair blond to create the pale affect of Boo Radley, who according to town legend, lived in his parents’ cellar.

• Alice Ghostley also made her movie debut in Mockingbird.

• Rock Hudson was Universal’s first choice for the role of Atticus Finch. Jimmy Stewart also was offered the part, but believed the script was “too liberal” and feared the film would be controversial.

• Mockingbird writer Harper Lee picked the name Finch because it was her mother’s maiden name.
• Mary Badham ruined almost every take when the family was eating at the table. Phillip Alford didn’t like eating the same meal repeatedly, and thought Mary was a brat in general, so when he rolled her in the tire down the street, he intentionally aimed it at an equipment truck to try to hurt her.
• The American Film Institute voted Atticus Finch the top screen hero of the last 100 years. They also ranked Mockingbird as #2 on their list of the 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time and as the #25 Greatest Movie of All Time.

• The pennies in the cigar box in the film’s opening are dated 1962, but the story is set in 1932.

• When the marble rolls during the opening credits, several members of the camera crew can be seen reflected in it.

• When Old Man Radley startles the children when he comes to put cement in the tree, Jem and Scout suddenly appear a few feet farther back than they were just a second before.

• The defense table is set next to the jury box during the trial. In real life, the jury always sits on the prosecution’s side of the courtroom.

DVD extras from the collector’s edition of To Kill a Mockingbird (on two discs)

• Scene access
• Interactive menus
• Cast and crew interview
• Movie trivia
• Featurette: Movie by Gregory Peck’s daughter Cecilia that chronicles both her father’s speaking engagements and his later years
• Featurette: Fearful Symmetry: The Making of To Kill a Mockingbird
• Audio commentary by director Robert Mulligan and producer Alan Pakula
• Original trailer
• Subtitles

I hope you enjoyed this movie review! To be updated whenever there’s a new movie review or movie trivia quiz, please subscribe using the free subscription options in the sidebar.

More Tricky Movie Trivia classic movie reviews: The Enchanted Cottage I My Man Godfrey I Now, Voyager

Tricky Movie Trivia Quiz: Teenage Chick Flicks, Part 3

Can you guess the answers to this movie trivia quiz about teenage chick flicks?

Also, check out part 1 and part 2 of the teenage chick flicks movie trivia quiz series.

1. You probably know that Lindsay Lohan starred in the 2005 movie featuring Herbie the Volkswagen, called Herbie Fully Loaded. But can you name the six other Herbie movies? (You don’t have to include the TV version made in 1997, which had the same name as the original 1968 theatrical release.)

2. The 1983 movie Valley Girl starred Francis Ford Coppola’s nephew. What is his name?

3. As part of the initiation to the Ya-Ya Sisterhood club in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Sandra Bullock’s character Siddalee Walker has the palm of her hand cut. In which other movie did a character played by Sandra Bullock cut the palm of her hand?

4. In Dirty Dancing, Jennifer Grey was older than her 17-year-old character Baby. How old was Jennifer when she filmed the movie?
a. 23
b. 25
c. 27
d. 29

5. Evening co-starred Meryl Streep’s daughter, who played the younger version of Streep’s character in the movie. What is Streep’s daughter’s name in real life?

6. Which other famous mother and daughter starred in Evening?

7. Which English actress was originally considered for Miranda, the role that Meryl
Streep played in The Devil Wears Prada?

8. Which teenaged actor turned down the role of Ducky in the 1989 release of Pretty in Pink? (Jon Cryer played the role instead.)

9. The line “Can I borrow your underpants for ten minutes?” was voted #86 of “The 100 Greatest Movie Lines” by Premiere in 2007. Which movie was it from?

10. A famous brother and sister had supporting roles in Sixteen Candles. What are their names?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Answers

1. There are six Herbie movies, all of which were made before Herbie Fully Loaded star Lindsay Lohan was even born:

• The Love Bug (1968)
• Herbie Rides Again (1974)
• Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977)
• Herbie Goes Bananas (1980)
• Herbie the Matchmaker (1981)
• Herbie, the Love Bug (1982)

2. Francis Ford Coppola’s nephew’s name is Nicholas Cage. He changed it from Nicholas Coppola in the 1980s. Valley Girl was the first movie credit he had that used the new name.

3. Sandra Bullock’s character Sally Owens cuts the palm of her hand in the movie Practical Magic.

4. Jennifer Grey was 27 when she filmed Dirty Dancing.

5. Meryl Streep’s daughter and Evening co-star’s name is Mamie Gummer.

6. Natasha Richardson plays the daughter of the character played by her real-life mother Vanessa Redgrave in Evening.

7. Helen Mirren was originally considered for the role Meryl Streep played in The Devil Wears Prada.

8. Anthony Michael Hall turned down the role of Ducky in Pretty in Pink. Jon Cryer played the part instead.

9. The line “Can I borrow your underpants for ten minutes?” came from Sixteen Candles and was said by Anthony Michael Hall’s character.

10. Brother and sister John and Joan Cusack were in Sixteen Candles. John Cusack played Bryce, one of Anthony Michael Hall’s geeky friends, and Joan was the girl in the neck brace on the bus and who had trouble sipping water from a drinking fountain.

How did you do on this movie trivia quiz about teenage chick flicks? If you didn’t get the answers to most of these questions, don’t worry; you’re not alone. A lot of them were hard!

If you enjoyed this quiz, why not subscribe via RSS or e-mail to get free updates? See the sidebar for easy subscription options.

Tricky Movie Trivia Quiz: Teenage Chick Flicks, Part 2

Can you guess the answers to this movie trivia quiz about teenage chick flicks?

Also, check out teenage chick flicks, part 1, and stay tuned for part 3 in a future post.

1. In A Walk to Remember, who was originally considered for the role of Jamie Sullivan, which was eventually played by Mandy Moore?

2. A Walk to Remember was filmed in 2002 in Wilmington, North Carolina, at the same time as which hit film starring Sandra Bullock?

3. In Freaky Friday, during the end scene when Anna is dancing with Jake, there’s a woman in the background who looks directly at the camera while she dances with an older gentleman. This woman is the mother of one of the stars of the movie. Whose mother is she?

4. In Freaky Friday, which famous actress was originally supposed to have the part of Tess Coleman, which ended up being played by Jamie Lee Curtis?

5. How many different hairstyles did Reese Witherspoon’s character Elle wear in Legally Blonde?

6. Which major learning institution did Elle attend in Legally Blonde?

7. On which Shakespeare play is the movie 10 Things I Hate About You based?

8. One of the characters in the movie The Notebook is the mother of the movie’s director, Nick Cassavetes. What’s her name?

9. In The Notebook, Ryan Gosling had to wear contact lenses so his eyes would match the color of the older version of him, played by JimGarner. What color contacts did he wear?

10. Which chick flick was the first movie production allowed to film in New York after the September 11, 2001 attacks?

Scroll down to see the answers.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Answers

1. Jessica Simpson was originally considered for the role of Jamie Sullivan in A Walk to Remember.

2. A Walk to Remember was filmed in 2002 in Wilmington, North Carolina at the same time as
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

3. The dancing woman in Freaky Friday is Lindsay Lohan’s mother, Dina Lohan.

4. Annette Bening was originally slated to play Tess Coleman in Freaky Friday.

5. Reese Witherspoon’s character Elle wears 40 different hairstyles throughout Legally Blonde.

6. The character of Elle attended Harvard University.

7. 10 Things I Hate About You is based on The Taming Of The Shrew. The titles intentionally rhyme a little.

8. Gena Rowlands, who plays Allie when she’s older, is Notebook director Nick Cassavetes’ mother.

9. Ryan Gosling wore brown contacts so his eye color would match Jim Garner’s.

10. Sweet Home Alabama was the first movie to film in New York after 9/11.

How did you do on this teenage chick flicks movie trivia quiz? If you didn’t get the answers to most of the questions, don’t worry; you’re not alone. They were hard!

If you enjoyed this quiz, why not subscribe via RSS or e-mail to get free updates? (See the sidebar for easy subscription options.) And if you haven’t done so already, check out our teenage chick flicks, part 1 movie trivia quiz.

Tricky Movie Trivia Quiz: Teenage Chick Flicks, Part 1

Can you guess the answers to this movie trivia quiz about teenage chick flicks?

Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 in future posts. There are many more movie trivia questions about chick flicks to come!

1. In Mean Girls, which of the actresses who played a “plastic” was initially supposed to play Cady, the part played by Lindsay Lohan?

2. On which book was the movie Mean Girls based?

3. Which of the “plastics” actresses is actually 10 years older than Lindsay Lohan?

4. Drop Dead Gorgeous screenwriter Lona Williams was once a contestant in local beauty pageants and appears in the film. Which part does she play?

5. Which actress who was in a hit 2007 movie had her screen debut in Drop Dead Gorgeous?

6. In Saved, Pastor Skip enters the library to talk to Hilary Faye and the Christian Jewels about Mary. There’s a poster featuring which band visible over his shoulder? (Hint: The band’s lead singer was a co-producer on the movie.)

7. Mandy Moore was given the part of Hilary Faye in Saved, but which actress was originally supposed to play her?

8. What are the letters on the license plate of Hilary Faye’s car?

9. In Clueless, Alicia Silverstone (who played Cher) didn’t know how to pronounce a word in one of the classroom scenes. Director Amy Heckerling told everyone not to correct her so she could include the entertaining mispronunciation in the film. Which word was it?

10. On which classic story is Clueless loosely based?

Scroll down to see the answers.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Answers

1. Amanda Seyfried, who plays Karen in the film, was initially supposed to play Cady, but producer Lorne Michaels thought she would be better as the dumb girl and that Lindsay Lohan would make a better “good girl.”

2. Mean Girls was based on Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence by Rosalind Wiseman, even though it is a non-fiction self-help guide for parents that has no narrative. Tine Fey of Saturday Night Live wrote the script.

3. Although Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams play characters who are presumably in the same grade, there’s a 10-year age difference between the two actresses.

4. Lona Williams plays Jean, the pageant’s non-speaking judge, in Drop Dead Gorgeous.

5. Amy Adams, who starred in Enchanted, had her film debut in Drop Dead Gorgeous.

6. The poster visible over Pastor Skip’s shoulder is for R.E.M. Lead singer Michael Stipe co-produced the film.

7. The role of Hilary Faye was originally given to Anne Hathaway, but funding fell through and then Hathaway had to start shooting Ella Enchanted.

8. Hilary Faye’s license plate is “JC GIRL.”

9. Alicia Silverstone mispronounced “Haitians” as “Hate-ee–uns.”

10. Clueless is loosely based on Jane Austen’s book Emma.

How did you do on this movie trivia quiz about teenage chick flicks? If you didn’t get the answers to most of the questions, don’t worry; you’re not alone. Some of them were hard!

If you enjoyed this quiz, why not subscribe via RSS or e-mail to get free updates? (See the sidebar for easy subscription options.) We’ll be doing two more teenage chick flicks quizzes, plus plenty of trivia questions on other movie topics!

Movie Trivia Quiz: Gregory Peck Movies

Of all the stars of classic movies, Gregory Peck is among the classiest. See how many of these movie trivia quiz questions about his films you can get right. And make sure to see our movie review of one of his best films, To Kill a Mockingbird.

1. What was his first movie?

2. In which 1944 film was Gregory Peck nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role but didn’t win?

3. There were two movies in which Peck played a sea captain that were released in the 1950s. Can you name them?

4. Which actress made her movie debut in Roman Holiday, starring opposite Gregory Peck?

5. Of all Peck’s film roles, which did he publicly say was his favorite?

6. which Gregory Peck movie thriller released in 1962 was also re-released in 1991 and featured Peck in a cameo role?

7. Which two movies did Peck produce in the 1970s?

8. Other than producing, Gregory Peck’s film career was on the wane in the 1970s. What film was considered his comeback picture as an actor?

9. Which former co-star’s housekeeper and dog did Peck take into his after the co-star’s death in 1990?

10. What was Gregory Peck’s final movie in which he was not the subject? (He starred in several projects that either focused on him or for which he was narrator.)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Answers

1. Gregory Peck’s first movie was Days of Glory, which was set during the 1941 Nazi invasion of Russia and released in 1944 by RKO Radio Pictures.

2. He was nominated for the Best Actor category for The Keys of the Kingdom, in which he played a young priest sent to China to build a Catholic parish.

3. The two classic movies in which Gregory Peck played sea captains were Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951) and Moby Dick (1956).

4. Audrey Hepburn made her movie debut in the classic movie Roman Holiday.

5. Gregory Peck’s favorite movie role was To Kill a Mockingbird. He lit up Tinseltown with his performance in this movie, for which he won an Academy Award.

6. Cape Fear was the thriller that was released both in 1962 and 1991. In the second version, Nick Nolte played Sam Bowden, the character Gregory Peck played in the 1962 release. Gregory Peck played the attorney of villain Max Cady (Robert De Niro).

7. He produced The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (1972) and The Dove (1974).

8. His comeback picture in the 1970s was The Omen (1976).

9. Gregory Peck took in Ava Gardner’s housekeeper and dog after Ava died in 1990.

10. Gregory Peck’s final movie in which he was not the subject was a remake of Moby Dick.

How did you do on this movie trivia quiz about classic Gregory Peck movies? If you didn’t get the answers to most of the questions, don’t worry; you’re not alone. Some of them were hard!

If you enjoyed this quiz, why not subscribe via RSS or e-mail to get free updates? (See the sidebar for easy subscription options.) We’ll be doing many more movie trivia quizzes about classic movies, as well as modern films!

The Movie Trivia Quiz Debate: Stars of Classic Movies or Modern Celebrities?

When I came up with the idea of a movie trivia quiz site, I wondered what people were really interested in so I could write about it. I know Lindsay Lohan pics (along with those of other celebrities) is a popular subject, but not necessarily because people think she’s a good actress. (Even though I believe she is.) But I didn’t know if anyone would ever find Lindsay trivia with all the other celebrity gossip sites and blogs competing to talk about her ongoing misspent youth. It made me wonder whether quizzes about Tinseltown classic movies might be better.

But I know people like modern celebrities, so I thought maybe it would be best to start with current movie trivia questions. I began with a 2007 movie trivia quiz — and I made it good and hard. Everyone who took it said they had to struggle to getting even one question correct. So, that made me realize I needed to give people a fighting chance, even though I saw in my Web statistics that someone had been looking for a “hard superbad quiz.” Hard is a relative term I guess, because I had a question in the 2007 trivia quiz about Superbad and I don’t think that’s the question that people got right. That person who was searching might have been looking for a hard trivia question, but was probably unprepared for the gauntlet he would have to run on the Tricky Movie Trivia blog! Or, maybe he was really just searching for a super-bad, hard quiz and I just misinterpreted.

When I checked my Web statistics, I also found that people also were interested in fake names movies are shipped under. Now, I consider this category of questions especially hard to get right. How would you know the names, unless you were a movie insider (or a reader of Tricky Movie Trivia who cheated by looking at the quiz answers)? But, as I said before, people like to challenge themselves. When they’re not looking for celebrity gossip or movie facts, they sometimes want to prove to themselves that they really do have a lot of insider movie information at their fingertips.

In my search to write about topics people want, I posted one movie trivia quiz each about a variety of movies. I touched quite a bit on the teenage genre by writing about these Lindsay Lohan pics: Freaky Friday, Mean Girls, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Herbie Fully Loaded and Just My Luck. But let’s not forget the teenage boys, who can generate their own share of Hollywood gossip. The Trivia Quiz: Movies Released in 2007 contained a question about Superbad, as of course did the Trivia Quiz: Seth Rogen Movies post. That post also contained some questions about two other funny movies, Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Stars of classic movies vs. trendy celebrities

All of this was well and good, but I wondered if people are interested in more than just movie trivia and Hollywood gossip about celebrities. For example, I wonder if people still care about black and white movies. I’ve written several reviews of To Kill a Mockingbird, which I consider brilliant. (The movie, not the reviews.) Writing about Gregory Peck is a pleasure, because he was every bit as as good a man as the sterling Atticus Finch, the character he played in To Kill a Mockingbird. But do people care about Gregory Peck any more? I hope so. I know the book from which the classic movie was made is still very popular because it was labeled as the Book of the Century by a national association of librarians. But have we become more obsessed with celebrity gossip about who people are sleeping with instead of the content of people’s hearts and minds? Are great ideas dead? Let’s hope not, for all our sakes.

Besides To Kill a Mockingbird, other black and white movies also exemplify the past focus on substance over flash. One of my favorites is The Enchanted Cottage. This romantic movie stars Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young, and teaches the true meaning of love without being preachy. The production value is a little spotty in some places, but the timeless story shines through both the limitations of the medium of black and white film and the haze of each characters’ perceptions. Another example in the romantic movies genre is The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, which takes the concept of a love story beyond the grave. It’s truly one of the most romantic movies I’ve ever seen. The storytelling was strong, which made it transcend its being told in black and white.

Classic movies without color are particularly effective for dark, moody romantic stories with ultimate happy endings, but they also work well for comedies. A great example of this is My Man Godfrey. Screwball comedy was never more zany than in this farce that had Carol Lombard and William Powell first at odds, and then, in good old-time Hollywood fashion, in accord. I can’t imagine this movie in color. A certain elegance and Tinseltown glamor was imparted through the colorless medium. When you can shine through black and white, you know you’re a star. It was easy to imagine Carol Lombard and William Powell together at the Copa Cabana or the Brown Derby (before their divorce, of course), because they seemed born to radiate old fashioned Hollywood glamor.

Does it really matter what Lindsay Lohan is doing?

So, why am I going on and on about this? There are several reasons. The first is that I want to know whether people would be more interested in a movie trivia quiz about modern celebrities or if they would prefer movie trivia questions about classic movies. Maybe I should do both. Time will tell.

Over time, I hope to find out whether people really care more about Lindsay Lohan pics and celebrity gossip than how characters in classic movies have modeled good behavior. In the meantime, I plan on having fun writing about what I love: movie trivia. I hope to see you around as I explore the medium I love and meet people who feel the same way.

Movie Trivia Quiz: Superbad and Other Seth Rogen Films

Can you answer these movie trivia questions?

Let’s test your movie IQ with this challenging quiz about three Seth Rogen movies and some of the celebrities in them.

1. How many times is the “f” word used in Superbad?

2. There was a fight airing on a TV in the bar after the arrest of the homeless man in Superbad. Which former light heavyweight champion was in that fight?

3. What was the name used on the film prints when Superbad was shipped to the theatres?

4. In what language does Knocked Up translate to “A Little Bit Pregnant”?

5. In what language does Knocked Up translate to “Slightly Pregnant“?

6. Which of the following people did not make a cameo appearance in Knocked Up?

• Jessica Simpson
• Steve Carell
• Andy Dick
• Lindsay Lohan
• Eva Mendes
• James Franco
• Jessica Alba
• Ryan Seacrest

7. Writer/director Judd Apatow is married to one of the actresses in the movie Knocked Up. What is her name?

8. The “f” word and its variations are said a total of how many times throughout Knocked Up?

9. Steve Carell, star of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, was a former “reporter” for what television show?

10. In he 40-Year-Old Virgin, David (played by Paul Rudd) complains he’s tired of hearing which song that never even aired in the DVD?

Scroll down to see the answers.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Answers

Now it’s time to see whether you’re a movie star. Check your answers below, and then see the ratings chart at the bottom of this post:

1. The “f” word is used 186 times in Superbad. Since the movie is only 118 minutes long, that means the word was used approximately 1.6 times per minute. Eighty-four of the uses are by the character of Seth (played by Jonah Hill).

2. Former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell was the fighter featured on the bar television.

3. “Separation Anxiety” was the name given to Superbad film prints when they were shipped to some theatres.

4. Knocked Up translates to “A Little Bit Pregnant” in Russian.

5. The translation is “Slightly Pregnant” in Brazilian, which is also the title of a popular Brazilian song.

6. Lindsay Lohan is the only celebrity on the list who wasn’t in Knocked Up. Here are the parts each of the other cameo actors played:

• Jessica Simpson played herself at the award show
• Steve Carell played himself at the award show
• Andy Dick played himself at the award show
• Eva Mendes played herself at the award show
• James Franco played himself on E! News
• Jessica Alba played herself at the award show
• Ryan Seacrest played himself on E! News

7. Writer/director Judd Apatow is married to Leslie Mann.

8. The “f” word and its variations are said 113 times throughout the movie.

9. Steve Carell was a former “reporter” Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show in 1996.

10. The song David complains he’s tired of hearing is Ya Mo Be There by Michael McDonald.

So, how did you do on this movie trivia quiz? If you didn’t get most of the questions right, don’t worry; you’re not alone. They were hard!

If you enjoyed this quiz, why not subscribe via RSS or e-mail to get free updates? (See the sidebar for easy subscription options.) We’ll be doing many more movie trivia quizzes!