Oscar-Worthy Movie Trivia

Question: In honor of his first full-length animated film, Walt Disney was presented with what kind of special Oscar?

Answer: The Academy honored Walt Disney with a unique set of statues, comprising one standard-sized Oscar and seven miniature Oscars, to celebrate his first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Disney would go on to collect no fewer than 26 Oscars, the most by an individual.

Question: Oscar statues are made of solid gold.

Answer: Oscar statues were once made of a metal called britannia, a pewterlike alloy that was easy to buff to a smooth finish. In 2016 the Academy switched to solid bronze with 24-karat gold plating.

Question: The first time a woman won the Academy Award for directing was for which movie?

Answer: Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the best director Oscar in 2010 for her picture The Hurt Locker. Her victory came against stiff competition, including her former husband James Cameron (Avatar). Only three women in cinema history had been nominated for directing before Bigelow’s success.

Question: One of the Oscars’ most memorable mix-ups, what movie was mistakenly announced as the 2016 best picture instead of the real winner, Moonlight?

Answer: Two partners at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Academy’s vote-tallying firm, have identical sets of winners’ envelopes in case some misfortune should befall one of them. Best picture presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty were inadvertently handed the duplicate envelope for a previous award—best actress, won by Emma Stone for her role in La La Land.

Question: With more than 20 and counting, who holds the record for most Academy Award acting nominations?

Answer: Meryl Streep was nominated for her first Academy Award in 1979 for her supporting role in The Deer Hunter. She’s racked up more than 20 nominations, including wins for Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, and The Iron Lady.

Question: Two different actors have won Academy Awards for playing what comic-book character?

Answer: Heath Ledger won a posthumous Academy Award for best supporting actor for his portrayal of the Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight. Joaquin Phoenix won best actor for his take on the comic-book villain in 2019’s Joker.

Question: Perhaps best known for films like Taxi Driver, GoodFellas, and Raging Bull, Martin Scorsese won his first directing Oscar for what film?

Answer: “Could you double-check the envelope? Thank you. I mean, I’m overwhelmed…,” Martin Scorsese joked as he accepted his first-ever best director Oscar for 2006’s The Departed. Scorsese wasn’t able to bring home the award for classics like GoodFellas or Raging Bull, and he campaigned fiercely for Gangs of New York and the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator without success.

Question: Shortly after being slapped by Will Smith onstage during the 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presenter Chris Rock said…

Answer: Although later that night he would win the best actor Oscar for his role in King Richard, Will Smith was banned from the Oscars for 10 years following his violent outburst against Chris Rock.

Question: Who was nominated for best original screenplay and best actor in 1977 and then nominated again in 2016 for playing the same character?

Answer: Sylvester Stallone was nominated for his portrayal of the titular boxer in his film Rocky in 1977. Nearly 40 years later he was nominated for best supporting actor for playing Rocky in the film Creed.

Question: Excluding elements like overtures and intermissions, what best picture winner is the longest ever, clocking in at just under four hours?

Answer: The total film time of Lawrence of Arabia—that is, excluding prolonged musical elements such as overtures—is just over 3 hours 42 minutes, only slightly longer than Gone with the Wind. With those elements added back in, Gone with the Wind retakes the lead. However, neither film is the longest movie to ever win an Oscar. The documentary O.J.: Made in America was shown on TV as a five-episode series but also screened in theaters as one movie lasting 7 hours 47 minutes, qualifying it for an Oscar. It won best documentary.

Question: In 2014 John Travolta infamously introduced what person as “the wickedly talented, one and only Adele Dazeem?”

Answer: Tasked with introducing Idina Menzel’s performance of “Let It Go” from Frozen, John Travolta nailed the word play (Menzel originated the role of Elphaba in Broadway’s Wicked, hence “wickedly talented”) but flubbed her name terribly. The following year she jokingly returned the favor, introducing him as “Glom Gazingo.”

Question: What actor won back-to-back best actor Oscars in 1994 and 1995?

Answer: Winning back-to-back acting Oscars is extremely rare. Tom Hanks won for 1993’s Philadelphia and 1994’s Forrest Gump. He joined a small group of Hollywood greats, including Jason Robards, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, and Luise Rainer.

Question: Which of these films is one of only three to win all the “big five” categories (best picture, director, screenplay, actor, and actress)?

Answer: Besides The Silence of the Lambs, only It Happened One Night and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest have won the “big five” (best picture, director, screenplay, actor, and actress). Few other movies have even been nominated in all five categories; American Beauty, Annie Hall, Mrs. Miniver, and Gone with the Wind have each won four of the five.

Question: A movie has won all four acting awards (best actor, best actress, best supporting actor, and best supporting actress).

Answer: As of 2022, no movie has won Oscars for best actor, best actress, best supporting actor, and best supporting actress. A Streetcar Named Desire and Network have come the closest with three wins each.

Question: In what memorable way did Marlon Brando refuse to accept his Oscar for his portrayal of Don Vito Corleone?

Answer: Instead of attending the Academy Awards ceremony in 1973 himself, Marlon Brando sent Indigenous activist Sacheen Littlefeather in his place. When he won best actor for his role in The Godfather, she took the stage, refused his Oscar, and read a prepared statement condemning Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans. Famous western star John Wayne had to be restrained from rushing the stage.

Question: Originally designed to resemble a knight, the Oscar statue holds what object?

Answer: MGM art director Cedric Gibbons sketched the original design for the Academy Award statue, imagining a knight standing on a reel of film, wielding a crusader’s sword. Today the statue still clasps a downward-pointing sword.

Question: Which of these movies does not share the record for winning the most Academy Awards (11)?

Answer: Ben-Hur, Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King are tied for most Oscar wins with 11 statues each. The latter’s wins are made more impressive, perhaps, because it swept all 11 categories it was nominated for.

Question: In 1938 the audience at the Academy Awards was delighted when Charlie McCarthy was presented with an honorary Oscar that was appropriately made of…

Answer: Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy Charlie McCarthy were an incredibly popular act in the 1930s and ’40s, first on the radio and then in motion pictures. At the 1938 Academy Awards, the wooden Charlie McCarthy was fittingly presented with an honorary Oscar carved from wood, complete with a movable mouth.