Oscar Quiz from Grant's Tutoring
Published: Sun, 02/26/12
Here is a little chance to escape Statistics and Mathematics with a ten-question quiz about the Oscars.
If The Artist wins the Best Picture award this year, it will be only the second silent movie to win that award (the first being Wings (1927) which won the very first Best Picture Academy Award). So, here is my tribute to many other "seconds" in the Oscars over the years.
Deanna Durbin was the first Winnipeg-born actress to win an Oscar (an honourary Juvenile Award for her "significant contribution in bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth" in 1938. Can you name the second Winnipeg-born actress to win an Oscar? (Hint: she is also second in another Oscar category.)
Peter Finch was the first person to receive an acting Oscar posthumously (he won Best Actor for Network (1976). Can you name the second?
This was the only time the Academy decided the second part of a movie was just as good as the first part (at least in awarding both parts the Best Picture Oscar). Which movie(s)?
Gone with the Wind (1939) was the first colour movie to win the Best Picture Oscar, but can you name the second?
Rocky (1976) was the first boxing movie to win the Best Picture Oscar, but can you name the second?
Louise Rainer was the first woman to win the Best Actress Oscar consecutively (for The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and The Good Earth (1937)), but can you name the second woman to win consecutive Best Actress Oscars?
Spencer Tracy was the first man to win the Best Actor Oscar in consecutive years (for Captains Courageous (1937) and Boys Town (1938)), but can you name the second man to win consecutive Best Actor Oscars?
Benicio del Toro was the first person to win an acting Oscar while speaking Spanish predominantly for his supporting role in Traffic (2000) (as opposed to the incomprehensible language he spoke in The Usual Suspects (1995)). Can you name the second person to win an acting Oscar for a predominantly Spanish-speaking role?
Question 9
Laurence Olivier was the first man to direct himself to a Best Actor Oscar (Hamlet (1948). Can you name the second?
Question 10Laurence Olivier was the first man to direct himself to a Best Actor Oscar (Hamlet (1948). Can you name the second?
Bringing things full circle, Janet Gaynor was the first woman to win a Best Actress Oscar without speaking a word of dialogue (for her performances in the silent films Seventh Heaven (1927), Sunrise (1927) and Street Angel (1928); the first acting Oscars were presented for the performer's body of work in that 12-month period). Can you name the second woman to win a Best Actress Oscar without speaking a word?
Anna Paquin won Best Supporting Actress for The Piano (1993). Both Anna and Deanna were under 18 years of age when they won their Oscars. In fact, ignoring the occasional Juvenile Award that the Academy used to hand out to child actors deserving of special recognition, Anna is the second-youngest competitive Oscar-winner ever (she was 11 when she won); only Tatum O'Neil was younger (she was 10 when she received her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Paper Moon (1973)).
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008). Strangely, both Peter and Heath were Australian.
See Question 3
See Question 3
The Godfather: Part II (1974) repeated the success of the original The Godfather (1972). It was third-time lucky for The Lord of the Rings. After The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) were nominated but failed to win Best Picture, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) finally won the top prize.
An American in Paris (1951). The last black-and-white movie to win Best Picture was Schindler's List (1993). Will The Artist (2011) change that?
Solution to Question 5
Million Dollar Baby (2004).
Million Dollar Baby (2004).
Solution to Question 6
Katherine Hepburn for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) and The Lion in Winter (1968). She is also the only actor or actress to have won an acting Oscar four times (all Best Actress Oscars, too) with her first win for Morning Glory (1933) and her last for On Golden Pond (1981). Kate was also part of the only tie in Academy Award history when she shared her Best Actress Oscar with Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl (1968). The second woman to win two Best Actress Oscars, but not consecutively, was Bette Davis for Dangerous (1935) and Jezebel (1938).
Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). So far, Marion Cotillard is the only Oscar Winner in a French-speaking role for Best Actress in La Vie en rose (2007).
Solution to Question 10
Jane Wyman for Johnny Belinda (1948). She started a trend where actors and actresses learned it is best to keep their mouth shut if they want an Oscar. Patty Duke (The Miracle Worker (1962)), John Mills (Ryan's Daughter (1970), Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God (1986), and Holly Hunter (The Piano (1993)) all won Oscars without speaking a word. Will Jean Dujardin (The Artist (2011)) join this list?
Katherine Hepburn for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) and The Lion in Winter (1968). She is also the only actor or actress to have won an acting Oscar four times (all Best Actress Oscars, too) with her first win for Morning Glory (1933) and her last for On Golden Pond (1981). Kate was also part of the only tie in Academy Award history when she shared her Best Actress Oscar with Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl (1968). The second woman to win two Best Actress Oscars, but not consecutively, was Bette Davis for Dangerous (1935) and Jezebel (1938).
Solution to Question 7
Tom Hanks for Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994). Jason Robards, Jr. was actually the second man to win consecutive acting Oscars for All the President's Men (1976) and Julia (1977), but they were for Best Supporting Actor. The second actor to win two Best Actor Oscars, although not consecutively, was Frederic March for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).
Solution to Question 8 Tom Hanks for Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994). Jason Robards, Jr. was actually the second man to win consecutive acting Oscars for All the President's Men (1976) and Julia (1977), but they were for Best Supporting Actor. The second actor to win two Best Actor Oscars, although not consecutively, was Frederic March for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).
Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008). So far, Marion Cotillard is the only Oscar Winner in a French-speaking role for Best Actress in La Vie en rose (2007).
Solution to Question 9
Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful (1998). He was also the second person to win an acting Oscar while speaking strictly a foreign language throughout the film after Sophia Loren (Two Women (1961)). Third, if you count Robert De Niro, who spoke a little English but mostly Sicilian in The Godfather: Part II (1974) on his way to a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. All three of these performers spoke Italian, of course.
Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful (1998). He was also the second person to win an acting Oscar while speaking strictly a foreign language throughout the film after Sophia Loren (Two Women (1961)). Third, if you count Robert De Niro, who spoke a little English but mostly Sicilian in The Godfather: Part II (1974) on his way to a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. All three of these performers spoke Italian, of course.
Jane Wyman for Johnny Belinda (1948). She started a trend where actors and actresses learned it is best to keep their mouth shut if they want an Oscar. Patty Duke (The Miracle Worker (1962)), John Mills (Ryan's Daughter (1970), Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God (1986), and Holly Hunter (The Piano (1993)) all won Oscars without speaking a word. Will Jean Dujardin (The Artist (2011)) join this list?