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About This Quiz
It's Oscar time again! From the speeches and gaffes to the joker and tears, the Academy Awards are always memorable. Test your knowledge of Oscars past!
Is the award really made of gold?
Yes, the Academy Award of Merit is made from 10K gold.
No, it's gold-plated.
The award was originally gold-plated bronze. Today it's made from britannia metal and then plated in copper, silver, and finally, 24-karat gold.
No, it's actually bronze.
Yes, but it's hollow.
Now, some history. When did the first Academy Awards ceremony take place?
1915
1929
The first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Douglas Fairbanks was the host.
1960
How long was the first ceremony?
It took place over 2 days
6 hours
15 minutes
The first Academy Awards lasted 15 minutes, and 15 statuettes were given out.
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First thing's first. Why is it called an "Oscar?"
An Academy librarian thought it looked like her uncle.
All three of these stories claim to be the source of the nickname, but number one has made it onto the Academy website.
A Hollywood columnist came up with it as a shorthand term for the award.
Bette Davis thought its posterior resembled her husband's, and named it after him.
Who has hosted the Oscars more than any other entertainer?
Bob Hope
Bob Hope has hosted a record 18 times. Billy Crystal is second with eight.
Johnny Carson
David Niven
Billy Crystal
On to the nominees! What movie holds the record for most Oscar nods of all time?
All about Eve
Ben-Hur
Titanic
Both 1 and 3.
All about Eve received 14 nominations in 1951, and Titanic received 14 nominations in 1998. The popularity of the film also made that ceremony the highest-rated broadcast in Oscars history.
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Who is the most nominated actor, man or woman, of all time?
Jack Nicholson
Katherine Hepburn
Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep is the all-time leader, with 19 nominations. Jack Nicholson is the most-nominated male, with twelve nods.
Marlon Brando
You are more likely to receive a nomination if you play this role than any other character.
Moses
Hamlet
Henry VIII
Three portrayals of King Henry VIII of England have received Oscar nominations.
Who is the film industry's most nominated director?
William Wyler
William Wyler holds the record with twelve, followed by Billy Wilder, who has received eight nominations.
John Ford
Billy Wilder
Martin Scorsese
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To the winners! Which two actresses tied for Best Actress in 1969?
There has never been a tie for Best Actress!
Barbra Streisand and Katherine Hepburn
In the first and only tie for Best Actress, Katherine Hepburn won the award for The Lion in Winter, and Barbra Streisand won as well, for Funny Girl.
Vanessa Redgrave and Patricia Neal
Who has won more Oscars than anyone else?
Walt Disney
Walt Disney has won 22 Oscars. He also won the most Oscars in one year, with four in 1954, and holds the records for most nominations of all time, with 59.
John Williams
Edith Head
Only one X-rated film have ever won Best Picture. What was it?
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy was the first X-rated film to be nominated for Best Picture, and the only one to win it.
Cabaret
East of Eden
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How many films have won 11 Academy Awards (the record)?
Three
Three fims have won 11 Oscars: Titanic, Ben-Hur, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Just one
No film has won 11 Oscars.
Which film enjoyed the biggest sweep, winning every category in which it was nominated?
Ben-Hur
Titanic
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) won all 11 categories for which it was nominated: Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Original Song, Sound Mixing, Art Direction, Makeup, Costume Design, Film Editing, and Visual Effects.
Who is the Winningest actor of all time, male or female?
Meryl Streep
Daniel Day-Lewis
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn won a record four Oscars, all for Best Actress.
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Who is the oldest winner of an acting award?
Henry Ford
Christopher Plummer
In 2011, Christopher Plummer won Best Supporting Actor for Beginners at the age of 82. Gloria Stewart is the oldest nominee. She was nominated at age 85.
Gloria Stewart
Who is the youngest winner of any Oscar?
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple won the (now-retired) Academy Juvenile Award at age 6. Tatum O'Neal is the youngest winner of an acting award. She won Best Supporting Actress at age 10, for Paper Moon.
Tatum O'Neal
Quvenzhane Wallis
If you'd like an Oscar for acting, for which film director should you be working?
Woody Allen
Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese has directed 20 actors to Oscar nominations.
Steven Spielberg
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Speeches! Who accidentally outed their high school drama teacher in their acceptance speech?
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks thanked his high school drama teacher Rawley Farnsworth during his acceptance speech for Philaldelphia for being a "fine gay American." Unfortunately, Farnsworth wasn't out yet.
Kevin Klein
Jennifer Lawrence
What did Sally Field famously say when she won Best Actress?
"You like me, you really like me!"
"I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!"
"You like me, you really like me!" is a misquote.
You must really like me!"
What ecstatic foreign performer won two awards that night, saying during his second acceptance speech, "This is a terrible mistake because I used up all my English!"
Jean Dujardin
Ang Lee
Roberto Begnini
Roberto Begnini climbed over seatbacks to accept the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Upon winning Best Actor, he said, "I would like to be Jupiter, and kidnap everybody, and lie down in the firmament making love to everybody."
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Whose acceptance speech included one armed-pushups?
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Mel Gibson
Jack Palance
When Jack Palance won Best Supporting Actor for City Slickers in 1991, he managed to slam Billy Crystal, do several one-armed pushups, and bring the house down, all in two minutes.
When did a streaker interrupt the Oscars?
1964
1974
David Niven was co-hosting when Robert Opel streaked the stage. Niven then remarked, "Isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in this life by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?"
1984
Whose proxy acceptance speaker was so controversial she caused the Academy to add new rules, preventing proxies in future?
Al Pacino
Woody Allen
Marlon Brando
Sacheen Littlefeather accepted Marlon Brando's Best Actor statue for The Godfather in 1973. Brando sent her in protest of Native American depictions in films, but she was not allowed to read his speech, and the rules were changed soon after.
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Who gave the shortest acceptance speech?
Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock won the Irving Thalberg award for creative excellence and said "Thank you."
Christian Bale
Charlton Heston
And finally, the losers. Which film has received the most nominations without any wins?
The Turning Point
The Color Purple
Cabaret
Both 1 and 2
The Turning Point and The Color Purple were both nominated for 11 awards without winning any. Cabaret holds the record for most Oscars without winning Best Picture.
What person has been nominated more than anyone else without a win?
Kevin O'Connell
Sound recording engineer Kevin O'Connell has been nominated 20 times and has never won.
Richard Burton
Glen Close
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Miscellaneous interesting records! What living person has received the most nominations?
Meryl Streep
John Williams
Walt Disney has the most nominations of all time, but composer John Williams is the living person with the most nominations, with 49.
Woody Allen
Longest film to win Best Picture?
Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind was the longest film to win Best Picture. War and Peace was longer, but it won Best Foreign Film.
War and Peace
Othello
Last one! Who is the only actor to win an Oscar and a Razzie (for worst performance) in the same year?
Christian Bale
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for The Blind Side and a Razzie for All About Steve in the same year, 2010.
Jennifer Lawrence
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You Got:
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