20 Questions - Game 207

[kingofthepirates]

There’s so many obvious picks that get ruled out so quick…

[cdngooner]

You still have one question left. I advised earlier to focus on the author of the book. Follow the clues and the answer is very gettable (at least I think so).

1,2,7. Fictional human male.
3,4,5,6,9,11,13. First introduced in novel/book, published sometime 1970-1993. The book was not a graphic novel, fantasy, horror, or science fiction; has not been banned in America; and did not win a Pulitzer.
8. Has "E" in their full first name.
10. Main character.
12,14,16,17,18,19. Character has since been adapted for TV or movie; at least one of which was nominated for Oscar (1990-2005); although such Oscar(s) was/were not for the actor playing the character. May also have been nominated for an Emmy; this has not been excluded yet.
15. Character was not in a war, or time of war.

Not: Gordie Lachance (Wattsthematter).
Andy Dufresne (Aristocrat).
Gilbert Grape (Hominidae).

[cdngooner]

After you ask the 20th question, I'll restate all the clues that I think should lead you there.

[Spartaculous]

I am not asking Q20 in this post. This post is intended for the other guessers.

You still have one question left. I advised earlier to focus on the author of the book. Follow the clues and the answer is very gettable (at least I think so).

That may have been advisable earlier, but I don't think we can make much progress here with only one question left. As in, the questions that I would ask about the author deal with the gender of the author or the nationality of the author, and if we just learn that the author is male or American, I don't really think that gets us significantly closer.

Unless I'm living in a different world from you all, I don't think this character is as obscure as you think. I would bet 33-66% of you have seen this movie. And you've likely heard of the author who wrote the book, and the actor who played him in the movie.

So this hint suggests a different approach. This movie (note the QM's use of "this movie": I do not think we are necessarily looking for a series of movies or anything like that) likely would have been a top-grossing one. We could go to something like https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1996/ and just look at the top dozen films or so to see if any of them work (comparing them with the list at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/67th_Academy_Awards).

I am still not ready to ask Q20, but if I were to do so, I think it should be one to narrow the year of the movie: something like "Did this character appear in a movie that won an Oscar between 1990 and 1997?" This does run the risk of having the character be a side character if this is some kind of sequel to a previous work, so the question could be phrased something like "Is this character a main character in a movie that won an Oscar between 1990 and 1997?" You could also replace "won an Oscar" with something like "was one of the 15 highest-grossing movies of the year".

(Main character could be defined as one of the first three characters in the Wikipedia cast summary: for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest_Gump, this would be Forrest [ineligible because Hanks won an Oscar for the role!], Jenny, and Lieutenant Dan.)

[cdngooner]

This game is slowing down considerably. Are you all stumped and have no further questions or guesses? The last question was Hominidae's at 23:52 GMT last night. I propose we put a deadline on the game to keep it moving. I'm thinking 36 hours after Hominidae's last question). Comments?

[Aristocrat]

I have some guesses, but didn't want to use up the 20th Q and prevent everyone else from getting their free ones in.

I do think people should start sending in their free guesses though.

[cdngooner]

Its been 17 hours, I don't think its you who's stopping the free guesses. I just don't want the game to drag to the point its no fun anymore.

[damo666]

Working on it.

[damo666]

I'm gonna gamble with the 20th question.

Was there a film with this character nominated for an Oscar in the 1990s (1990-1999) in one or more of the following categories:

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Adapted Screenplay?

[cdngooner]

Was there a film with this character nominated for an Oscar in the 1990s (1990-1999) in one or more of the following categories:
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Adapted Screenplay?

Sorry, no.

That is 20 questions. You (including those who have guessed already) now have 5 guesses left.

Here are the known facts:
1,2,7. Fictional human male.
3,4,5,6,9,11,13. First introduced in novel/book, published sometime 1970-1993. The book was not a graphic novel, fantasy, horror, or science fiction; has not been banned in America; and did not win a Pulitzer.
8. Has "E" in their full first name.
10. Main character.
12,14,16,17,18,19,20. Character has since been adapted for TV or movie; at least one of which was nominated for Oscar. Here is what we know about the Oscar: (a) 1990-2005; (b) nomination(s) was/were not for the actor playing the character; (c) nomination(s) was/were not for Best Picture, Best Director, or Best Adapted Screenplay in the period 1990-1999; (d) nomination may be in those categories 2000-2005, or may be in other category(ies) 1990-2005. May also have been nominated for an Emmy; this has not been excluded.
15. Character was not in a war, or time of war.

Here are the hints:
A. I believe 33-66% of you have seen this movie.
B. Its likely you have heard of the author who wrote the book (additional hint: he's more famous than Peter Hedges who wrote What's Eating Gilbert Grape).
C. Its likely you have heard of at least one actor who has played the role (additional hint: he's more famous than Wil Wheaton who played Gordie Lachance).
D. Character has his own Wikipedia page.

Here's who it is not. I'll give you warmers and colders, but you don't know what criteria I'm using for those:
Gordie Lachance (Wattsthematter).
Andy Dufresne (Aristocrat) - warmer.
Gilbert Grape (Hominidae) - colder.

I will continue to give warmers and colders as the last 5 guesses come in (but again, you won't know the criteria, and the criteria may be different for each guess).

[Hominidae]

My first thought was that this actually is a Stephen King character, but I looked through https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adaptations_of_works_by_Stephen_King and couldn't find anything that fits.

[Wattsthematter]

My first thought was that this actually is a Stephen King character, but I looked through https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adaptations_of_works_by_Stephen_King and couldn't find anything that fits.

It is kind of funny that two of our guesses are Stephen King Characters

[cdngooner]

Hominidae and Wattsthematter, you guys can still contribute to the 5 guesses. Your previous guesses don't count against you.

[Hominidae]

Hominidae and Wattsthematter, you guys can still contribute to the 5 guesses. Your previous guesses don't count against you.

I know. I've been trying to work my way through the Oscar nominations but I have not found anyone yet.

[Hominidae]

Mitch McDeere

[Aristocrat]

Mitch McDeere

I was about to guess this! Have to think the percentage of people who have seen The Firm is pretty low, though every other clue fits (including the wiki page, author/actor notoriety, and the “warmer” for Andy Dufresne)

[Hominidae]

Mitch McDeere

I was about to guess this! Have to think the percentage of people who have seen The Firm is pretty low, though every other clue fits (including the wiki page, author/actor notoriety, and the “warmer” for Andy Dufresne)

Yeah, I haven't seen it, and I don't feel like I've heard of it, but the title is pretty generic and I tend to be oblivious to famous movies more than the average person.

[Wattsthematter]

Mitch McDeere

I was about to guess this! Have to think the percentage of people who have seen The Firm is pretty low, though every other clue fits (including the wiki page, author/actor notoriety, and the “warmer” for Andy Dufresne)

Yeah, I haven't seen it, and I don't feel like I've heard of it, but the title is pretty generic and I tend to be oblivious to famous movies more than the average person.

I certainly wouldn’t say up to 66% of this forum has seen it. Good movie though, and an even better soundtrack

[cdngooner]

Mitch McDeere

Yes, of course it was Mitch(ell) McDeere. Written by John Grisham in The Firm in 1991, and later in its sequel, The Exchange (2023). Played by Tom Cruise in the 1993 movie (for which Holly Hunter and the score were nominated for Oscars), it was the #1 movie for 3 weeks and earned $270 million. Also played by Josh Lucas in the 2012 TV series. I was surprised it took as long as it did. As someone pointed out earlier, there are few fictional characters with their own Wiki page. Would you have gotten it if it were not for the clues?

Congratulations, Hominidae! Over to you.

[Hominidae]

Mitch McDeere

Yes, of course it was Mitch(ell) McDeere. Written by John Grisham in The Firm in 1991, and later in its sequel, The Exchange (2023). Played by Tom Cruise in the 1993 movie (for which Holly Hunter and the score were nominated for Oscars), it was the #1 movie for 3 weeks and earned $270 million. Also played by Josh Lucas in the 2012 TV series. I was surprised it took as long as it did. As someone pointed out earlier, there are few fictional characters with their own Wiki page. Would you have gotten it if it were not for the clues?

Congratulations, Hominidae! Over to you.

Great!

I think we could have gotten there eventually without the clues, but we may have ended up using all of our guesses on wrong answers.

Next thread will be up soon.