A quick plug to the Windows On Europe Film Festival which kicks off at the Dendy Portside this Saturday (Feb 19) and runs for a week. There are films from 14 countries and they cover a wide variety of genres. You can find out more by clicking here. Tickets are just $12.50 and I might see you at a film or two.
We’re now two weeks out from the Academy Awards and in next week’s blog, I’ll be launching my annual Oscars competition. In the meantime, I thought I might test you out with some Oscars trivia. There are 10 questions – some easy, some a little more difficult. Enjoy!
1. Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech) has been nominated for an Academy Award this year. Only two people in history have won an Oscar for best leading actor and then later gone on to win the Oscar for best supporting actor. Jack Nicholson was one of them. Who was the other?
(a) Kevin Spacey
(b) Gene Hackman
(c) Denzel Washington
(d) Jack Lemmon
2. She’s amazing in the film but it’s hard to believe Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) is just 14 years of age. She’s been nominated for best supporting actress at this year’s Oscars but she won’t be setting any records if she wins. Two actresses have taken home the statuette in this category despite being even younger! Anna Paquin (The Piano) was just 11 when she won in 1993. Who was the other?
(a) Tatum O’Neal
(b) Mary Badham
(c) Shirley Temple
(d) Jodie Foster
3. 1994 is considered by many as one of cinema’s great years. So many fantastic movies were made. All of these films were nominated for at least 7 Academy Awards but which one lost in every category?
(a) Forrest Gump
(b) Pulp Fiction
(c) Bullets Over Broadway
(d) The Shawshank Redemption
4. It doesn’t happen very often (given there are so many voting members) but there have been a handful of ties in Academy Awards history. The last was back in 1994. In which of the following categories has a tie never occurred?
(a) Best documentary feature
(b) Best documentary short subject
(c) Best actress
(d) Best cinematography
5. It’s a landmark year for Australians at the Oscars. For only the second time in history, we have three Aussies up for acting awards – Geoffrey Rush, Nicole Kidman and Jackie Weaver. That’s not bad when you consider there are only 20 acting slots to fill. On that note, which Australian actor has received the most nominations?
(a) Cate Blanchett
(b) Nicole Kidman
(c) Judy Davis
(d) Geoffrey Rush
6. The “big five” awards at the Oscars are considered to be best picture, best director, best screenplay, best actor and best actress. Only three films have managed to win them all. That total won’t change this year either as no film is nominated in all five categories. Which one of the following did not win the “big five”?
(a) One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
(b) It Happened One Night
(c) Gone With The Wind
(d) The Silence Of The Lambs
7. In terms of predicting the Oscars, there is one lead up event that stands out – the Director’s Guild Award for “Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures”. Since it was first handed out in 1949, only 6 winners have not gone on to claim the Academy Award for best director. That’s a better than 90% strike rate! Despite that amazing correlation, there have been two directors who won the Director’s Guild Award but weren’t even nominated at the Oscars. Ron Howard (Apollo 13) was one. Who was the other?
(a) Bruce Beresford
(b) Anthony Harvey
(c) Steven Spielberg
(d) Woody Allen
8. There is a separate category at the Academy Awards for best foreign language film. Each country can only nominate one film however. Which country has received the most number of wins in this category?
(a) France
(b) Spain
(c) Germany
(d) Italy
9. In 2001, one of the Academy Award winners was not at the ceremony to accept the award. In fact, he was in Australia at the time and accepted the award via satellite. Who was it?
(a) Bob Dylan
(b) Russell Crowe
(c) Benecio Del Toro
(d) Stephen Soderbergh
10. Two of my favourite categories at the Oscars are best original screenplay and best adapted screenplay. If you ask me, the script is the most important element of any movie. Who is the only person to have won an acting Oscar and a screenplay Oscar?
(a) Matt Damon
(b) Billy Bob Thornton
(c) Emma Thompson
(d) Woody Allen
Answers down below…
Answers…
1. (b) Gene Hackman won best leading actor in 1972 for The French Connection and then won best supporting actor in 1993 for Unforgiven.
2. (a) Tatum O’Neal won in 1974 for her performance in Paper Moon. She was just 10 years old.
3. (d) Many now regard it as one of the best movies of all time but The Shawshank Redemption didn’t win a single Oscar.
4. (d) We’ve never seen a tie in the best cinematography category.
5. (a) Cate Blanchett has 5 nominations – Elizabeth, The Aviator, Notes On A Scandal, I’m Not There and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Geoffrey Rush has 4, Nicole Kidman has 3 and Judy Davis has 2.
6. (c) Gone With The Wind could only manage 4 of the big 5. Clark Gable lost the best actor award to Robert Donat in Goodbye, Mr. Chips.
7. (c) Steven Spielberg won the Director’s Guild Award in 1985 for The Colour Purple. The film went on to score 11 Academy Award nominations but amazingly, Spielberg wasn’t amongst them.
8. (d) It’s a tight race but Italy has notched up 13 wins in this category. France has had more nominations but only has a total of 12 wins. Spain and Japan are next best with just 4 wins. Germany has only won 3 times.
9. (a) Bob Dylan won the Academy Award in 2001 for his song “Things Have Changed” from the great film Wonder Boys. He was on tour in Australia at the time and actually performed the song for the ceremony via satellite.
10. (c) All four of the names listed have won an Oscar for best screenplay but only Emma Thompson picked up both (adapted screenplay for Sense & Sensibility and best actress for Howard’s End).