What’s the name of that famous courtroom drama where a juror tries to change hearts and minds about the guilt of a young man on trial? 12 Angry Men? Naw, I’m pretty sure I’m thinking of Jury Duty starring Pauly Shore. Let’s go!
Pop Quiz Hot Shot!
1) The film is quite explicitly based on the same source material as 12 Angry Men. The 1957 version was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Who directed the film?
2) At least one more film question is warranted because Pauly Shore actually explicitly watches a bunch of them in order to prep himself on how to extend the trial. One of them, amusingly, is 12 Angry Men. But there are several others, including what 1959 classic starring Jimmy Stewart and directed by Otto Preminger?
3) As seen in this film, the U.S. jury system is based on the English model. Often in this system there is the concept of removing potential jurors without a specific reason, usually limited to a specific number for both defense and prosecution. What is this type of challenge called?
4) The film won a Golden Raspberry for worst actor. It was also nominated for the Most Painfully Unfunny Comedy, but lost to Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls at what competing award body which ended in 2006?
5) Well Peanut looooooved Jeopardy! So do I. We all know the main two hosts of modern Jeopardy! in Alex Trebek and Ken Jennings. But who was the original host from 1964 until is went off the air for five years in 1979?
Bonus NYTimes Listing Question: Jury Duty played primetime on Showtime on May 17, 1996, up against this BMT classic on TNT. What is it?
Answers
1) That would be Sydney Lumet. That was actually his debut film! Which is nuts. His career is pretty crazy in the mid-70s though. Serpico, Murder on the Orient Express, Dog Day Afternoon, and Network were in back-to-back-to-back-to-back years. What?!
2) That would be Anatomy of a Murder. Lee Remick is a frickin’ knockout in this film. And there is a disturbingly young George C. Scott as well. It feels like George C. Scott should always be old … and always have an eyepatch on … and be confusingly white but have a Native American name. Fine, I think George C. Scott should always be playing John Rainbird in Firestarter, yes, even in Hardcore.
3) Peremptory. You can also see it in the classic Runaway Jury where John Cusack tricks the defense in a case into keeping him on a jury partially by (I’m not joking) suggesting he cannot serve because he has to enter a Madden video game championship with a $100,000 grand prize. Yup.
4) You know that is the Stinkers bad movie awards. The Stinkers biggest crime, in my opinion, is they had too many awards and went too fine grained. They only gave out awards for Worst On-Screen Hairstyle in 1981, 1996, 1998-2001, and 2006. Just stick to a handful, it is easier.
5) Art Fleming. He was invited by Merv Griffin to audition for the show after he saw Fleming in a TWA ad. Fleming hated the revival calling it too easy and also suggesting people in California were stupid … television feuds were just the best back in the day.
Bonus NYTimes Listing Answer: You better belieb we are talking about Van Damme playing twins in Double Impact. If you haven’t seen it, well … it isn’t the funniest Van Damme I’ve ever seen (that’s The Quest), but by god it’s got gumption.
Watch The Quest.
Bad Movie Twins 