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Always a Bridesmaid Trivia Quiz

Sometimes great films, TV shows and the performers who star in them get overlooked at awards time. Here's a look at some who've been surprisingly passed over.

A multiple-choice quiz by SBH. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
SBH

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
351,272

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
828

Last 3 plays: Guest 172 (10/10), Guest 118 (9/10), Guest 70 (8/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. A 1994 film starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman received seven Academy Award nominations, but didn't win anything. What was the name of this unusual prison drama? Hint

Cool Hand Luke

The Shawshank Redemption

The Green Mile

The Longest Yard

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Question 2 of 10

2. One of the best loved Christmas movies of all time received five Oscar nominations in 1946, but didn't win anything at all. What is the name of this heartwarming film, set in Bedford Falls? Hint

Heidi

Miracle on 34th Street

It's a Wonderful Life

Meet Me in St. Louis

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Question 3 of 10

3. Which 1971 film - among the most influential of speculative fiction films - received Oscar nominations in four categories (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay), but won in none? Even its popular musical score, featuring synthesized classical music, was overlooked. Hint

2001: A Space Odyssey

A Clockwork Orange

Blade Runner

Alien

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Question 4 of 10

4. A low-key semi-fictional 2011 sports film received six Oscar nominations, but didn't win in any category. What was the name of this film about playing by the numbers in Oakland? Hint

Million Dollar Baby

The Wrestler

The Fighter

Moneyball

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Question 5 of 10

5. This actor, who created the role of a fatherly, moustache-wearing police captain in a busy New York precinct, was nominated seven times at the Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, but never won. What's the name of this actor, who also appears onstage in musical comedies? Hint

Hal Linden ("Barney Miller")

James Garner ("The Rockford Files")

Karl Malden ("The Streets of San Francisco")

Daniel J. Travanti ("Hill Street Blues")

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Question 6 of 10

6. This feisty lady won the hearts of viewers as she solved mysteries every week around the town of Cabot Cove in a series that lasted 264 episodes. The actress who played her garnered a total of 12 nominations for outstanding lead actress in a drama series at the Emmy Awards, but never won. Who is she? Hint

Angela Lansbury ("Murder, She Wrote")

Gillian Anderson ("The X-Files")

Jill Eikenberry ("LA Law")

Marg Helgenberger ("CSI: Crime Scene Investigation")

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Question 7 of 10

7. One of television's most harried mothers (and who wouldn't be, in a house with five men?) received seven Emmy nominations, but never won an award. Who is this lovable neurotic, who once screamed so hard at her children that she sprained her throat? Hint

Patricia Heaton (Debra from "Everybody Loves Raymond")

Marcia Cross (Bree Van de Kamp from "Desperate Housewives")

Julie Bowen (Claire from "Modern Family")

Jane Kaczmarek (Lois from "Malcolm in the Middle")

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Question 8 of 10

8. Perhaps it's typical of the character he played that this TV actor was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series seven times (every year from 1992 through 1998), but never won the award. Who played the nebbishy best friend in what might fairly be called the defining television comedy of the 1990s? Hint

Michael Richards ("Seinfeld")

Matt LeBlanc ("Friends")

David Hyde Pierce ("Frasier")

Jason Alexander ("Seinfeld")

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Question 9 of 10

9. This soft-spoken but handsome leading man was nominated for Oscars for "Cold Mountain" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley", and his three Golden Globe nominations include one for "A.I. Artificial Intelligence", but he didn't win for any of these roles. Who is this quiet fellow? Hint

Matt Damon

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Donald Sutherland

Jude Law

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Question 10 of 10

10. She was nominated for Oscars for Best Actress ("The King's Speech") and Best Supporting Actress ("The Wings of the Dove"). She was also nominated for six Golden Globe awards for acting (including nods for "Sweeney Todd" and "Merlin"). She didn't win any of them. Who is this unlucky British actress? Hint

Helen Mirren

Helena Bonham Carter

Keira Knightley

Emily Watson

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Most Recent Scores

Nov 18 2024 : Guest 172: 10/10
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Nov 09 2024 : cinnam0n: 7/10
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Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. A 1994 film starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman received seven Academy Award nominations, but didn't win anything. What was the name of this unusual prison drama?

Answer: The Shawshank Redemption

"Forrest Gump" beat out "The Shawshank Redemption" in most categories, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Freeman lost Best Actor to Tom Hanks (also in "Forrest Gump"), while "Legends of the Fall" won for Best Cinematography.

2. One of the best loved Christmas movies of all time received five Oscar nominations in 1946, but didn't win anything at all. What is the name of this heartwarming film, set in Bedford Falls?

Answer: It's a Wonderful Life

The less well remembered film "The Best Years of Our Lives" stole most of the honours at the 19th Academy Awards. Frederic March from "Best Years of Our Lives" even beat out Jimmy Stewart in what may be the most famous role of his career. Oh well... Laurence Olivier's "Henry V" was also shut out that year!

Answer: A Clockwork Orange

"The French Connection" won in all four categories, and also took Best Actor for Gene Hackman. (Malcolm McDowell was not even nominated for his iconic interpretation of young Alex Delarge), but this was normal for director Stanley Kubrick, whose 1969 award for Best Visual Effects (for "2001: A Space Odyssey") was the only Oscar he ever won!

4. A low-key semi-fictional 2011 sports film received six Oscar nominations, but didn't win in any category. What was the name of this film about playing by the numbers in Oakland?

Answer: Moneyball

The innovative silent film "The Artist" won for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (relative unknown Jean Dujardin, who beat Brad Pitt of "Moneyball"). Among the other award categories, Christopher Plummer ("Beginners") won Best Supporting Actor over Jonah Hill, while "The Descendants" won for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Answer: Hal Linden ("Barney Miller")

"Barney Miller" ran from 1975 to 1982. Richard Mulligan ("Soap"), Carroll O'Connor ("All in the Family"), Judd Hirsch (Taxi") and Alan Alda ("M*A*S*H*") were among the actors who were honoured in Hal Linden's stead, however, Linden has won at least three Daytime Emmys.

Answer: Angela Lansbury ("Murder, She Wrote")

"Murder, She Wrote" ran from 1984 to 1996, and Lansbury's portrayal of mystery author Jessica Fletcher actually set records for most nominations for acting in a drama series at both the Emmys (12) and Golden Globes (10). Although she did win four Golden Globes, she never won an Emmy, in part because Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless of "Cagney and Lacey" dominated the category from 1983 to 1988.

The series itself was nominated three times as Outstanding Drama Series at the Emmys, but never won.

Answer: Jane Kaczmarek (Lois from "Malcolm in the Middle")

Kaczmarek also received three Golden Globe nominations for her role as Malcolm's frantic mom Lois. Did she win any? Nope! Who did win the Emmys? Patricia Heaton ("Everybody Loves Raymond"), Jennifer Aniston ("Friends"), Debra Messing ("Will and Grace"), Sarah Jessica Parker ("Sex and the City") and Felicity Huffman ("Desperate Housewives"). "Malcolm in the Middle" ran from 2000 to 2006.

Answer: Jason Alexander ("Seinfeld")

As George Costanza, Jason Alexander never quite emerged victorious, and in real life he lost the Emmy to the forgettable Michael Jeter ("Evening Shade"), to Rip Torn ("The Larry Sanders Show"), repeatedly to David Hyde Pierce ("Frasier") and even, more than once, to his own costar Michael Richards, who played Cosmo Kramer. "Seinfeld" (the series) did win ten Emmys and three Golden Globes over its run.

Answer: Jude Law

When Law was nominated for the "The Talented Mr. Ripley" in 2000, Michael Caine won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in "The Cider House Rules". Then in 2004, Sean Penn walked away with the Best Actor prize for the emotionally intense "Mystic River". Jude Law has appeared in a remarkable roster of worthy and well regarded films like "Hugo", "The Aviator", "Alfie", "Road to Perdition", "Enemy at the Gates", "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" and "Gattaca", without attracting any acting awards for his parts in them.

Answer: Helena Bonham Carter

Helena Bonham Carter has won various British film and television awards over her prolific career, but she has seldom been recognized outside her home country, even for her notable work in such films as "Fight Club" and "Room With a View". However, she has certainly made an impression on an entire generation of young film fans for her manic portrayal of the evil Bellatrix Lestrange in the "Harry Potter" film series.

Source: Author SBH

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor linkan before going online.
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