2012 Oscar Trivia quiz

[rockgolf]

I've taken a couple of questions from the recent Oscar Trivia thread, combined them with other sources and added several questions of my own to come up with a Sporcle quiz on 2012 Oscar Trivia.

I'm hoping several of you will give it a try and report on any inaccuracies or problems. Or can anyone suggest additional questions?

[porpoise spit]

Nice work, as always. Some questions to add:

*If The Artist wins Best Picture, it will be the first predominantly black and white film to win Best Picture since which film? Hint: It was in the last 20 years. Answer: Schindler's List

*Kristen Wiig is the 8th SNL alum to be nominated for an Oscar, but only the second woman. Who was the first? Hint: She's been nominated twice. Answer: Joan Cusack

*Both Max von Sydow and Christopher Plummer are nominated for Best Supporting Actor. They are also both 82 and 2 of the 3 oldest Best Supporting Actor nominees ever. Who else was 82 when he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor? Hint: He's still alive. Answer: Hal Holbrook

*This year there are only 2 nominees for Best Original Song. When was the last time any category had only 2 nominees? (I don't know the answer to this one.)

By the way, I have an Oscars Prediction Game going on. It's open to anyone and everyone. Just fill out all 3 parts before this Sunday at 8:30 PM. Free to play, bragging rights up for grabs.
Part 1: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZCPY3BY
Part 2: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZJ9JNBN
Part 3: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZJD9KZX

[Joshua Kreitzer]

*This year there are only 2 nominees for Best Original Song. When was the last time any category had only 2 nominees? (I don't know the answer to this one.)

That seems to be awards year 2002, for Best Makeup. Frida beat The Time Machine.

[braggtastic]

That Oscar prediction game is more challenging than I thought it would be. It really made me consider how strongly I believed in my choices.

[marpocky]

War Horse accomplished something that was last done 9 years ago. I haven't looked back further than that to see how common it is, but I would guess it's relatively rare. Ideas?

ETA: It is only the 4th movie of the last 40 years to accomplish this. So this seems to be pretty rare, at least lately.
ETA2: Another 5 movies did in the 10 years before that, including 3 in the same year!

[porpoise spit]

Thanks for playing, braggtastic! Yes, I designed it to go one step beyond the usual prediction game. There have been years where the winner went all in on all categories, and other years where distributing points was the key to victory.

[rockgolf]

@Marpocky: Re: War Horse

Win a Tony for Best Play? I suspect not, since, ironically, Doubt was nominated somewhat more recently.

[marpocky]

@Marpocky: Re: War Horse

Win a Tony for Best Play? I suspect not, since, ironically, Doubt was nominated somewhat more recently.

Nope, it's nothing like that. It directly involves the Oscars. In continuing my research though, I found it was quite common in the early years. On top of the 9 from the last 50 years, there were another 8 from the previous 10, and 6 more from the 5 years before that. I quit counting at that point.

[porpoise spit]

Don't know the answer to Marpocky's War Horse question, but here are two more:

*Before War Horse, what was the most recent Best Picture nominee to have a mammal in its title? I'm not counting Slumdog Millionaire because the word is "Slumdog," not "dog," and I'm not counting Seabiscuit because that's the name of a specific mammal. Hint: The title also features the name of a mythical animal. Answer: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

*John Williams is nominated this year for Best Score for both War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin. In fact, Williams has accomplished this feat an incredible 9 times in the past 40 years. Only one other composer has accomplished this in the same time period. Who is it? Hint: They were posthumous nominations. Answer: Bernard Herrmann.

[gwynn1984]

marpocky - does it have something to do with being nominated for Best Picture, but...








not Best Director or Screenplay?

I think it has to be a little more than that, though. Something to do with Acting nominations?

[marpocky]

marpocky - does it have something to do with being nominated for Best Picture, but...

not Best Director or Screenplay?

I think it has to be a little more than that, though. Something to do with Acting nominations?

Yes, that's it. Nominated for Best Picture, but none of the other major categories (Director, Acting, or Screenplay).

Last 3 were The Two Towers in 2003, Beauty and the Beast in 1992, and Jaws in 1976.

[carlopanno]

marpocky - does it have something to do with being nominated for Best Picture, but...

not Best Director or Screenplay?

I think it has to be a little more than that, though. Something to do with Acting nominations?

Yes, that's it. Nominated for Best Picture, but none of the other major categories (Director, Acting, or Screenplay).

Last 3 were The Two Towers in 2003, Beauty and the Beast in 1992, and Jaws in 1976.

Don't go there. The official line of the Academy is that there are no "major" Oscars, they are all of equal importance.

And as the grandchild of an Oscar winner -- for black-and-white cinematography -- who has been around the golden statue all his life, I tend to agree that an Oscar for sound mixing or makeup is just as big an accolade as one for directing.

--c

[marpocky]

marpocky - does it have something to do with being nominated for Best Picture, but...

not Best Director or Screenplay?

I think it has to be a little more than that, though. Something to do with Acting nominations?

Yes, that's it. Nominated for Best Picture, but none of the other major categories (Director, Acting, or Screenplay).

Last 3 were The Two Towers in 2003, Beauty and the Beast in 1992, and Jaws in 1976.

Don't go there. The official line of the Academy is that there are no "major" Oscars, they are all of equal importance.

And as the grandchild of an Oscar winner -- for black-and-white cinematography -- who has been around the golden statue all his life, I tend to agree that an Oscar for sound mixing or makeup is just as big an accolade as one for directing.

--c

I meant no offense. Perhaps I should say "non-technical" categories?

[carlopanno]

I meant no offense. Perhaps I should say "non-technical" categories?

No offense taken, it happens all the time. I have worked in the background of TV shows and am aware of the importance of every part of the production process, and the low importance given by most people to the "technical" departments that make the show(s) work.

I was just waving the flag a little for the forgotten.

--c

[braggtastic]

Thanks for playing, braggtastic!

You're welcome, but how do I find out how I did? It turns out I did extremely well in a straight pick 'em, but I think I probably spread my points out too often to win this contest.

[porpoise spit]

You finished 12th out of 36. I'll send a more detailed email tonight to everyone. Thanks for playing!