I hope it provided some fun, and a rather unusual way to revisit Oscar Films Past.
By the way, regarding the horrendous moments in Best Pictures (#10), it made me gasp in amusement at the disturbing images my delicate sensibilities have been exposed to since an early age, in movies on which Hollywood bestows its highest honor. Just a gentle reminder that Oscar is unpredictable, and doesn't always play safe. Finally, many of the films I selected for dubious recognition are all-time favorites of mine...so, I hope no criticism of these pictures was inferred.
Now...for the Shocking Results! (Cite these facts at your Oscar parties to impress your guests/hosts!)
1. Which of the following Actors/Actresses has NEVER appeared in an Oscar-Winning Best Picture?
___Katherine Hepburn
___Spencer Tracy
___Susan Sarandon
___Heath Ledger
___Jeff Bridges
___Helena Bonham-Carter
___Glenn Close
___Denzel Washington
___Nicole Kidman
Sadly, none of the above has ever appeared in a movie that has won an Oscar as Best Picture. (That might change tonight, Helena or Jeff!...We'll see...4 hours 'til show time.)
2. Which of the following performers, all of whom became famous from their TV appearances, went on to appear in an Oscar-Winning Best Picture?
The answer: ALL OF THESE HAVE APPEARED IN AT LEAST ONE BEST PICTURE:
___Mary Tyler Moore--"Ordinary People"
___Tony Danza--"Crash"
___Danny DeVito--"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" AND "Terms of Endearment"
___Woody Harrelson--"No Country for Old Men"
___Sally Field--"Forrest Gump"
___Donna Reed--"From Here to Eternity" (1953) for which she herself won for Best Supporting Actress
3. What is the only Oscar-Winning best Picture with no speaking parts for women? Thanks to Luke for pointing out my bad wording here...I did not intend to include the one silent film ("Wings", 1928)...the answer I was looking for was "Lawrence of Arabia".
4. Which Best Picture Winner features a scene in which the lead characters appear briefly as animated cartoons? "Annie Hall"...only a picture here will do!
5. I counted 3 Best Pictures in which one man kisses another man on the mouth. Name the films. "American Beauty", "The Godfather Part II", and the very first winner, the silent film "Wings". Another unfortunate thing in common: all three men who got kissed died violently in each film.6. What was the first year that all (5) Best Picture nominees were in color? 1956: "Around the World in 80 Days" (winner), "Friendly Persuasion", "The King and I", "Giant", and "The Ten Commandments"
7. What was the last year that more than one black-and-white film competed for Best Picture? As recently as 1980, Martin Scorsese's "Raging Bill" and David Lynch's "The Elephant Man", both shot in black-and-white, competed with color films "Coal Miner's Daughter", "Tess", and the winner, "Ordinary People".
8. The late John Cazale, a well-known actor from the 1970's, appeared in only five (5) movies before his untimely death at age 43 in 1978. What do these films have in common? All five of Cazale's entire film resume were nominated for Best Picture: "The Godfather", "The Godfather Part II", and "The Deer Hunter" all won the prize; "Dog Day Afternoon" and "The Conversation" were contenders.
9. After 1932 only one film has won for Best Picture whose Director was not nominated. Name the film (and the Director for meaningless extra credit!) 1989, "Driving Miss Daisy", which must have directed itself while Bruce Beresford negotiated for screen credit.
10. Name the Oscar-Winning Best Films in which these intense images and sequences have appeared.....
A--The title character smashes his pet mouse against a wall--"The Last Emperor" 1987
B--An old man is beaten and has a telephone receiver stuffed into his toothless mouth-- "Midnight Cowboy" 1969
C--The lead character is drawn and quartered--"Braveheart", 1995 (most of it off camera thank goodness)
D--A woman's face is disfigured with a knife--"Unforgiven", 1992
E--The leading lady is bludgeoned to death while the killer's dog looks on (HINT: this was actually the last G-rated Best Picture winner!) -- "Oliver!", 1968. I was traumatized as a child by this...
F--The protagonist is attacked and almost eaten by an enormous spider--"Lord of the Rings: Return of the King", 2003
G--The heroine attempts a suicidal pill overdose on Christmas Eve--"The Apartment", 1960. (It occurred off-camera, but the incident, and its aftermath, resulted in one of moviedom's most sudden changes of tone.)
H--A man's thumbs are cut off, without anesthesia, by a nurse--Willem DaFoe was the victim in "The English Patient", 1996
I--A wife beater is strangled to death--he kicks in a car windshield during the struggle--"The Godfather", 1972. (The violent domestic quarrel, and the garroting later on, were both very graphic.)
J--The hero's eyelid wound is lanced, as blood spurts--Sylvester Stallone in the ring in "Rocky", 1976
K--The leading lady attempts to chew out her own tongue--Hillary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby", 2004
L--While the hero pleads with him to come home, the hero's best friend shoots himself in the head--"The Deer Hunter", 1978. (Rober DeNiro and Christoper Walken still break my heart in this one.)
M--To settle an old score, the main character slices an old man's stomach with a knife--"The Godfather, Part II", 1974
N--The romantic lead drowns in an icy ocean--"Titanic", 1997
O--The protagonist, weak from a bloody gunshot wound, turns toward the camera and vomits--"No Country for Old Men", 2007
P--A mobster casually waves a corpse's severed hand--"The Departed", 2006
Q--A little boy jumps into and swims through a pile of excrement--"Slumdog Millionaire", 2008 (all to get a celebrity autograph!)
R--Another little boy hides in a latrine chest-deep in excrement--Schindler's List", 1993.
Tonight, the possible best-picture winner will offer nothing more traumatic than a King yelling "!@#*#@!"
Thank you for playing!!
No comments:
Post a Comment