Do You Remember Who Won the Oscar? Quiz

Answer: Annie Hall

Scriptwriters Marshall Brickman and Woody Allen had originally intended to write "Annie Hall" as a Spencer Tracy/Kathryn Hepburn style comedy, set in Victorian England. After several rewrites they decided to do a film set in Allen's mind instead. This move created opportunities to explore dreams, fantasies and the surreal sequences, which made Annie Hall such a memorable film.

Answer: The French Connection

"The French Connection" was based on the book by Robin Moore published in 1969 about the notorious French Connection drug trafficking scheme. (Heroin was smuggled from Turkey to France and then to the United States.) Gene Hackman's performance as Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle not only won him the Academy Award for Best Actor, but also landed him recognition on the American Film Institute's list of the most memorable Villains and Heroes list at #43.

Answer: Million Dollar Baby

"Million Dollar Baby" was based on short stories written by Jerry Boyd, who used the pen name F.X. Toole. The story features an under-appreciated boxing trainer, his shady past, and his quest for atonement by helping an underdog amateur female boxer win the championship. For his work on "Million Dollar Baby" Clint Eastwood won his second Oscar for Best Director. Eastwood also won the award for 1992's "Unforgiven".

Answer: Oliver!

As you probably know, the movie "Oliver!" was based on the novel "Oliver Twist", written by Charles Dickens. But did you also know that it was performed as a play before it made its way to the screen? Several songs from the play were omitted to improve the continuity flow of the movie. Of interesting note, none of the songs were performed by Mark Lester (Oliver) because he was tone deaf.

His songs were actually sung by Kathe Green, the daughter of the musical director for the film.

Answer: Gladiator

The script for "Gladiator" went through several rewrites before being filmed. Even Russell Crowe took a shot at writing it, as he thought the original script was garbage. Crowe objected strongly to a lot of his lines, but finally agreed to do them, after a final rewrite.

This film also marked the final appearance of the great Oliver Reed, who passed away during the production of the film.

Answer: Terms of Endearment

"Terms of Endearment" is an interesting example of casting selections for movies. The character Garrett Breedlove was turned down by Burt Reynolds, then James Garner, then Harrison Ford, before being accepted by Jack Nicholson. Likewise, the character Aurora Greenway was declined by Louise Fletcher before being accepted by Shirley MacLaine. Additionally, the character Emma Greenway Horton was turned down by Sissy Spacek before being accepted by Debra Winger. Can you imagine Burt Reynolds, Louise Fletcher and Sissy Spacek in this movie? Thank goodness things don't always work out the first time.

Answer: Driving Miss Daisy

"Driving Miss Daisy" was adapted by a play, of the same name, written by Alfred Uhry. "Driving Miss Daisy" was actually the first in a trilogy that examined anti-Semitism in America. The other two parts of the trilogy were "The Last Night of Ballyhoo", and "Parade".

Another interesting note, with her victory as Best Actress, eighty year old Jessica Tandy was both the oldest nominee and winner to win the award.

Answer: The Deer Hunter

Despite not being broadly embraced by Vietnam veterans, the "Deer Hunter" proved to be a spark of inspiration for Jan Scruggs. Scruggs served as a Corporal for the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam. Scruggs has gone on record as claiming to have been inspired to build a National Monument for Vietnam Veterans after seeing a screening of "The Deer Hunter".

The Vietnam Veterans' Memorial honors those soldiers that died, or were unaccounted for, in the Vietnam War.

Answer: Chariots of Fire

The music of Vangelis is what most people remember the film "Chariots of Fire" for. It is fitting that the title of the movie was inspired by the line "bring me my chariot of fire" from the British hymn "Jerusalem". "Chariots of Fire" was also recognized by the American Film Institute in 2006 as one of the top 100 Most Inspiring Movies.

Answer: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Kesey's inspiration for writing "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" came to him while he was working the night shift at Menlo Park Veterans' Hospital. Kesey often spoke to the patients, and came to believe that they were victims of societal conventions about normal behavior.

This is evident by the sympathetic nature of the characters in the asylum, and the harshness of the unyielding Nurse Ratched.