Silver screen scrutiny

quiz whiz

Oscars

1. The highest number of Academy Awards won by an individual is 22, and only one person in history has achieved this feat. But who is that person?

A. Composer Alan Menken

B. Producer Walt Disney

C. Costume designer Edith Head

D. Art director Cedric Gibbons

2. Who has won the most acting Academy Awards?

A. Katharine Hepburn

B. Meryl Streep

C. Jack Nicholson

D. Daniel Day Lewis

3. Which of these actors have never been nominated for an Oscar?

A. Marilyn Monroe

B. Jeff Daniels

C. Steve Buscemi

D. Emily Blunt

4. Three of these films hold the record for the most awards won by a single film (11). Which one of these films hasn’t won the most Oscars of all time?

A. Ben-Hur

B. Titanic

C. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

D. Avatar

5. Which of these actors is one of only 12 people to have won all four major annual American entertainment awards – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards (EGOT) – in a competitive, individual category?

A. Katharine Hepburn

B. Meryl Streep

C. Whoopi Goldberg

D. Anne Hathaway

6. If a recipient wanted to sell their Oscar, how much would they get for the award?

A. $1

B. $100

C. $1,000

D. $10,000

Milestones

7. In what year was the first full-length feature film ever released?

A. 1886

B. 1896

C. 1906

D. 1916

8. What was the first talkie ever made?

A. Alam Ara

B. The Jazz Singer

C. Singin’ in the Rain

D. The Wizard of Oz

9. Which movie was the first film made in colour?

A. The Phantom of the Opera

B. Ben-Hur

C. The Three Musketeers

D. Cupid Angling

10. What is the highest grossing film of all time?

A. Titanic

B. Avatar

C. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

D. Jurassic World

11. What is the highest grossing film franchise of all time?

A. Marvel Cinematic Universe

B. DC Extended Universe

C. James Bond

D. Star Wars

12. Who is the highest grossing actor of all time, based on the box office total of their films?

A. Scarlett Johansson

B. Harrison Ford

C. Samuel L. Jackson

D. Johnny Depp

*****

Answers:

1. B

American animation pioneer Walt Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual, having won 22 Oscars from a record 59 nominations. His first wins came in 1932 when he received the Honorary Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse and won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoon) for the film Flowers and Trees. Most of his wins came in the Best Short Subject (Cartoon) category, although he was also triumphant in other categories, including Best Short Subject (Two-reel) and Best Documentary (Short Subject).

Composer Alan Menken holds the record for the most competitive awards won by a person who is still living (8). Costume designer Edith Head is the recipient of the most awards won by a woman (8). And art director Cedric Gibbons, who designed the Oscar statuette, won 11 awards out of a total of 39 nominations.

2. A

Katharine Hepburn won four awards – a record for any performer – all for Best Actress. She won for her performances in the films Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968) (shared with Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl), and On Golden Pond (1981).

3. A, B, C, and D

Despite their fame and/or acclaim, none of these actors have ever received an Oscar nomination.

4. D

Avatar (2009) was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won three – for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects.

5. C

Whoopi Goldberg is one of the few entertainers to have won an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Oscar, and a Tony Award.

6. A

The winners and their heirs cannot sell the Oscar statuettes without first offering to sell them back to the Academy for US$1.

7. C

The 1906 Australian silent film The Story of the Kelly Gang, which followed the exploits of 19th-century outlaw Ned Kelly and his gang, is believed to be the world's first full-length narrative feature film. With an estimated budget of between £400 and £1,000, the film took six months to make, had a running time of more than an hour, and was a success upon its release, making about £25,000.

8. B

The Jazz Singer (1927), starring Al Jolson and directed by Alan Crosland, was the first feature film originally presented as a talkie. The film was based on a play of the same name by Samson Raphaelson, and was a massive box office success.

1931’s Alam Ara (The Ornament of the World), starring Master Vithal and Zubeida and directed by Ardeshir Irani, was the first Indian film with sound.

9. D

While opinions differ on this matter, the now-lost Cupid Angling (1918), the only feature film photographed using the Douglass Natural Color process, is widely considered to be the first movie made in colour.

10. B

With a box office gross of over $2.787 billion, James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) is the world’s highest grossing movie of all time. 1997’s Titanic ($2,187), 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2,068 billion), and 2015’s Jurassic World ($1,671 billion) are the second, third, and fourth highest grossing films respectively.   

11. A

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has made over $14 billion. Star Wars ($8.8 billion), James Bond ($7 billion), and DC Extended Universe ($3.7 billion) are at the second, fourth, and twelfth place respectively.

12. C

Samuel L. Jackson’s (#1) films have earned $5.149 billion. Harrison Ford’s (#2) movies have grossed $4,963, while Johnny Depp’s (#13) films have made ($3.644 billion).

Scarlett Johansson is the highest earning female performer with a total of $3.674 billion.

- S.A.

Us Magazine, The News - 9th March, 2018