Assassins Quiz

Assssssasssssssins. Assssasssssins. I wonder if there is a famous assssssasssssin I should learn about. Let’s go!

Pop Quiz Hot Shot!

1) Like a Rolling Stone (by The Rolling Stones) was on the soundtrack for Assassins. They had many hits over the years, but this 1968 song that hit number three on the Billboard Top 100 charts shares a name with a Whoopi Goldberg film. What is it?

2) They also play an opera from Puccini, in particular a song from Gianni Schicchi. His four most well-known operas are Tosca (1900), Madama Butterfly (1904), and Turandot (1924) and a 1986 opera that was later (roughly) adapted into a hugely successful Broadway musical. Name both.

3) Speaking of Assassins, there are many in the long history of the United States. Carl Weiss was the assassin of this Governor of Louisiana who was the templates for the character of Willie Stark in the book All the King’s Men. Name that political figure.

4) The film partially takes place in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico became U.S. territory in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. As part of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 Spain made Cuba a protectorate of the U.S., and ceded Puerto Rico and what two other territories?

5) Sylvester Stallone has been nominated for three Academy Awards in his long career (he didn’t win any of them). Name the movies and awards he was nominated for.

Bonus NYTimes Listing Question: On October 12, 1996 Assassins played Primetime on HBO and was one of the highlighted programs of the New York Times listings. It would go head to head with this film on TMC (hint: It’s a western):

What is the film?

 

Answers

1) Jumpin’ Jack Flash and a yeah yeah yeah! Also a big song in the classic (in my mind) Nintendo DS game Elite Beat Agents. I was pretty good at it back in the day. NBD.

2) That would be La bohème which was adapted into Rent. It is, I guess, all about people who don’t want to pay rent in … Czechia maybe? Naw, I’m joking, I know it is about the youth bumming around Paris … but for real it is about them really not wanting to pay rent.

3) That would be Huey Long, known as the Kingfisher. For the record the family of Carl Weiss denies he was responsible, all the way up to his son (and infant at the time) going on Unsolved Mysteries in 1993 to get to the bottom of the case.

4) That would be the Philippines which would eventually gain independence from the U.S. after World War II. And Guam which is still a part of the U.S. as a territory.

5) He was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor for Rocky, and then Best Supporting Actor for Creed. I believe he is the only actor ever to be nominated in both Lead and Supporting categories for the same role (for playing Rocky Balboa in both Rocky and Creed). If the Academy Awards had a category for Best Punch though he would have definitely won for knocking out George Washington Duke in the climax of Rocky V.

Bonus NYTimes Listing Answer: The Quick and the Dead. I’ve actually never seen it, but it was featured on Criterion a few months ago so it has to be at least kind of good, right? And yet, the New York Times thought it was a mistake. Go figure.

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