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About This Quiz
A boat stuck high in a tree. A fugitive on the run. Bounty hunters. What more could two 14-year-old boys looking for adventure want? Recall how you wanted Mud to get out alive, with his girl, in this bold and daring trivia quiz.
What is the name of the boy who lives in a houseboat on the Arkansas River?
A. Ellis
Ellis helps his Dad sell fish in the small town of De Witt, Arkansas. Ellis is portrayed by Tye Sheridan, who made his film debut in The Tree of Life. He also co-starred in Joe, The Stanford Prison Experiment, and X-Men: Apocalypse. He will portray the lead character in Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, which is scheduled for a March 30, 2018, release.
B. Neckbone
C. David
D. Tom
What is the name of Ellis’ friend?
John
Neckbone
The name of Ellis’ friend is Neckbone. He lives with his uncle in a motor home. Neckbone is played by Jacob Lofland, whose film debut was in Mud. The director wanted to find a young actor locally for the part and had casting notices placed in regional newspapers. Lofland's mother saw a notice and recognized that her son matched Neck's personality description. Plus, he had boating and cycling experience.
David
Tom
What celebrity portrays Mud?
Bradley Cooper
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey plays the title role in the film, Mud. He is a fugitive. McConaughey is probably best known for starring in romantic comedies, including The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Failure to Launch. He has also starred in dramatic roles, including The Lincoln Lawyer, Magic Mike, The Wolf of Wall Street, Dallas Buyers Club, Interstellar, and Free State of Jones.
Robert Redford
Eddie Redmayne
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What do Ellis and Neckbone find high up in a tree?
A. A cool tree house
B. A Confederate soldiers’ hat and rifle
C. A boat
Ellis and Neckbone find a boat, with no motor, high up in a tree. Ellis’ father told him it got there when there were huge floods, before his time. The boys claim the boat for themselves. Did you know that The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States? 27,000 square miles were inundated, up to a depth of 30 feet.
D. A bicycle
Why does Ellis think that someone is occupying the boat?
A. Ellis sees a man’s shoes and jeans inside it
B. Ellis notices some improvements were made since the last time he was there
C. Ellis sees some freshly bought bread and canned goods
Ellis spots some freshly bought bread and canned goods in the boat and tells Neckbone they ought to get out of there. Did you know that approximately half the film crew were Arkansas residents? In addition, the production hired over 400 locals as extras.
D. None of the above
What happens when they meet Mud?
A. They tell Mud that they claim the boat
B. Mud tells the boys that he’s living there, and possession is nine tenths of the law
C. Mud tells the boys that he grew up nearby
D. All of the above
They meet Mud, who claims the boat and who says he grew up nearby. When the two boys meet Mud, Neckbone is wearing a shirt with the word "fugazi" on it. In the Wolf of Wall Street, another film starring Matthew McConaughey, there is a scene where his character tries to explain what a Fugazi is to Leonardo DiCaprio."Fugayzi, Fugahzi, it's a wahzi, it's a woozie, it's a (whistles) fairy dust. The shirt is a band t-shirt. Fu-gah-zee is Italian for fake."
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What does Mud ask of the two boys?
A. He needs food and promises to give them the boat in exchange
He tells the boys that he needs food and promises to give them the boat if they help him while he stays on the island. Ellis agrees, but Neckbone thinks Ellis is crazy. But Neckbone will cooperate because Ellis is his friend. Here is an example of this from the script: Ellis: "He's not dangerous." Neckbone: [sighs] "Sounds like a sh**load of state troopers thinks differently."
B. He needs to get off the island
C. He needs them to stay on the island as his hostages
D. None of the above
Who is Mud talking about? Mud: “She is like a dream you don't want to wake up from.â€
Juliet
Juniper
Juniper is Mud’s girlfriend and he would do anything for her. He has loved her all his life. Did you know that Juniper berries are a spice used in a wide variety of culinary dishes, and they are also the primary flavoring in gin? It is also responsible for gin's name, which is a shortening of the Dutch word for juniper, "genever."
May Pearl
Mary Lee
What is Mud doing on the island?
He is waiting for Juniper
The boys return with food and ask Mud why he is hiding out. He says he is waiting for his old girlfriend, Juniper. Juniper is portrayed by Reese Witherspoon, the award-winning actress. Her screen debut was in The Man in the Moon, for which she was nominated for a Young Artist Award.
He needs a boat; he is a fugitive
He needs some time to think, and this island is one of his favorite places
None of the above
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What kind of tattoo does Juniper have?
Intertwining snakes on her ankle
Bird tattoos on her hands
Mud describes Juniper as beautiful, with blonde hair and long legs, sporting bird tattoos on her hands. The boys later spot her grocery shopping in town. The film cast includes two Oscar winners: Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon.
Butterfly tattoos on her hands
A four-leaf clover on her ankle
What kind of tattoo does Mud have?
A bird tattoo on his hand, exactly like Juniper’s
A cottonmouth snake around his arm
Mud has a snake tattoo that winds around his arm, serving as a reminder of his near-fatal snake bite. He was bitten by a cottonmouth, similar to those that slither through swamps on the island. There is a pit at the edge of the woods that contains dozens of these venomous vipers.
A boat anchor on his upper arm
A broken heart on his chest
Who does Ellis fall in love with?
Juliet
Juniper
May Pearl
Ellis sees a boy pushing a girl, May Pearl. Ellis has a crush on her so he comes to her rescue, punching the boy in the jaw. May Pearl tells Ellis to call her if he can find her phone number. According to the writer and director, Jeff Nichols, he sought to reflect the theme of love: "I wanted to capture a point in my life in high school when I had crushes on girls and it totally broke my heart and it was devastating. I wanted to try and bottle that excitement and that pain and that intensity of being in love and being a teenager."
Mary Lee
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Whose parents are heading for a divorce?
Ellis’ parents
Ellis learns from his father that his parents are heading for a divorce. Ellis’s father is portrayed by Ray McKinnon, an actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer. Besides his performance in Mud, he is known for The Blind Side and O Brother, Where Art Thou? He also stars as Reverend Smith in the HBO series, Deadwood, and as Lincoln Potter in Sons of Anarchy.
Neckbone’s parents
May Pearl’s parents
Mud’s parents
Why is Ellis’ mother unhappy?
A. She doesn’t want to live in a river houseboat anymore
B. She wants to live in town
C. She needs a change and deserves one
D. All of the above
The house on the river has been in his mother’s family for years, but Mary Lee wants and needs a change. Ellis doesn’t want to be a townie. Mary Lee is portrayed by Sarah Paulson. Paulson has won awards for her performances in American Horror Story and American Crime Story.
Why will Ellis’ childhood home be destroyed?
A. If his parents get a divorce, they can’t pay for two homes
B. Once it is no longer used as a residence by the owner, the houseboat will be removed
The divorce threatens to destroy Ellis' life and home - their houseboat. Once it is no longer used as a residence by the owner, it will be removed. Did you know at the time of shooting, this film was the largest production ever to be filmed in Arkansas? The director really wanted to get across the feel of the area. He shot in Southeast Arkansas included Dumas, De Witt, Lake Village, Crocketts Bluff, and Stuttgart.
C. The government is widening the river and the houseboat must go
D. None of the above
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Why did Mud kill a man?
A. Self-defense - he tried to kill Mud first
B. It was a car accident and he is so sorry
C. The man was physically abusing Juniper, causing her to miscarry
Ellis and his mother are stopped at a police roadblock. Ellis learns that Mud is a fugitive. Ellis and Neckbone rush back to Mud and ask why the police are hunting him. Mud explains that he killed a man who had gotten Juniper pregnant and pushed her down a flight of stairs, causing her to lose the child.
D. None of the above
Now that Mud needs the boat to escape authorities, what do the boys want for helping Mud?
A. His yellow shirt
B. His gun
Mud bargains for the kids’ help by promising to give them his gun, which he does at the end of the film when the boat floats. But he doesn’t give them the magazine, so they can’t shoot the Colt .45 semi-automatic pistol. The Mississippi Island where Mud is hiding is located outside the city of Eudora.
C. To be taught how to fight
D. The boat, when he’s done using it
Who lives across the river from Ellis?
A. Sheriff Tate
B. Tom Blankenship
Mud sends Ellis to Tom Blankenship, an older father figure from his childhood, for help. Tom lives across the river from Ellis and agrees to come talk to Mud, but he is disturbed to hear that Mud is in trouble over Juniper again and refuses to help. Tom Blankenship was the name of a real person who inspired Mark Twain to create his famous character, Huckleberry Finn. No one knows the fate of the real Tom Blankenship.
C. King
D. Carver
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How do Mud and Juniper communicate?
She calls him on her cell phone
Through notes Mud gives to Ellis
Mud gives the boys a note for Juniper. They find her motel room by pretending to sell fish door-to-door in the hotel complex. They find her when she yells because she is being abused by another man - the brother of the man Mud killed. Ellis charges at the man but he punches Ellis in the face. Neckbone and Ellis tell Mud about the man.
She puts a towel on her hotel doorknob when she wants to see Mud
They meet up at a bar
Who says this? “The real reason Mud's in all the trouble he's got is because of her. He's been in love with that girl since he was your age. Trouble is she don't care about nobody but herself.â€
Tom
Tom, who has been Mud’s surrogate father, says this to Ellis. He knows Juniper and her effect on Mud. Did you know the bruises and cuts on Reese Witherspoon were real? The actress had an accident shortly before shooting began. Instead of covering them with make-up or wait until she healed more, Jeff Nichols decided to film her like that because it suited the character.
Carver
The Sheriff
None of the above
Who has come to kill Mud?
King, the father of the man he killed
Carver, the brother of the man he killed
Bounty hunters
All of the above
King, the father of the man Mud murdered, and his surviving son, along with a handful of bounty hunters, have come to kill Mud. They stake out Juniper's motel and have paid off the local and state police. King is played by Joe Don Baker, who starred in Guns of the Magnificent Seven, Wild Rovers, Charley Varrick, Walking Tall, Mitchell, Final Justice, and Fletch.
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How do the boys help Mud repair the boat?
They steal machine parts
They steal an outdoor motor
Neckbone knows how to work with engines
All of the above
Stealing machine parts and an outboard motor from junkyards, the boys help Mud repair the boat. They also try, unsuccessfully, to reunite Juniper with Mud. The movie, Mud, evokes Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with its Mississippi River setting, young male protagonists, and themes of friendship and sacrifice. The book was required reading for Sheridan and Lofland while on set.
What does Ellis give May Pearl before he asks her to be his girlfriend?
A. A bracelet made from local pearls found in the occasional oyster
Ellis meets May Pearl for a date and she gives him a kiss on the cheek when she receives the bracelet. Ellis then asks if May would like to be his girlfriend. She kisses him on the lips as an answer. Neckbone’s uncle, Galen, dives for oysters and had given a bracelet of pearls (four of them) to his girlfriend. Galen is portrayed by Michael Shannon, an actor and musician.
B. Flowers
C. A picnic on his family’s boat
D. French fries
How does Ellis get bitten by the cottonmouth?
He runs away from Mud in anger and falls into the viper pit by accident
Upon returning to the island, Ellis angrily calls Mud a liar, saying he used him and Neckbone to do what he was afraid to do, and turned them into thieves. Running away, Ellis falls into a pit containing cottonmouths and is bitten. Mud jumps in and rescues Ellis.
Ellis is swimming and a cottonmouth bites him in the leg
A cottonmouth falls from a tree branch onto Ellis and bites him
None of the above
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What made Mud saving Ellis more heroic?
A. If he got bitten while saving Ellis, Mud would have died
B. He was already mad at Ellis
C. Mud hadn’t eaten for days
D. None of the above
Mud tells the boys that the same snake antivenom cannot be used twice on the same person. Therefore, while he was saving Ellis, if he had gotten bitten, Mud would have died. While it is true that repeated use of first-generation antivenoms can cause severe allergic reactions, modern antivenoms can be used safely more than once.
Why does Mud have Neckbone shout out every 10 minutes, after Ellis is bitten?
A. To help Mud know how much time he has left to get Ellis to the hospital
B. Mud is using a black marker to track the reaction to the poison so the doctors can quickly assess the situation
C. It helps Mud keep calm
D. A & B
Having almost died himself, Mud is more educated about snake bites than many people. Ellis was bitten by a cottonmouth, a species of pit viper found in the southeastern United States. Adults are large, capable of delivering a painful and potentially fatal bite. Did you know you need to be careful when taking a dead snake with you to the hospital? Most snakes can unwittingly bite hours after dying, due to reflex (action of muscles as they die).
What does Mud say about Tom to the boys?
A. He is an assassin
B. Tom’s wife died in childbirth, along with the child
C. Tom went to Yale
D. All of the above
According to Mud, “Tom's had lives you'd never even know about. Grew up up north, went to Yale. For a long time, he was a paid assassin for the CIA. Flew to Cuba in '63. He's killed more people than y'all probably ever met.†Tom describes his line of work as a sharpshooter.
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When Mud wants to say goodbye to Ellis, how does he do it?
A. Mud swims from the island to Ellis’ houseboat
B. Mud takes the boat most of the way to Ellis’ houseboat, then goes on foot
C. Neckbone takes him to Ellis’ houseboat
Mud wants to say good-bye to Ellis, so Neckbone takes him to the houseboat where Ellis is recovering. While Mud is in Ellis' room, Carver and his posse arrive and start shooting. The posse grab Neckbone, but let him go. Tom fires his old sniper rifle, killing several attackers from across the river. Mud saves Ellis and tries to get away but he is shot as he dives into the river.
D. None of the above
When the police arrive, what do they find?
Ellis screaming into the water, frantically searching for Mud
The posse members are dead
King’s son is dead
All of the above
The police arrive and find all the posse members dead. One trooper calls King to tell him that his other son, Carver, is now dead. Carver is played by Paul Sparks, who is known for his role in the series Boardwalk Empire and for his Primetime Emmy Award-nominated role as Thomas Yates in House of Cards. He has also appeared in the films Deception, Afterschool, The Missing Person, Parkland, and Stealing Cars.
What happens with Ellis’ parents?
A. They separate
B. His mom lives in town
C. His dad gets a new job far away
D. All of the above
Ellis's parents separate. He and his mother move to an apartment in town and their houseboat is demolished, according to regulations. Ellis’ father gets a new job far away. Before he departs, he tells Ellis to take care of his mother and that he loves him.
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What happens to Mud?
He dies
He escapes
Mud never resurfaced after he was shot while diving into the water. The river was dragged, but no body was found. At the end of the film, Mud is revealed to be alive, recovering on the repaired boat driven by Tom. The film ends with them looking ahead at the mouth of the Arkansas River, entering the Mississippi River, and, south of that, the Gulf of Mexico.
He goes to prison
None of the above
What did the critics think of the film?
Mixed reviews
Favorable
Mud received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 98%, based on 171 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Bolstered by a strong performance from Matthew McConaughey in the title role, Mud offers an engaging Southern drama that manages to stay sweet and heartwarming without being sappy."
They didn’t think much of it
None of the above
What did the fans think of the film?
The critics like it more than the fans
The audience gave it an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. On a budget of $10 million, Mud earned $32.6 million in box office sales. It was not a huge financial success, even though it earned many accolades.
They loved it
They hated it
None of the above
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Which of these accolades did Mud receive?
It won the Robert Altman Award
It received the Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Director
Critics' Choice Award Nomination for Best Young Actor/Actress
All of the above
The film, Mud, received the Robert Altman Award at the 29th Independent Spirit Awards. This award goes to the film director, casting director, and ensemble cast. Also, at the same award show, Jeff Nichols was nominated for Best Director. The winner that year was Steve McQueen for 12 Years a Slave. Additionally, Tye Sheridan, who played Ellis, was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award for Best Young Actor/Actress.
What other accolades did Mud receive?
A. The Grand Prix from the Belgian Film Critics Association
B. Top Ten Independent Films of 2013 by the National Board of Review
C. Academy Award for Best Cinematography
D. A & B
The film received the Grand Prix from the Belgian Film Critics Association. Also, Mud was named one of the Top Ten Independent Films of 2013 by the National Board of Review. Although it did not receive any awards for cinematography, Nicholas said about filming in parts of Southeast Arkansas, “These places and people have such a particular accent and culture, and they're quickly getting homogenized. I wanted to capture a snapshot of a place that probably won't be there forever."
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