Problem: La Strada (lit. "The Road") is a 1954 Italian drama film directed by Federico Fellini from his own screenplay co-written with Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. The film portrays a naive young woman (Giulietta Masina) bought from her mother by a brutish strongman (Anthony Quinn) who takes her with him on the road. Fellini has called La Strada "a complete catalogue of my entire mythological world, a dangerous representation of my identity that was undertaken with no precedent whatsoever."

In later years, Fellini explained that from "a sentimental point of view," he was "most attached" to La Strada: "Above all, because I feel that it is my most representative film, the one that is the most autobiographical; for both personal and sentimental reasons, because it is the film that I had the greatest trouble in realizing and that gave me the most difficulty when it came time to find a producer." Of all the imaginary beings he had brought to the screen, Fellini felt closest to the three principals of La Strada, "especially Zampano." Anthony Quinn found working for Fellini invaluable: "He drove me mercilessly, making me do scene after scene over and over again until he got what he wanted. I learned more about film acting in three months with Fellini than I'd learned in all the movies I'd made before then." Long afterwards, in 1990, Quinn sent a note to the director and his co-star: "The two of you are the highest point in my life -- Antonio."  Critic Roger Ebert, in his book The Great Movies, has described the current critical consensus as holding that La Strada was the high point of Fellini's career and that, after this film, "his work ran wild through the jungles of Freudian, Christian, sexual and autobiographical excess". (Ebert, himself, disagrees, seeing La Strada as "part of a process of discovery that led to the masterpieces La Dolce Vita (1960), 8 1/2 (1963) and Amarcord (1974)".)  The years since its initial release have solidified the high estimation of La Strada. It holds a 97% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes from 31 reviewers who, on average, scored it 8.7 on a scale of 10. Its numerous appearances on lists of best films include the 1992 Directors' poll of the British Film Institute (4th best), the New York Times "Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made", and the "Greatest Films" list of They Shoot Pictures, Don't They (# 67) - a website that statistically calculates the most well-received movies.  In 1995, the Catholic Church's Pontifical Commission for Social Communications issued a list of 45 films representing a "...cross section of outstanding films, chosen by a committee of twelve international movie scholars." This has come to be known as the Vatican film list, and includes La Strada as one of 15 films in the sub-category labeled Art. Pope Francis, has said it is "the movie that perhaps I loved the most," because of his personal identification with its implicit reference to his namesake, Francis of Assisi.

What else did Quinn say or feel about La Strada?

Answer with quotes: I learned more about film acting in three months with Fellini than I'd learned in all the movies I'd made before then.


Problem: Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final and best-known line-up comprised Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990, comprising Knowles, Rowland, LaTavia Roberson, and LeToya Luckett among others. After years of limited success, the quartet were signed in 1997 to Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment as Destiny's Child. Destiny's Child was launched into mainstream recognition following the release of their best-selling second album, The Writing's on the Wall (1999), which contained the number-one singles "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Say My Name".

In 1990, Beyonce Knowles met rapper LaTavia Roberson while auditioning for a girl group. Based in Houston, Texas, they were joined to a group that performed rapping and dancing. Kelly Rowland, who relocated to Knowles' house because of family issues, joined them in 1992. Originally named Girl's Tyme, they were eventually cut down to six members including Tamar Davis and sisters Nikki and Nina Taylor. With Knowles and Rowland, Girl's Tyme attracted nationwide attention: west-coast R&B producer Arne Frager flew to Houston to see them. He brought them to his studio, The Plant Recording Studios, in Northern California, with focus on Knowles' vocals because Frager thought she had personality and the ability to sing. With efforts to sign Girl's Tyme to a major record deal, Frager's strategy was to debut the group in Star Search, the biggest talent show on national TV at the time. However, they lost the competition because, according to Knowles, their choice of song was wrong; they were actually rapping instead of singing.  Because of the group's defeat, Knowles' father, Mathew, voluntarily dedicated his time to manage them. Mathew Knowles decided to cut the original lineup to four, with the removal of Davis and the Taylor sisters and the inclusion of LeToya Luckett in 1993. Aside from spending time at their church in Houston, Girl's Tyme practiced in their backyards and at Headliners Salon, owned by Knowles' mother, Tina. The group would test routines in the salon, when it was on Montrose Boulevard in Houston, and sometimes would collect tips from the customers. Their try out would be critiqued by the people inside. During their school days, Girl's Tyme performed at local gigs. When summer came, Mathew Knowles established a "boot camp" to train them in dance and vocal lessons. After rigorous training, they began performing as opening acts for established R&B groups of that time such as SWV, Dru Hill and Immature. Tina Knowles designed the group's attire for their performances.  Over the course of the early years in their career, Girl's Tyme changed their name to Something Fresh, Cliche, the Dolls, and to Destiny. The group signed with Elektra Records with the name Destiny, but were dropped several months later before they could release an album. The pursuit of a record deal affected the Knowles family: in 1995, Mathew Knowles resigned from his job as a medical-equipment salesman, a move that reduced Knowles' family's income by half, and her parents briefly separated due to the pressure. In 1996, they changed their name to Destiny's Child, which was taken from a passage in the Book of Isaiah. Mathew Knowles helped in negotiating a record deal with Columbia Records, which signed the group that same year. Prior to signing with Columbia, the group had recorded several tracks in Oakland, California produced by D'wayne Wiggins of Tony! Toni! Tone!, including "Killing Time", which upon the label's recognition that Destiny's Child had a "unique quality", was included in the soundtrack to the 1997 film Men in Black.

Who were the original members of the group?

Answer with quotes:
Originally named Girl's Tyme, they were eventually cut down to six members including Tamar Davis and sisters Nikki and Nina Taylor. With Knowles and Rowland,