2005 Mordecai Richler Memorial Trash Open
Round 8
Toss-Up Questions:
1. Mary Chapin Carpenter often does a cover of this former Grammy-winning song for Best Male Vocal during her concert encores. Its video was filmed in the St. Paul Civic Center and directed by none other than Brian de Palma. Lines such as “They say you gotta stay hungry / . . . I’m just about starving tonight,” were a reflection of the song’s subject, the difficulty of writing a hit single. It opens “I get up in the evening / And I ain’t got nothing to say” and later relates “I’m sick of sitting ‘round here trying to write this book / I need a love reaction.” FTP, name this song which exclaims “You can’t start a fire / You can’t start a fire without a spark” and whose video featured a young Courtney Cox, a hit from Born In the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen.
Answer: “Dancing in the Dark”
2. A picture of Elliot Gould can be seen in the background in several scenes in this movie. The movie’s central character plans on hitting it big with his song “The Touch,” while another character invents a TK421 modification to try and sell some music equipment. Alfred Molina has a brief role as a coke buyer, but more prominent are Becky Barnett and Buck Swope, played by Nicole Ari Parker and Don Cheadle. The central character pitches the idea of a serial story featuring Chest Rockwell and Brock Landers with John C. Reilly and himself in those roles. By the end Rollergirl is back in school and Jack Horner is once again making films with Dirk Diggler. FTP, name this Paul Thomas Anderson film, which was inspired by the life of pornstar John Holmes.
Answer: Boogie Nights
3. His first job as a head coach was at New Hampshire College, but after only a year there he moved on to coach at Wagner College. In his twelve years coaching at a Big East school, his teams had six NCAA tournament appearances, and he was named coach of the year in 1989, when his team won 31 games. After serving as head coach for the gold medal-winning U. S. team at the 1991 World University Games, he made the leap to the NBA, taking the head coaching job in Portland in 1994. More recently, he has been seen on the bench in San Antonio, though he is best remembered for his stint in Golden State. FTP, name this one-time Seton Hall head coach who was notoriously choked by Latrell Sprewell.
Answer: P. J. Carlesimo
4. On the staff is Executive Pastry Chef Frederic Robert. Hisham Jori’s Red 8, Richard Chen’s Wing Lei, and Takashi Yagahashi’s Okada are also options, though the prize of the lot is a brasserie collaboration between Phillippe Rispoli and Daniel Boulud. La Bete and Lure are the two club options, and an 18-hole Tom Fazio design is only available to guests. The majority of the site was built over the property of the old Desert Inn. FTP, name this newest and most luxurious of Las Vegas Strip casinos.
Answer: the Wynn Las Vegas
5. One of the ads he did for a car maker included a woman who was then his girlfriend and is now his wife, model Nicole Merry. That series of ads also resulted in a word being added to the OED, his trademark phrase of “va-va-voom.” His debut for his national team was delayed partly because of the early success of his boyhood friend Nicholas Anelka. His breakthrough came after he was transferred from his lone year at Juventus to a team coached by the man who first signed him at Monaco, Arsene Wenger. He is now the centerpiece of an offense that also features Freddie Ljungberg, Patrick Vieira, and Dennis Bergkamp. FTP, name this leading striker for the French national team and for Arsenal.
Answer: Thierry Henry [awn-REE]
6. Her recent projects include vocals on “What Your Soul Sings” and two other tracks on Massive Attack’s 2003 album 100th Window. She closed this year’s edition of the Jammy Awards by performing with Burning Spear, which is fitting because her latest album, a series of 12 covers entitled Throw Down Your Arms, will feature four covers of Burning Spear hits. “Mandinka” and “Troy” were two moderate hits from her debut The Lion and the Cobra, but it was with her sophomore effort and a song penned by Prince that she skyrocketed into fame. All of her five albums since I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got have failed to go platinum. FTP, name this singer of the massive hit “Nothing Compares 2 U,” an Irish performer who infamously tore up a picture of the late pontiff on Saturday Night Live.
Answer: Sinead O’Connor
7. This actress would have appeared in Schindler’s List, but she turned down the role because Spielberg wouldn’t promise that she could go to school during filming in Poland. She was the first choice for the role of Rose in Titanic, but she didn’t end up doing that either. In 1997, she did appear as Kelly in The Rainmaker and as Jenny in U Turn, the latter of which resulted in Oliver Stone writing her a recommendation for admission to Yale. More recently, she has appearaed in Igby Goes Down, The Hours, and Brokedown Palace. FTP, name this actress who starred in The Mod Squad and Terminator 3 after getting her break as Angela Chase on TV’s My So-Called Life.
Answer: Claire Danes
8. He was dropped at the same time that Peter Waller, the president of his company, was replaced by Emil Brolick. His voice was supplied by the man who plays James Garcia on Reno 911! and who also supplies the voice of Mr. Weed on Family Guy, Carlos Alazraqui. Among his more famous pronouncements were “Mmmmm … gooey” and “I gotta get a bigger box,” which he said in reference to Godzilla. Actually portrayed by a female named Gidget, FTP, name this advertising mascot who also said “Drop the chalupa” and “Yo quiero Taco Bell!”
Answer: the Taco Bell chihuahua (prompt on Gidget)
9. One of the minor characters is upset because her husband Mickey is in jail in Havana, and Fidel Castro won’t respond to her letters. Another character gives a copy of the album “Rickshaw Boy” to her lover on Christmas Eve, but gets upset after he gives her $100 in return. In fact, she gets so upset that she overdoses on sleeping pills, after which Dr. Dreyfus has to come over from next door to resuscitate her. She is angry with Mr. Sheldrake because he won’t leave his wife to marry her, but she’s not the first employee of Consolidated Risk whom he has slept with. In the end, Fred MacMurray’s character is left sitting at a Chinese restaurant when Shirley Maclaine’s character leaves him for another man. FTP, name this movie in which C. B. Baxter loans out the titular place to a number of executives, a movie directed by Billy Wilder.
Answer: The Apartment
10. In 1968 the finalists included How Now, Dow Jones and The Happy Time, both of which lost to Hallelujah, Baby!. In 1970, Coco and Purlie were finalists, but lost to Applause. Quilters and Grind lost to Big River in 1985, and the following year Tango Argentino and Big Deal were no match for The Mystery of Edwin Drood. In the 1990s, winners included Kiss of the Spider Woman, Crazy for You, Titanic, and Sunset Boulevard. FTP, name this award which has also been given to The Will Rogers Follies, The Lion King, Rent, and The Phantom of the Opera.
Answer: the Tony Award for Best Musical
11. When Billy Smith won it in 1983, he was the fourth different person from his New York team to win it in the previous four years. Glenn Hall and Roger Crozier were the first two members of losing teams to win it. Its namesake purchased the St. Pats in 1927, after which he changed their name and gave them their distinctive blue and white sweaters. It was first awarded to Jean Beliveau, the captain of the Canadiens, and has only gone to non-Canadians twice, when it was won by Brian Leetch in 1994 and Nicklas Lidstrom in 2002. FTP, name this trophy which is named for a former owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, which is presented to the MVP of the NHL playoffs.
Answer: the Conn Smythe Trophy
12. This band guested on the track “Here We Go” from Run DMC’s miserable album Crown Royal. They formed in Orange County and were forced to change their name after Milton Bradley threatened legal action over their earlier moniker of Shrinky Dinx. Their fourth and final album failed to go platinum with the poor performance of the singles “Ours” and “Answer the Phone” but still outsold their debut Lemonade and Brownies. Their third album, 14:59, did well due to the popularity of the single “Every Morning,” but it was Floored for which they became best-known. FTP, name this band behind the catchy single “Fly” which is fronted by Mark McGrath.
Answer: Sugar Ray
13. In 2003, the USA Network announced plans to produce a TV movie which would update the lives of this film’s characters. It was filmed at Skokie’s Niles East High School, and some of the students in a party scene can be seen wearing Trojans letter jackets. Jami Gertz appeared as Robin and Brian Doyle-Murray had a role as a reverend, but it is better remembered for such performances as Joan and John Cusack’s, who played a “geeky girl” and Bryce respectively. Featuring the immortal Gedde Watanabe as Long Duk Dong, this is, FTP, what 1984 film which starred Anthony Michael Hall and Molly Ringwald?
Answer: Sixteen Candles
14. This novel includes six pages of text describing how the protagonist selects fish in the market. Among the situations we see him in are a car accident followed by a confrontation with a thief and a far-from-routine squash game. The protagonist has a wife, Rosalynd, who is a lawyer for a newspaper; a son who is a blues guitarist; and a daughter, Daisy, who is a poet. It ends with a family reunion which is interrupted by a home invasion and begins with the protagonist witnessing a burning plane flying into Heathrow. FTP, identify this novel about one day in the life of neurosurgeon Henry Perowne, the latest effort from Ian McEwan which is named for a day of the week.
Answer: Saturday
15. In 2004, along with Donovan McNabb, he was the only two-time winner of the Levitra Player of the Week award. He has two cousins also in the NFL, one of whom is Samari Rolle. He is the sixth receiver from his team ever voted to the Pro Bowl, joining a list that includes Chip Myers, and the third from his team to own a conference receiving yardage title, joining Eddie Brown and Isaac Curtis. He now plays alongside a former teammate at Oregon State, T.J. Houshmandzadeh (whoosh-MAND-zah-DEY). FTP, name this player known for such antics as sending Pepto Bismol to opposing cornerbacks, the number one receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals whose other NFL cousin is a man who just wants the damn ball, Keyshawn Johnson.
Answer: Chad Johnson
16. This group’s second album features the songs “They Saw the Fat Man Coming,” which describes their reaction to mercenary lyricist Roy Freeman, and the “Black Butter” trilogy. That album, Wake Up It’s Tomorrow, was followed by 1968’s The World in a Seashell and Good Morning Starshine. After they broke up, lead guitarist Ed King joined Lynyrd Skynyrd, though it was bassist George Bunnell who wrote most of their songs. Their debut single featured teenager Greg Munford doing the vocals, which discuss “dead kings and many things I can’t define.” FTP, name this psychedelic band from Los Angeles best known for “Incense and Peppermints.”
Answer: Strawberry Alarm Clock
17. Jill Wagner, B.J. Novak, and Al Shearer all only appeared on the first season. It is executive produced and was co-created by Soleil Moon Frye’s husband Jason Goldberg, who is the best friend of the show’s star. Among its better-known regulars are Ahmed Ahmed and young kid Ryan Pinkston, who has appeared in seven different episodes, though the most successful of its regulars has been Dax Shepard. Wilmer Valderrama has been the objective three different times, the most in the show’s five seasons. FTP, name this MTV prank show hosted by Ashton Kutcher.
Answer: Punk’d
18. It may have been invented by Fred Goldsmith, who first used it in 1870. Credit for its invention, however, has gone to a star for the Baltimore Lord Baltimores and the Hartford Dark Blues, Candy Cummings, who claimed to have come up with the idea for it after tossing around clam shells on the beach. One of the greatest of the 70s and 80s belonged to a man who retired third on the all-time strikeout list, Bert Blyleven. One of the best of the 60s belonged to Sandy Koufax, who may have been helped by the high mound at Dodger Stadium. FTP, name this pitch which is thrown with extra rotation, making it slower but leading to a sometimes nasty break near the plate.
Answer: the curveball or the curve
19. She got her acting start opposite Ethan Hawke in the off-Broadway production Sophistry. Her second movie role saw her as Sean Connery’s daughter in Just Cause and she later starred with Eva Mendes in the kids’ movie My Brother the Pig. She had a bigger role as Kari Wuhrer’s daughter in Eight Legged Freaks and more recently acted opposite John Travolta in A Love Song for Bobby Long. Her big break came as a broken girl in The Horse Whisperer, which she made two years before co-starring in Ghost World. Now the face of the new Calvin Klein fragrance, FTP, name this actress praised for her starring turns in Girl With a Pearl Earring and Lost in Translation.
Answer: Scarlett Johansson
20. The speaker addresses a man named “Henry” twice, asking him not to be unkind and to get off the phone. Henry is presumably the “droogie” who is told not to “crash here” because there’s only room for one. The speaker just wants to be left alone to straighten his face, because this “mellow thighed chick just put his spine out of place.” He repeatedly warns someone not to lean on him, because “you can’t afford the ticket” now that he’s back from the titular location. It first appeared on a 1972 concept album about a Martian who comes to Earth, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. FTP, name this song which features a refrain of “hey man” and a loud exclamation of “wham bam thank you ma’am,” a David Bowie work whose title refers to a place where Susan B. Anthony could be happy.