ChatGPT isn't much help, or is it?Q: Take the name JON STEWART, as in the comedian and TV host. Rearrange the letters to spell the titles of three classic movies. One of the titles is its familiar shortened form.
Edit: Spielberg directed two of the movies. He also directed A.I. Artificial Intelligence in 2001.
A: JAWS, ET and TRON
Take the last eight letters of the full title with the shortened form. You get things that you might see at a movie screening.
ReplyDeleteOh! Rearrange the letters!
DeleteYou might also see them during a film shoot.
DeleteHey Rob! You're causing a—
Delete(Oops. Can't say any more without TMI.)
While the first two titles jumped out at me, I was unfamiliar with the 3rd “classic” film I had come up with (but that’s just me; films are not my long suit). I must have stared at that 3rd title for quite a while, but then, finally, the synapses fired.
ReplyDeleteA tweak here, a tweak there…
I’m thinking of a lawyer….
Right -- as Jan said in the earlier thread, there's no question of one being less 'classic' in terms of its era, but I'd agree that, um... one of them has not withstood the test of time nearly as well as the other two.
DeleteYeah, it’s certainly had a lasting cultural impact, but has way less rewatch value than the others.
DeleteThink one of these titles was used in a recent puzzle
ReplyDeleteAll 3 films have won Academy Awards.
ReplyDeleteNot in my answer, one did not. (Not if you mean "Academy Award" as in "Oscar.")
DeleteYou are right, Pam
DeleteThanks Diz. Wolfgang - yes Oscars/Academy Awards but not necessarily for Best Picture.
DeletePam — ah, okay. I thought we might have different answers. (I was debating my own.)
DeleteArrange the first letters of the three movie titles to spell something featured in a classic 1980s movie.
ReplyDeleteIf I didn't already have the answer, this would be the Gordian Knot of clues.
DeleteHint? I've seen all three
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteEasier than it appears at first.
ReplyDeleteTwo of the three films were made by the same movie studio.
ReplyDeleteHi friends! It my puzzle you're all working on this morning! I'm so glad to get to share it with you.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteThanks Al.
DeleteCongrats, Al.
DeleteCongratulations!
DeleteYes, congratulations!
DeleteAl, it's a really nice observation about "Jon Stewart"! One of those that makes you go, "huh, I would never, ever have noticed that on my own."
DeleteCongrats on having your puzzle selected, Al. :)
DeleteGood one, Al!(Almost looks like it would be an AI- made puzzle, don't you think?)
DeletepjbOnlySawOneOfTheseFilmsAsAChild,BTW
Al, you're in Cozy Lake? That's near Augusta, right? When I lived in NJ, I used to take the family every August to the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show aka the New Jersey State Fair.
Deletesnap
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yooyjVa4CP4
DeleteFrom the Wikipedia entry on AnimaTRONics:
"Animatronics were first introduced by Disney in the 1964 film Mary Poppins which featured an animatronic bird. Since then, animatronics have been used extensively in such movies as Jaws and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial."
Below, I posted "$.03" in response to CAP's Threepenny Opera reference which Blaine removed.
I wish I could call my folks, but they live on in my heart. (Sorry, feeling sentimental today.)
ReplyDeleteUnderstood, today would have been my daughter’s birthday. Some days just bring out the emotions.
DeleteMay you be consoled by memories of times shared.
💖
DeleteScarlett, I may be seeing a hint there, however suffused with sentiment.
DeleteSuperZee, you are not alone. Not a day goes by…
They are missed for sure. My sisters, too. 💙💜
DeleteThank you all.
DeleteYou may be right Dr. K. All these replies really touched me.
DeleteI was taught, one never needs to search for enemies, enemies will find you.
DeleteBut, friends are where you find them. This blog, of people with a shared interest in puzzles, is a place where friendships begin.
Friends who celebrate each other’s successes….and share each other’s sorrows.
Let us continue to share, and grow, our friendships.
Amen to that 🙏
DeleteHear, hear.
DeleteThanks, SuperZee. It's a lovely expression for all of us at Blaine's.
DeleteCongrats to Al for creating a wonderful NPR puzzle. And Thanks to SuperZee for sharing those beautiful sentiments... and to Blaine for providing us this excellent forum!
DeleteLegoSincerely
So the deal is that we use every letter once, right? It's not like we're intended to get Star Wars outta Stewart by recycling the a and the s. If so, then I have three movies. This puzzle seems familiar.
ReplyDeleteGood one.
ReplyDeletepieces
ReplyDeleteBTW, two of these movies were great – one sucked.
On my first try, I thought I had a correct answer, but one of the films turned out to be a dud.
ReplyDeleteThis is a repeat. I remember because Will made a point to say that this was a very clever puzzle.
ReplyDeleteIt's an apt puzzle for us today. Thank goodness Jon doesn't spell his first name John.
ReplyDeleteIf I get your John drift.....ouch!
DeleteActually, you can also get three well-known movies by rearranging the letters of John Stewart. You just need a spelling variant for one of the titles. Literally.
DeleteScarlett, you got it!
DeleteLancek, no spelling variant needed for me.
I thought Scarlett was just adding an H to one of the titles to get her ouch, without worrying about whether it was a movie. My three movies would not evoke an ouch, but there's the spelling thing.
DeleteI just realized ouch can serve double duty.
DeleteAh, touché!
DeleteToo bad there is no M in the name. (That one is a classic!)
ReplyDeleteOne of the movies has been used before.
ReplyDeleteTron was in the Dr. No, Tron, Thor puzzle on December 31, 2023.
DeleteUsing letters found in Jon Stewart's real surname LEIBOWITZ, possibly repeated, make the title of another classic movie, it won an Oscar though not Best Picture.
ReplyDeleteOK, not "Z". A movie whose title contains 7 letters.
DeleteThe plot to one of the movies is based on Ibsen.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first looked at this puzzle after feeding my dogs, it was predawn and couldn't think clearly...I needed more sleep. The most important was to realize something about the number of letters available to me.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWily, Clark.
DeletePam, you are correct that all 3 films have won Oscars.
DeleteNice one CAP!
DeleteDr K and Scarlett, I feared it was TMI and it might be deleted.
DeleteThanks
Oops! Guess you were right after all.
Delete$.03
DeleteA well Scarlett, what can I say, except, Blaine I apologize!
DeleteWell, I never...
DeleteOne of these has not spawned another movie--unless you believe everything you see on the internet.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWill sure sounds good on the radio. Sounds like he may well make a full recovery from his stroke. Does anyone know if he's resumed playing table tennis daily?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's not in Latin...
ReplyDeleteToday's Connections
ReplyDeletePurple category was items from cult classic film featuring Jeff Bridges.
DeleteIs Christianity the result of Pilot error?
ReplyDelete82975
ReplyDeleteIf you anagram Elon Musk's doge you get:
ReplyDeleteDEMON EGO SULKS
TRUMP = Tremblingly Recoiling Under Musk's Power
ReplyDeleteThat is tariff-ick!
DeleteTRUMP - Tyrant Recklessly Undermining Mainstream Protocol
ReplyDeleteThe Really Ugly Mango Pouts
DeleteEgregiously Lying Oligarch Nonchalantly Making Us Serve Kremlin
ReplyDeleteDemented Overblown Natcissist Autocrat Lying Daily;
ReplyDeleteModel Enduring Life As Narcissist’s Involuntary Associate
JON STEWART → JAWS + TRON + ET.
ReplyDeleteJON STEWART >>> JAWS, E.T., TRON
ReplyDeleteIf you spell Mr. Stewart's first name as JOHN, you have JAWS, E.T. and NORTH.
Alas, I never saw TRON or NORTH. Am I seriously missing out?
That's funny, WW! I thought you were going for "thorn" as in "The Thorn", a movie I had never heard of until I was working on your comment. My other reference to ouch was when Elliot cut his finger and said ooouuch and ET said ooouuch then immediately healed his finger. Such a wonderful movie!
DeleteI did see Tron, and believe me, you did not miss out!
Scarlett, ah yes! I forgot about that. I thought you were referring to The Thorn and my touché was referring to touching a plant that makes you say ouch!
DeleteLooks like we covered all the possible bases.
DeleteSorry I'm late to the party. My three films were JAWS, THOR, and TEN. This required spelling (literally) the title of the third film, which was officially "10." I figured Scarlett and Word Woman were cluing THORN, but I couldn't find a movie of that name. I also caught all the ET references, but I was still confused.
DeleteJAWS & ET & TRON
ReplyDeleteJon Stewart --> ET, Jaws, Tron
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday I said, “pieces.” M&M’s were originally supposed to be used in ET but they couldn’t reach an agreement with the manufacturer. So at the last minute they used Reese’s Pieces instead. Sales soared. It is considered one of the most lucrative examples of product placement ever in a movie.
I also said that two of the movies were great and one kind of sucked. It’s a no-brainer for anyone who had seen all three to figure out that Jaws and ET were great. Tron could have been left on the cutting room floor.
JAWS, E.T.,TRON
ReplyDeleteAs I suspect was the case for others (especially, I would imagine, JAWS), the first two titles that jumped out at me were Jaws and E.T. But for the longest time, I stared at the remaining letters and wondered whether or not there was a film called Torn—and it turns out there is or, rather, there are (I had to look them up; as I’ve said, films are not my long suit)—but none of them seemed to me to qualify as a “classic.”
Anyway, at a certain point, the synapses finally fired—or perhaps it was dyslexia—and I had a vague sense that there might have been a film called Tron.
I looked it up, and what do you know? There it was.
An observation: “I’m thinking of a lawyer….”
—> viz., Bruce Ramer, Stephen Spielberg’s lawyer, after whom the shark in Jaws was originally named “Bruce” by members of the film crew. At first, I was thinking of posting “Bruce” as my hint but then decided it might be TMI.
My first comment in response to Cap’s Bobby Darin hint (since removed, presumably for the “shark” reference in the lyrics to “Mack the Knife”) was “Wily, Clark,” which involved a pun: the composer of “Mack the Knife” was Kurt Weill. (Of course, the correct pronunciation is “vile,”not “wile.”) My second comment—“Well, I never…”—included the slight anagram “Well, I” —> Weill.
Jon Stewart>>> Jaws, One, and TRT, (short for, The Royal Tenenbaums)
ReplyDeleteI'd started to comment that this puzzle was, “Not as difficult as it initially appears,” but thought the word initially might be TMI so I went with, “Not as difficult as it first appears.
Similarly, I found the comment, “You’re gonna need a bigger hint,” which Blaine deleted, the Quintessential example of TMI.
Looks like I have the first ALTERNATE answer...!!! Anyone else come up with something different?
Delete"Nodd ready for prime time?" Our good friend Nodd (who is a "prime-time puzzle-maker!) is definitely ready...
ReplyDeleteNeed proof? Just consider this week's edition of Puzzleria! (which we will download very soon this afternoon). Nodd's recurrent puzzle-package (titled "Nodd ready for prime time") just so happens to be this week's featured "puzzle-package-Appetizer" on Puzzleria!
The prime-time puzzles in this "six-pack" are titled:
~ Capital Ideas,
~ Sty In The Sky,
~ Car Culture?
~ Mixed-Up Performers,
~ Commoners, and Nodd's ever-popular literary-fan-favorite:
~Poetry Corner With Anna Graham
As if that weren't enough, Nodd has also contributed a half-dozen (as is his wont) riffs of Sunday's NPR puzzle penned by Al Gori.
Also on our Menus:
* a Schpuzzle of the Week titled “Celebratory subtraction adds to holiday fun,”
* a Paired Letters Hors D'Oeuvre titled "Letters morph into math,"
* a Good-Tasting Slice titled "Surname, fur and Babylon,"
* a Pride Of Lions Dessert titled “...And the last shall be first,” and
* ten riffs of this week's NPR puzzle (including the six from from Nodd).
We guarantee that those who visit this week's edition will not be "Nodding off!"
LegoInvitesAll(WhoAre"Able"AndIfThey"Cain")ToVisitOurOwn"LandOfNod(d)"WhichJustATadEastOfEden
E.T., JAWS, TRON
ReplyDelete> All 3 films were directed by people with the same first name.
Steven Spielberg and Steven Lisberger.
JAWS, E.T., TRON. My clue -- Arrange the first letters of the three movie titles to spell something featured in a classic 1980s movie. JET, Top Gun
ReplyDeleteYes, Top Gun was what I thought of first, but then it crossed my mind you possibly meant Airplane! (1980; not really "1980s," but who's gonna be that nitpicky).
DeleteHence my reply, "If I didn't already have the answer, this would be the Gordian Knot of clues," because…
In the ads, the tube of the eponymous airplane was tied up in a knot.
I wrote, “Take the last eight letters of the full title with the shortened form. You get things that you might see at a movie screening.” That’s TRAILERS.
ReplyDeleteAnd with my reply ("Hey Rob! You're causing a—"), I was getting at real stir, another anagram of those last eight letters! :)
DeleteJON STEWART, JAWS, TRON, ET.
ReplyDeleteApologies to Al, a bit of a meh to me. I didn't clue it.
My initial comment, which caused a cascade of tears for all of us involved, was "I wish I could call my folks, but they live on in my heart. (Sorry, feeling sentimental today.)" I truly was feeling sad that day and missing my parents and brother. E.T. wanted to phone home, and his heart would glow with emotions. I thought it was an appropriate metaphor.
ReplyDelete...and you were correct, Dr. K.
DeleteJaws, ET, Tron
ReplyDeleteI posted "One of these has not spawned another movie--unless you believe everything you see on the internet." As Snopes reports, a film parody website actually convinced some gullible fans last year that a sequel was in the works. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/et-movie-sequel/
ReplyDeleteI can post a comment now!
ReplyDeleteSince my screen name is one of the answers, I self-censored this week. Not sure if anything I posted would be allowed to stay up.
I did comment on last week's post that I was disappointed that Jon Stewart's name was given as part of the puzzle. That made solving the puzzle very easy. It would have been more challenging to phrase it as, "a comedian that appears regularly on television."
Jaws, E.T., Tron. My clue was one of the movies is based on Ibsen. As Dr. K Probably knows, Jaws is indirectly based on Henrik Ibsen's Enemy of the People, wherein a local resident discovers a toxic chemical in the mineral springs of a small Norwegian town. This upends the town's economy effectively making the resident an enemy of the people. This is the same as the seaside resort town in Jaws with a giant shark on the loose. I had the pleasure of first seeing this play at the Brecht Forum in the West Village. There were no sharks in the Hudson.
ReplyDeleteUsing letters found in Jon Stewart's real surname, LEIBOWITZ, make the 7-letter title of another classic movie, it won an Oscar for Best Original Song Score -- LET IT BE
ReplyDeleteHappy Pi Day to all!
ReplyDelete