1. Which actor was originally considered for the role of Neo/Thomas Anderson in The Matrix?

a) Brad Pitt

b) Johnny Depp

c) Will Smith

d) All of the above

3. Daniel Day-Lewis delivered one of his finest performances in There Will Be Blood. Whose real-life character partly
fuelled his depiction of Daniel Plainview?

a) Howard Hughes

b) Walt Disney

c) John D. Rockefeller

d) Orson Welles

2. In No Country for Old Men, how did the Coen Brothers treat music and sound throughout the film’s overall mood?

a) They used an original score with sparse piano themes

b) They used silence and ambient sound instead of a traditional score

c) They licensed country ballads to emphasise regional culture

d) They layered white noise beneath key scenes to heighten tension

4. What was the unusual production decision Greta Gerwig made while
shooting Little Women to add to the emotional heft
of the film?

a) Shooting all scenes in chronological order

b) Re-shooting scenes based on cast improvisation

c) Using different colour palettes for different timelines

d) Only allowing natural
lighting for all interior shots

5. Before directing Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan directed which of the following actors in The Prestige?

a) Hugh Jackman

b) Michael Caine

c) Scarlett Johansson

d) Christian Bale

e) All of the above

Answers

1. The correct answer is d.

Prior to portraying the iconic Neo/Thomas Anderson in The Matrix, Keanu Reeves was cast after multiple A-list performers rejected the role. Will Smith reportedly turned it down for Wild Wild West and later added he didn’t totally get the idea and thought that the Wachowskis were too avant-garde. Johnny Depp was said to be the first choice, yet Warner Bros. wanted someone more “bankable”. Brad Pitt was originally attached but dropped out due to exhaustion from previous roles. In the end, Reeves brought a quiet intensity and vulnerability to Neo that made the franchise what it is. 25 years on, The Matrix continues to ask tough questions—now more than ever— as one of the most thought-provoking films of all time, with its concepts of identity, and freedom in a world defined by the growth of computers, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

2. The correct answer is b.

No Country for Old Men is known for its unsettling quietness and the very absence of a conventional score. The Coen Brothers and sound designer Skip Lievsay deliberately avoided the use of background music, instead allowing diegetic sounds—wind, footsteps, gunfire—to build tension. Lievsay said about this decision, “Music would’ve been too leading,” adding that silence functioned as the score. This minimalist direction resulted in greater psychological tension and helped it earn four Academy Awards, including Best Picture for Joel and Ethan Coen and Scott Rudin, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Joel and Ethan Coen, and Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem. The film is a masterclass in sound design, according to the British Film Institute and the American Film Institute.

3. The correct answer is d.

Daniel Day-Lewis, to a significant extent, got his inspiration in the movie There Will Be Blood from Orson Welles, particularly with regard to Welles’ voice in Citizen Kane. Director Paul Thomas Anderson urged Daniel Day-Lewis to observe and study Welles’ voice so that he could create a unique cadence and tone for the character of Daniel Plainview. While the cold-blooded capitalism of Plainview recalls titans such as Rockefeller, the gravitas radiating from Day-Lewis as he impersonates Welles made Plainview perhaps one of cinema’s scariest antiheroes. Day-Lewis took several months working on his voice and physicality, allegedly maintaining a diary in character and practicing lines in solitude. The performance secured him the Best Actor Academy Award and remains one of the most nuanced studies of a character in a contemporary film.

4. The correct answer is c.

Greta Gerwig’s Little Women used colour to tell the story. The youthfulness of the sisters was painted with warm colours (gold, ochre, pastel pinks), while cool colours (blues, greys) covered the current timeline that was marked by grief and introspection. Gerwig worked closely with cinematographer Yorick Le Saux to capture time and emotional change in a visual manner. Gerwig stated in an interview, “I wanted the audience to feel the difference between memory and the present, joy and loss.” The outcome was an emotional journey that served as a kind of map for the audience to navigate the narrative paths and personal development of the characters. This pictorial direction was widely lauded by critics and got six nominations at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

5. The correct answer is e.

Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige (2006) brought together an ensemble cast that included Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johansson, and Michael Caine. According to Empire, Nolan relied much on Caine’s instincts during crucial moments and called him “a compass on set.” Michael Caine appeared frequently in Nolan’s follow-up films, including Inception, The Dark Knight trilogy, Interstellar, and Dunkirk.

The Prestige explored obsession, rivalry, and the darker side of ambition. This was a turning point for Nolan’s trademark narrative styles—non-linear storytelling, moral grey areas, and dual identity themes—that would become the hallmark of his subsequent films. The Prestige is a fan favourite among both Nolan enthusiasts and critics, widely quoted for its layered structure and twisty ending.