Film Composers and the Oscars Trivia Quiz

Answer: John Williams

John Williams has been an Academy Award winner several times, and has received two or three nominations in the same year many times as well. Many of his themes have become icons of music and film culture, most notably his themes from "Jaws", "Star Wars", "E.T.", and "Superman". Additionally, he has scored nearly every movie Steven Spielberg has ever directed; quite the duo!

Answer: Ennio Morricone

Morricone was recognized with an Honorary Oscar in 2007. He rose to fame by scoring many films for Spaghetti-Western genius and onetime classmate Sergio Leone. He was also one of the first composers to utilize the sounds of electric guitar in his scores, an innovation which contributed to his unique sound.

Answer: James Horner

With two Oscar wins from "Titanic" alone, Horner has become a modern movie-music powerhouse. He has worked several times with esteemed director James Cameron.

Answer: Randy Newman

Though Randy Newman writes many scores for films, he is also frequently nominated for Best Original Song Oscars, which is appropriate as he began his career as a songwriter. He has scored many of Pixar's movies in recent years, though his most recognizable work may be the timeless theme from "The Natural".

Answer: Hans Zimmer

Hans Zimmer first became famous not for film-scoring, but for being a member of the band The Buggles, whose smash hit "Video Killed the Radio Star" was the first music video on MTV. He has since become one of the most renowned and prolific film composers of the 21st century.

He has worked frequently with brothers Tony and Ridley Scott, and won an Oscar for the Disney classic "The Lion King."

Answer: Thomas Newman

Thomas Newman has racked up many nominations over the course of his illustrious career. His hauntingly beautiful scores often feature an Irish folk-music flavor. He works frequently with director Sam Mendes.

Answer: Howard Shore

Howard Shore began his career as the first musical director for the Saturday Night Live band, and helped Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi put together the Blues Brothers. The "Lord of the Rings" series earned Shore three Oscars. He has scored many of director David Cronenberg's films.

Answer: Jerry Goldsmith

Goldsmith accrued 18 Oscar nominations over his lengthy career. His one win came in 1976 for "The Omen." Possibly his best known work is his theme from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," which consequently became the theme for every succeeding "Star Trek" film (until the 2009 J.J. Abrams reboot, which reverted back to the original TV show theme song).

Answer: Lalo Schifrin

Though Schifrin has been nominated for Oscars for several films including "The Amityville Horror" and "Cool Hand Luke." He also scored George Lucas's first feature-length film, "THX-1138."

Answer: Alfred Newman

Alfred Newman is a true film legend. He earned an amazing 45 Oscar nominations in his career, which yielded a equally amazing nine wins. He has scored Best Picture winners such as "How Green Was My Valley" and "All About Eve." He wrote the still-used theme song for Twentieth-Century Fox. And he sired an incredible family of film-composers; his sons David and Thomas Newman, and his nephew Randy Newman, are *all* Academy Award nominated film scorers.