Q 01/05

Who directed the 1996 film Twister?

A) Jan de Bont

B) Roland Emmerich

C) Wolfgang Petersen

D) Michael Bay

Answer · why

A) Jan de Bont

It was only his second film as director; he had spent decades as a cinematographer on movies like Die Hard and Basic Instinct.

Q 02/05

Which best-selling novelist co-wrote the Twister screenplay with his wife, Anne-Marie Martin?

A) Tom Clancy

B) Michael Crichton

C) Stephen King

D) John Grisham

Answer · why

B) Michael Crichton

The couple were paid $2.5 million for the script, which they began writing in January 1994.

Q 03/05

Who plays Jo Harding, the tornado-obsessed meteorologist leading the storm-chasing team?

A) Sandra Bullock

B) Julianne Moore

C) Helen Hunt

D) Rene Russo

Answer · why

C) Helen Hunt

She was the director's first choice, and the studio only relented after he insisted she could handle the physical demands of the role.

Q 04/05

Who plays Jo's estranged husband, an ex-storm chaser turned television weatherman?

A) Kurt Russell

B) Dennis Quaid

C) Kevin Costner

D) Bill Paxton

Answer · why

D) Bill Paxton

He came to the part after another actor read for it, passed, and recommended him from the set of Apollo 13.

Q 05/05

Which future Best Actor Oscar winner plays Dusty Davis, the team's loudest chaser?

A) Philip Seymour Hoffman

B) Paul Giamatti

C) John C. Reilly

D) Steve Buscemi

Answer · why

A) Philip Seymour Hoffman

Nine years later he won the Academy Award for playing Truman Capote.