WWTBAM Bored

Carlos Giron
Atlanta, GA
Golf Caddy

Carlos' love of movies helped him learn English, and helps him pick up women at bars by quoting movie lines. An example: "I'm just a boy, looking at a girl, asking her to fall in love with him." Usually, he gets a slap in the face, but every once in a while he'll get "a nice hug." Meredith seems to recognize this is from "Notting Hill," and says it worked on Julia Roberts. Carlos hasn't told anyone at his golf course that he's on Millionaire, since they'll stop tipping him.

Carlos has $1,000 and all of his lifelines remaining, including the ATE. Today's expert is Ben Mankierwicz, half of the team from "At the Movies." Ben mentions that he's feeling lonely without Ben Lyons, but he has his dog with him, so he thinks he'll be OK.

His category tree:

'50s Movies
West Side Story
The Godfather
Voices in My Head
Stand By Me
Jack Nicholson
Arthur
Pretty Woman
Big-Screen Ink
Netflix Clip
(Cult Classics)
('80s Flicks)
(Jack Black)
(Madonna)
(Starring Roles)

$2,000 (Netflix Clip): What popular animated film features this adorable scene between two robots? (A short, practically wordless scene of a small robot cleaning a filthy, garbage-cleaning robot who kinda looks like "Number 5" from "Short Circuit" but isn't is shown.)
A. Kung-Fu Panda B. WALL-E
C, Igor D. Flushed Away

Spoiler

B. WALL-E (22)

$4,000 (Big-Screen Ink): A tattoo with the message "Remember Sammy Jankis" figures prominently in what film?
A. U.S. Marshalls B. The Usual Suspects
C. Trainspotting D. Memento

Spoiler

D. Memento (19)

$8,000 (Pretty Woman): In the classic chick flick "Pretty Woman," the song "Oh, Pretty Woman" actually plays while Julia Roberts' character is doing what?
A. Getting dressed for the opera B. Shopping for clothes
C. Taking an etiquette lesson D. Watching a polo match

Spoiler

B. Shopping for clothes (18)

$16,000 (Arthur): In the 1981 comedy "Arthur," what does Arthur say to his butler that elicits the famously dry response "I'll alert the media"?
A. I'm going to have my tea B. I'm going to go to sleep
C. I'm going to take a bath D. I'm going to smoke a cigar

Spoiler

C. I'm going to take a bath (21)

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Carlos named his dog spike, after one of the title creatures in the movie "Gremlins." Carlos wants to use some of the money he wins to help his parents have a nice retirement.

$25,000 (Jack Nicholson): In "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Jack Nicholson and the mental patients stare at a blank TV screen and pretend to watch what?
A. The World Series B. The Ed Sullivan Show
C. American Bandstand D. The Kentucky Derby

Spoiler

A. The World Series (22)

$50,000 (Stand By Me): In the film "Stand By Me," Vern memorably claims that if he could only have one food for the rest of his life, it would be what?
A. Apple Jolly Ranchers B. Ice cream floats
C. Snow cones D. Cherry Pez

Spoiler

D. Cherry Pez (36)

$100,000 (Voices in My Head): Who is the unlikely narrator of both "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and its 2003 remake?
A. Kelsey Grammer B. John Laroquette
C. Roscoe Lee Browne D. Craig T. Nelson

Spoiler

B. John Laroquette (35)

COMMERCIAL BREAK

On the way into the break, during the patented hand-holding ceremony, Meredith mentions that Carlos is scaring her. Carlos responds, "I'm scaring myself!"

Carlos says that movies are his best friend, and the only thing he knows. He claims he's not really a smart guy, except about movies, and calls today "my parent's version of me graduating college."

$250,000 (The Godfather): In "The Godfather," Michael Corleone learns that his father has been shot after taking Kay to see what movie?
A. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn B. The Lost Weekend
C. The Bells of St. Mary's D. Spellbound

Carlos uses his first lifeline, the DD (35). His first answer is correct. He was pretty sure it was right.

Spoiler

C. The Bells of St. Mary's (35)

Meredith says he doesn't look excited, but Carlos says he's excited on the inside. He compares it to being at Coney Island, getting a big hot dog and riding the crustiest ride and not knowing if you're going to live or die.

$500,000 (West Side Story): In the 1961 movie "West Side Story," the Jets battle the Sharks after triumphing over what other gangs?
A. The Raiders & The Hellcats B. The Spades & The Doll Babies
C. The Emeralds & The Hawks D. The Harpies & THe Vice Lords

Carlos chooses to ATE (34).

ATE discussion

Ben says it's a movie he's "vaguely familiar with." He asks Carlos what his thoughts are, to which Carlos says, "being the movie it is, I really wanna eliminate B and D. I'm thinking that it's A or C." Ben says he tends to agree with him, and his initial thought was C, but he's not....sure. (Ben had mixed up the gang names, saying he liked C., The Emeralds and The Hellcats, so Meredith asks for clarification, and he corrects himself to say C. The Emeralds and The Hawks. He says he doesn't feel overwhelmingly great, but he's comfortable with it.

Before the clock starts (and while Ben is still "on the air," Carlos says he likes that one too, but wants to PAF. Ben seems to agree with his strategy. After they start the clock, he says it again (32). Standing by are his friend Beth (The Villages, FL) and his buddy Corey (Tallahassee, FL). Carlos elects to call Beth.

PAF discussion

Beth is very happy to hear that Carlos is going for a half a million. The time starts, and Carlos reads the question, finishing the answers with 18 seconds left. Beth asks "What was the last one?" with 10 seconds left, and says, with 5 seconds on the clock that the "Vice Lords sounds familiar, so that would be my guess."

Carlos says that "for giggles, I'm gonna have to poll the audience" (29).

ATA results

A. The Raiders & The Hellcats - 10%
B. The Spades & The Doll Babies - 14%
C. The Emeralds & The Hawks - 44%
D. The Harpies & THe Vice Lords - 32%

Meredith reminds Carlos that the audience has heard everyone, so they may not be objective. Carlos says he really wants to say

Spoiler

C

, but he decides in the end to walk with $250,000.

Spoiler

C. The Emeralds & The Hawks (3)

$2,000 (Netflix Clip): Easy for an animation fan like myself.
$4,000 (Big-Screen Ink): I'm a huge fan of this movie.
$8,000 (Pretty Woman): I wasn't sure if it was what it was, or while she was in the bathtub. It's been forever since I watched it, and I never really thought it was that good anyway. But since the bathing scene wasn't a distractor, I'd have gotten this.
$16,000 (Arthur): One of my favorite lines from "Arthur" (right along with "Take my hand, Arthur." "That would leave you with one!"
$25,000 (Jack Nicholson): Classic scene in a classic movie.
$50,000 (Stand By Me): Jerry O'Connell as the fat kid. Having just watched this (I finally finished the "S" movies in my collection, and "There's Something About Mary" is next up), I got it.
$100,000 (Voices in My Head): I'd have PAFfed here, and called someone with IMDb open. I'm sure it'd be easy to look up. (I just checked....it took me about 10 seconds to get the answer.)
$250,000 (The Godfather): My dream has always been to get a high-level question (preferably for $1MM) about "The Godfather"......Before the answers even came up, I quoted Diane Keaton:

Spoiler

Michael, would you love me if I was a nun?.....Would you love me if I was Ingrid Bergman?"

$500,000 (West Side Story): I actually had it narrowed down to

Spoiler

B and C

. I'd have DDed, and been right.

So I'm going for ONE MILLION FREAKING DOLLARS with two (well, one, because I'd never trust the audience at that level) lifelines remaining.

Carlos was an EXCELLENT contestant, and I really can't complain that he was chosen over me. Well, not loudly.

$4K: Never heard of Sammy Jankis. ATA.

$25K: I saw this movie for the first time a few months ago, but I couldn't remember if it was the World Series or the Kentucky Derby. Double Dip on those two answers.

$50K: Haven't seen this movie in, like, 20 years. Ask Ben first, then PAF if he's unsure.

$100K: I don't like scary movies, so needless to say, I haven't seen either version of this movie. If I have the PAF left, I'll use it; otherwise, I'll quit with $50,000.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$250,000 (The Godfather): In "The Godfather," Michael Corleone learns that his father has been shot after taking Kay to see what movie?
A. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn B. The Lost Weekend
C. The Bells of St. Mary's D. Spellbound

I knew this was either B or C. Too bad that I had to spend my DD on OFOTCN; otherwise, I might've had a decent chance at matching Carlos' performance.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$500,000 (West Side Story): In the 1961 movie "West Side Story," the Jets battle the Sharks after triumphing over what other gangs?
A. The Raiders & The Hellcats B. The Spades & The Doll Babies
C. The Emeralds & The Hawks D. The Harpies & THe Vice Lords

Carlos chooses to ATE (34).

ATE discussion

Ben says it's a movie he's "vaguely familiar with." He asks Carlos what his thoughts are, to which Carlos says, "being the movie it is, I really wanna eliminate B and D. I'm thinking that it's A or C." Ben says he tends to agree with him, and his initial thought was C, but he's not....sure. (Ben had mixed up the gang names, saying he liked C., The Emeralds and The Hellcats, so Meredith asks for clarification, and he corrects himself to say C. The Emeralds and The Hawks. He says he doesn't feel overwhelmingly great, but he's comfortable with it.

Before the clock starts (and while Ben is still "on the air," Carlos says he likes that one too, but wants to PAF. Ben seems to agree with his strategy. After they start the clock, he says it again (32). Standing by are his friend Beth (The Villages, FL) and his buddy Corey (Tallahassee, FL). Carlos elects to call Beth.

PAF discussion

Beth is very happy to hear that Carlos is going for a half a million. The time starts, and Carlos reads the question, finishing the answers with 18 seconds left. Beth asks "What was the last one?" with 10 seconds left, and says, with 5 seconds on the clock that the "Vice Lords sounds familiar, so that would be my guess."

Carlos says that "for giggles, I'm gonna have to poll the audience" (29).

ATA results

A. The Raiders & The Hellcats - 10%
B. The Spades & The Doll Babies - 14%
C. The Emeralds & The Hawks - 44%
D. The Harpies & THe Vice Lords - 32%

Meredith reminds Carlos that the audience has heard everyone, so they may not be objective. Carlos says he really wants to say

Spoiler

C

, but he decides in the end to walk with $250,000.

Spoiler

C. The Emeralds & The Hawks (3)

Wow... Carlos had everything going for him. He had a decent shot at winning it all. If only he were a little more confident about Emeralds and Hawks.

I saw this movie one time, back in my 10th grade English class. We watched it after reading "Romeo and Juliet" and had to draw comparisons between the two. Despite having seen this movie, I had no freakin' clue.

I sure would like to know what that '50 Movies MDQ is.

Hell, I'd like to know what any MDQ is.

NellyLunatic1980 wrote:Too bad that I had to spend my DD on OFOTCN; otherwise, I might've had a decent chance at matching Carlos' performance.

I'd say there's a much greater chance that you would have blown all of your lifelines at $4k.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Carlos Giron
Atlanta, GA
Golf Caddy

Carlos has $1,000 and all of his lifelines remaining, including the ATE. Today's expert is Ben Mankierwicz, half of the team from "At the Movies." Ben mentions that he's feeling lonely without Ben Lyons, but he has his dog with him, so he thinks he'll be OK.

No explanation as to the other Ben's absence - maybe because they disagree on everything (or so they said yesterday) it was too distracting to have both. We'll see today.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Carlos named his dog spike, after one of the title creatures in the movie "Gremlins." Carlos wants to use some of the money he wins to help his parents have a nice retirement.

$25,000 (Jack Nicholson): In "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Jack Nicholson and the mental patients stare at a blank TV screen and pretend to watch what?
A. The World Series B. The Ed Sullivan Show
C. American Bandstand D. The Kentucky Derby

Spoiler

A. The World Series (22)

For me to get this far without needing a lifeline makes me wonder if this is too easy a stack. I have no idea on this one, so time for the first lifeline. I'll go with ATA (and from the audience reaction when Carlos answered, I think they would have known it).

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$50,000 (Stand By Me): In the film "Stand By Me," Vern memorably claims that if he could only have one food for the rest of his life, it would be what?
A. Apple Jolly Ranchers B. Ice cream floats
C. Snow cones D. Cherry Pez

Spoiler

D. Cherry Pez (36)

Time for the second lifeline - let's go with ATE and hope for the best.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$100,000 (Voices in My Head): Who is the unlikely narrator of both "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and its 2003 remake?
A. Kelsey Grammer B. John Laroquette
C. Roscoe Lee Browne D. Craig T. Nelson

Spoiler

B. John Laroquette (35)

Lifeline #3 - PAF; this should be easily Googlable.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$250,000 (The Godfather): In "The Godfather," Michael Corleone learns that his father has been shot after taking Kay to see what movie?
A. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn B. The Lost Weekend
C. The Bells of St. Mary's D. Spellbound

Carlos uses his first lifeline, the DD (35). His first answer is correct. He was pretty sure it was right.

Spoiler

C. The Bells of St. Mary's (35)

This one I know, so I still have one lifeline remaining.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:$500,000 (West Side Story): In the 1961 movie "West Side Story," the Jets battle the Sharks after triumphing over what other gangs?
A. The Raiders & The Hellcats B. The Spades & The Doll Babies
C. The Emeralds & The Hawks D. The Harpies & The Vice Lords

Carlos chooses to ATE (34).

ATE discussion

Ben says it's a movie he's "vaguely familiar with." He asks Carlos what his thoughts are, to which Carlos says, "being the movie it is, I really wanna eliminate B and D. I'm thinking that it's A or C." Ben says he tends to agree with him, and his initial thought was C, but he's not....sure. (Ben had mixed up the gang names, saying he liked C., The Emeralds and The Hellcats, so Meredith asks for clarification, and he corrects himself to say C. The Emeralds and The Hawks. He says he doesn't feel overwhelmingly great, but he's comfortable with it.

Before the clock starts (and while Ben is still "on the air," Carlos says he likes that one too, but wants to PAF. Ben seems to agree with his strategy. After they start the clock, he says it again (32). Standing by are his friend Beth (The Villages, FL) and his buddy Corey (Tallahassee, FL). Carlos elects to call Beth.

PAF discussion

Beth is very happy to hear that Carlos is going for a half a million. The time starts, and Carlos reads the question, finishing the answers with 18 seconds left. Beth asks "What was the last one?" with 10 seconds left, and says, with 5 seconds on the clock that the "Vice Lords sounds familiar, so that would be my guess."

Carlos says that "for giggles, I'm gonna have to poll the audience" (29).

ATA results

A. The Raiders & The Hellcats - 10%
B. The Spades & The Doll Babies - 14%
C. The Emeralds & The Hawks - 44%
D. The Harpies & The Vice Lords - 32%

Meredith reminds Carlos that the audience has heard everyone, so they may not be objective. Carlos says he really wants to say

Spoiler

C

, but he decides in the end to walk with $250,000.

Spoiler

C. The Emeralds & The Hawks (3)

Meredith is exactly right on this - after having so many different choices, the audience could be easily confused.

As for me, like the PAF "Vice Lords" sounded familiar. I might go with the DD, but at this level it's probably best to walk away as Carlos did.

Estonut wrote:

NellyLunatic1980 wrote:Too bad that I had to spend my DD on OFOTCN; otherwise, I might've had a decent chance at matching Carlos' performance.

I'd say there's a much greater chance that you would have blown all of your lifelines at $4k.

Not necessarily - the word "tattoo" in the clue may have been enough to get the audience to give the right answer.

earendel wrote:

Estonut wrote:

NellyLunatic1980 wrote:Too bad that I had to spend my DD on OFOTCN; otherwise, I might've had a decent chance at matching Carlos' performance.

I'd say there's a much greater chance that you would have blown all of your lifelines at $4k.

Not necessarily - the word "tattoo" in the clue may have been enough to get the audience to give the right answer.

Only that portion of the audience which saw "Memento," which I submit was a very small portion.

Estonut wrote:

earendel wrote:

Estonut wrote:I'd say there's a much greater chance that you would have blown all of your lifelines at $4k.

Not necessarily - the word "tattoo" in the clue may have been enough to get the audience to give the right answer.

Only that portion of the audience which saw "Memento," which I submit was a very small portion.

FWIW I knew the answer even though I never saw the movie - word-of-mouth about the tattoos, and the relatively low dollar amount of the question, were enough to make me confident about the answer. YMMV, of course - there's no way to know for certain the knowledge level of the audience.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote: On the way into the break, during the patented hand-holding ceremony, Meredith mentions that Carlos is scaring her. Carlos responds, "I'm scaring myself!"

...

Meredith says he doesn't look excited, but Carlos says he's excited on the inside.

Carlos did very well with a themed stack that was squarely in his wheelhouse and Meredith obviously liked him a lot, but he had one shortcoming: he wasn't visibly excitable enough for her. It's not enough to calmly and confidently deal with the task of winning $250K; Meredith kept prompting him for an emotional display.

Can't you jump out of the Hot Seat and do a little dance, Carlos, or at least break down a cry a bit?

Maybe SyndieBAM can recruit one of the APs from 5th Grader who can teach the technique their contestants use.

Here's some news coverage of Carlos' appearance.

http://wsbradio.com/localnews/2009/03/s ... illio.html

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/pri ... e0312.html

http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story ... 81&catid=3

Carlos had a great run and I was hoping he would make it all the way. If only he had played my Sploofus quiz (which was published before his taping) he wouldn't have wasted his DD when he did, he then might have had it for the

Spoiler

500K

question - since it would have given him a choice of 2.

Oh well... if you want to take the quiz which has the same question as one in his stack, just follow the link!

http://www.sploofus.com/triviaquiz/movi ... ovies.html: Take my quiz: Movies Go to the Movies

---Jay

This was just such fun to watch. I'm not even going to do the "play along"; I stink at Movie Week.

I was so hoping he wouldn't gamble at the end, & he didn't. Turns out he "should have", but I'm glad he didn't. Wish his PAF had been a Googler. Or a Better Googler. Or even another Movie Buff, unless she was, but just didn't know this one.