A Movie Scene Quiz

I did not know that about Blue Room!

I don't have a new question right now, but I'll try to post one in the morning. In the meantime, I'll vamp for time by mentioning a piece of theater casting gossip I just read: Ewan McGregor is going to play Sky Masterson in a revival of Guys and Dolls in London next spring. Does anyone know if he can sing? (I never saw Moulin Rouge). Of course, Brando couldn't sing very well, but that didn't stop him from playing Sky Masterson in the movie version.

Well Bree, you didn't know that about Blue Room, because it wasn't Blue Room.

I just watched the Rogers tape and it was "Blue Moon". Did you know about Blue Moon?

Try this one to the tune of Blue Moon (which was written for Jean Harlow for the movie Hollywood Party), which movie isn't listed for Harlow in IMDb.

Oh Lord if you ain't busy up there
I ask for help with a prayer
So please don't give me the air.

and then they changed the lyrics to be used in another movie, title of movie not mentioned, to:

Oh hear me Lord
I could be good to a lover
But then I always discover
The bad in everyman
(a singer named Shirley Ross sang that version)


and then their publisher said "the trouble with you guys is you never have a hit. You need 'spoon"' 'blue', 'moon,..." And when they changed it again, it became an enormous hit. (according to the Rogers special, the only song they didn't write with a specific show in mind.)

As for Ewan McGregor, I better let Mac or someone else answer that one for you. I saw Moulin Rouge, but as Thumper's mom said "If you can't say somethin' good, don't say nothin' at all" or something like that. But, of course, I saw it on TV, and the acoustics leave much to be desired.

I thought that Ewan (as well as Nicole) sang tolerably well in Moulin Rouge, but I have some doubts about his ability to sing onstage. Of course, everyone's miked now so he won't have to sing over the orchestra or worry about the second balcony hearing him, but still...

Any word on who else has been cast?

I haven't heard anything more about the rest of the cast for Guys and Dolls. Maybe they'll reunite the stars of Moulin Rouge, and cast Nicole Kidman to play Sister Sarah Brown.

Next up is:

Senator
Lawyer
Real-life writer (twice)
Teacher

I'll be thinking about this one at the chiro's office and check in this evening.

I am clueless. I can think of no one who played a senator and a writer twice, unless it's Nick Nolte who is slated to play Hemingway.

A clue would be most appreciated.

This is a tricky one, so I'll give you a clue and a time frame.

Clue: if you're out of ideas, try looking in a distant continent or province. And remember, in America anyone can grow up to be a senator.

Time frame: The earliest movie (and probably the most obscure one) I'm thinking of is from 1979. The most recent one is from 2004.

I can't get Malcolm McDowell out of my mind. He played H. G. Welles and O. B. Keeler and Max Perkins, but nothing else fits. Thinking about your clues, now.

It may have been misleading to say there were two "real-life writer" roles, because one of those parts was more like a fictionalized version of a real-life writer (who isn't very well-known anyway). So don't knock yourself out looking for two real-life writers, just look for one.

Since I misled you, I'll provide another clue: the movie with the "senator" role was a re-make. In the original version, the character was not a senator. The fact that this performer could plausibly play a senator in the re-make is a sign of how times have changed since the original version was made.

Nice clue! I think I have the actor, just need to find the movies.

hmmm. Thank you. I was looking for two real-life writers. I'll think about this during the next two hours while I'm grocery shopping.

Nope, I was thinking of Gene Hackman, who played a senator in The Birdcage, but your years don't work for his other films...

Well, with you two women working on this question, one of you should be able to find our candidate!

Okay, when you beat me over the head, I get it!

Meryl Streep

Senator: The Manchurian Candidate
Lawyer: The Seduction of Joe Tynan
Teacher: Dancing at Lughnasa and Music from the Heart
Real-life writers: Out of Africa, Heartburn, Adaptation, Postcards from the Edge

I decided subtlety wasn't working ("In America, anyone can grow up to be senator" and "if you're out of ideas, look in a distant continent (Africa) or province (Manchuria)"), so I had to resort to the bludgeon!

Ms. Streep is of course correct. For the real-life writers, I was thinking of Out of Africa and Adaptation (which is the one I said was more like a fictionalized version of a real-life writer) -- I forgot about Heartburn and Postcards from the Edge. And I was thinking of Music from the Heart for the teacher, having forgotten she was a teacher in Dancing at Lughnasa (strangely, because I loved both the movie and the play).

Take it, mac!

Did you see the program (AFI?) where Meryl was honored earlier this year? I remember both Carrie Fisher and Nora Ephron talking about what it was like to be portrayed by her.

Next round coming up shortly.

Secretary
Psychiatrist
Real-life actress
German spy
Queen (twice)

Whoops, make that Queen (three times)

I did see that AFI program (in fact, I have it on tape), so I should have remembered she had played Carrie Fisher and Nora Ephron -- or am I such a literary snob that I don't think of either of them as real "writers"? (Don't answer that.)

Thinking about your question...