Action! What will you score on our movie directors quiz?

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Who's your favorite movie director? Is it someone who's produced classic cinema, such as Frank Capra? Perhaps you prefer someone edgy, like Quentin Tarantino. Or maybe you just like to laugh at Judd Apatow's creations. Test your directors knowledge!

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Question 2 of 21

Which of the following movies won an Academy Award for Best Picture but NOT for Best Director?

<em>Chicago</em> (2002)
<em>Goodfellas</em> (1990)
<em>Slumdog Millionaire</em> (2008)
<em>Unforgiven</em> (1992)

... In 2003, "Chicago" won for Best Picture, but Rob Marshall did not take home the director's award; that went to Roman Polanski for "The Pianist."

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Question 3 of 21

Doodlebug (1997) was the first short film by which Academy Award-nominated director?

Alexander Payne
Christopher Nolan
Jason Reitman
Paul Thomas Anderson

... In 1997, Christopher Nolan, director of such films as "The Dark Knight" (2008) and "Inception" (2010), created the three-minute "Doodlebug." It's a dark short that ends with a twist: Just what kind of bug is the man trying to kill with his shoe?

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Question 4 of 21

Which director had a church created in his memory?

Ed Wood
Michael Bay
Rob Zombie
Roger Corman

... "Woodism" is a self-described pop-culture religion. Its focus is on happiness, the pursuit of one's dreams, self-pride and universal acceptance. Its namesake, Ed Wood -- "Glen or Glenda" (1953), "Plan 9 from Outer Space" (1959) -- is generally recognized as having been a passionate, yet talentless, film director.

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Question 5 of 21

Which director did Woody Allen once call "... the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera"?

Akira Kurosawa
Federico Fellini
Ingmar Bergman
Woody Allen

... Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, director of "Cries and Whispers" (1972) and "Fanny and Alexander" (1982), was revered by Allen and was generally considered a master of depicting the human condition.

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Question 6 of 21

Alfred Hitchcock called which of his movies "an experiment that didn't work out"?

<em>Family Plot</em> (1976)
<em>Rope</em> (1948)
<em>The Man Who Knew too Much</em> (1956)
<em>Vertigo</em> (1958)

... "Rope," which followed two college students who killed to prove their innate superiority, was shot in 10-minute segments to maintain suspense. The extraordinarily long takes resulted in rather stiff, forced performances, restricted camera movement and limited editing.

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Question 7 of 21

Japanese director Akira Kurosawa -- Rashomon (1950), The Seven Samurai (1954) -- adapted Shakespeare plays for the big screen, including _____.

<em>Hamlet</em>
<em>Julius Caesar</em>
<em>King Lear</em>
<em>Romeo and Juliet</em>

... Kurosawa's epic film "Ran" (1985) was an adaptation of the Bard's "King Lear."

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Question 8 of 21

In 2011, which directing duo signed on to produce a pilot for Fox TV?

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
the Coen brothers
the Farrelly brothers

... Brothers Joel and Ethan Coen -- "No Country for Old Men" (2007), "Fargo" (1996) -- agreed to develop "HarveKarbo," a series about a Los Angeles private investigator and off-beat Hollywood characters.

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Question 9 of 21

Which director began his career making gory horror movies?

Guillermo del Toro
Kevin Smith
M. Night Shyamalan
Peter Jackson

... Peter Jackson -- "Lord of the Rings" (2001) -- directed the bloody "Bad Taste" (1987), "Meet the Feebles" (1990) and "Dead Alive" (1993). He moved on to direct and co-write a film based on a real-life murder case: "Heavenly Creatures" (1994). It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

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Question 10 of 21

Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow -- The Hurt Locker (2008) -- originally trained to be a/an_______.

artist
lawyer
singer
teacher

... Bigelow studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and the Whitney Museum of American Art. While in a graduate program at Columbia University, she made her first short film. As of 2012, she is the only woman to have won an Oscar for directing.

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Question 11 of 21

Controversial director John Waters -- Pink Flamingos (1972), Hairspray (2007) -- frequently worked with which convicted felon?

50 Cent
Patty Hearst
Shelley Malil
Winona Ryder

... Heiress, kidnap victim and convicted bank robber Patty Hearst had small roles in several of Waters's films, including "Cry-baby" (1990), "Serial Mom" (1994) and "Cecil B. Demented" (2000).

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Question 12 of 21

Which early director had his name coined as a way to describe sophisticated humor?

Billy Wilder
Ernst Lubitsch
Howard Hawks
Victor Fleming

... The "Lubitsch Touch" was seen in such movies as "Heaven Can Wait" (1943), "To Be or Not to Be" (1942) and "The Shop around the Corner" (1940).

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Question 13 of 21

Alexander Mackendrick directed which classic American film that was, when released, a critical and commercial bomb that irrevocably injured his career?

<em>Bringing up Baby</em> (1938)
<em>Citizen Kane</em> (1941)
<em>It's a Wonderful Life</em> (1946)
<em>Sweet Smell of Success</em> (1957)

... "Sweet Smell of Success" starred Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster, in a scathing depiction of New York gossip columnists.

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Question 14 of 21

Director Nora Ephron -- Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Julie and Julia (2009) -- often works on romantic comedies. She began her career writing screenplays and was nominated for an Academy Award for which movie that was decidedly NOT a romantic comedy?

<em>Atlantic City</em> (1980)
<em>E.T. : The Extra-Terrestrial</em> (1982)
<em>Silkwood</em> (1983)
<em>Witness</em> (1985)

... Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen were nominated for their screenplay inspired by the real-life Karen Silkwood, a whistle-blower at a plutonium plant who died under mysterious circumstances. The movie starred Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell and Cher.

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Question 15 of 21

Director Charlie Chaplin -- Modern Times (1936), The Gold Rush (1925) -- was a co-founder of which major Hollywood Studio?

MGM
Paramount
United Artists
Universal

... In 1919, Chaplin founded United Artists, along with D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford.

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Question 16 of 21

Cooking expert and television personality Rachael Ray named a dish after __________, her favorite director.

Cameron Crowe
Michel Hazanavicius
Oliver Stone
Pedro Almodovar

... Ray named "Chicken for Almodovar" after the director of such films as "Volver" (2006), "Bad Education" (2004) and "Talk to Her" (2002).

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Question 17 of 21

Who has won the most Academy Awards for Best Director?

Frank Capra
Francis Ford Coppola
John Ford
Martin Scorsese

... John Ford directed 136 films, received 5 Oscar nominations and won the Oscar four times -- "The Quiet Man" (1952), "How Green Was My Valley" (1941), "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940) and "The Informer" (1935).

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Question 18 of 21

Which teen-centered movie was directed by a woman?

<em>Fame</em> (1980)
<em>Fast Times at Ridgemont High</em> (1982)
<em>Pretty in Pink</em> (1986)
<em>Risky Business</em> (1983)

... Amy Heckerling -- "Clueless" (1995) -- directed Sean Penn and Jennifer Jason Leigh in 1982's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

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Question 19 of 21

Who was the first female director to be nominated for an Oscar?

Jane Campion
Lina Wertmuller
Kathryn Bigelow
Sofia Coppola

... Italian director Lina Wertmuller was nominated in 1977 for "Seven Beauties" (1975), about a World War II deserter captured by the Germans. She was also nominated for the movie's screenplay.

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Question 20 of 21

Director John Carpenter, known primarily for his many horror movies, said he turned down the opportunity to direct _________.

<em>Blackhawk Down</em> (2001)
<em>Full Metal Jacket</em> (1987)
<em>Glory</em> (1989)
<em>Top Gun</em> (1986)

... Carpenter -- "Halloween" (1978), "The Thing" (1982), "Escape from L.A." (1996) -- declined to helm the 1986 military pilot movie "Top Gun."

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Question 21 of 21

Who has received the most Academy Award nominations for best director?

Billy Wilder
George Cukor
John Huston
William Wyler

... William Wyler was nominated for an Oscar 12 times, for such movies as "Wuthering Heights" (1939), "Roman Holiday" (1953) and "Friendly Persuasion" (1956). In 1960 he won the Oscar for "Ben-Hur" (1959).

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