‘Argo,’ ‘Quill’ and ‘Nocturnal Agony’: Take our movie title quiz
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Movie names are no small business, and are often tested and changed repeatedly, but that doesn’t mean they always make sense.
Recently, the prohibition drama “The Wettest County” (based on Matt Bondurant’s book “The Wettest County in the World: A Novel Based on a True Story,” which was perhaps too long to fit on a marquee) was renamed “Lawless,” which sounds like a generic thriller. Mel Gibson’s prison drama ‘Get the Gringo’ was originally known as ‘How I Spent My Summer Vacation,’ which suggested a Sandra Bullock romantic comedy.
Some title changes work. “Pretty Woman” was once known as “3000” (Julia Roberts’ fee for an evening of prostitution) and Bullock’s “While You Were Sleeping” was originally the awful “Coma Guy.”
But any number of upcoming movies have titles that are either hopelessly generic or frustratingly inscrutable. Here’s a list of some of 2012’s most problematic movie names. See if you can guess what they are intending to describe (answers on the next page):
‘NOCTURNAL AGONY’
‘QUILL’
‘SAFE HAVEN’
‘ARGO’
RELATED:
Is the world ready for another good ‘Titanic’ cry?
Kate Winslet’s breasts censored from ‘Titanic 3D’ in China
--John Horn
ANSWERS: ‘Nocturnal Agony’: A daughter’s drug use reveals dark family secrets.
‘Quill’: A foreign-language movie about a guide dog.
‘Safe Haven’: The latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation.
‘Argo’: A drama about the Iranian hostages.
