Everything You Need to Know About the 2015 Oscars

Thanks But No Thanks

In 87 years only 3 people have ever turned down an Oscar. Dudley Nichols in 1935, George C. Scott in 1970 and, most famously, Marlon Brando in 1972. Brando asked Sacheen Littlefeather to decline the award on his behalf and read a letter he penned about the treatment of Aboriginals by Hollywood.

The Beginning of It All

The first Academy Awards took place in 1929 with Canadian Mary Pickford taking home the first ever Best Actress statue for her role in Coquette.

The Host With The Most

Bob Hope holds the record for hosting the most Academy Awards (nineteen in total between 1939 and 1977). He started his hosting duties before the Oscars were even televised and ended it with the show’s 50th anniversary.

The Biggest Loser

With her Into The Woods nomination this year, Meryl Streep has a grand total of 19 nominations under her belt. Her 3 wins (Kramer vs Kramer, 1979; Sophie’s Choice, 1982; The Iron Lady, 2011) also mean that she’s lost more times than anyone else.

No Top 5

None of this year’s nominees are in the running for the top five prizes (producing, directing, actor, actress, screenwriting). The last film to be nominated for all five was American Hustle. The last film to WIN all five was The Silence of the Lambs.

Boyhood’s Schedule

Boyhood has long been in discussion thanks to a filming schedule that spanned 12 years. But, if we were only to count the days spent actually filming, Boyhood was shot in 39 days.

Long Overdue

The Grand Budapest Hotel marks the first time Wes Anderson has been nominated for a Best Director Oscar. He previously only received screenplay nominations for Moonrise Kingdom and The Royal Tenenbaums.

Bond, James Bond(‘s female interest)

Rosamund Pike (nominated for her role in Gone Girl) is the third Bond Girl to receive an Oscar nomination. Both women before her, Halle Berry (Die Another Day) and Kim Basinger (Never Say Never Again), were winners; Berry for Monster’s Ball and Basinger for L.A. Confidential.

Oscar After Death

Only two actors have ever been awarded an Oscar posthumously: Peter Finch (Network) and Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight).

Selma Controversy

It’s weird how a film can be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, but not receive any nominations for the parts that make it great. Neither star David Oyelowo nor director Ava DuVernay received nominations. If DuVernay HAD been nominated, it would have been a first for an African American female director.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Than….

The 1999 Best Actress winner for Shakespeare in Love Gwyneth Paltrow said ‘thank you’ a staggering 23 times in her speech.

Vito Corelone x 2

Only two actors have won Oscars for playing the same character. Marlon Brando (1972) and Robert DeNiro (1974) nabbed Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, for their roles as Vito Corelone in The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II. Also, The Godfather: Part II is the only film sequel to score a Best Picture Oscar win.

The Big 8

In 2009, the Academy decided to allow ten Best Picture nominees instead of only five. It was a bit of a throwback to the award shows of the 30s and 40s when they allowed eight to twelve nominees for Best Picture. But, the Academy doesn’t have to fill each of those ten spots and this year only have eight. In the running is Whiplash, American Sniper, Selma, Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Boyhood and The Theory of Everything. This caused some confusion as the Academy technically had two available spots but decided to snub films like Foxcatcher and Gone Girl.

It’s Gonna Be A Long Night

When you factor in things like red carpets and long speeches, the Academy Awards can run long. The shortest award show on record was the 31st Academy Awards in 1959 that clocked in at 1 hour and 40 minutes. The longest? The Whoopi Goldberg-helmed show in 2002 that was a whopping 4 hours and 23 minutes.

How Much Is That Oscar In The Window?

Even after they win the statue, an Oscar doesn’t truly belong to a recipient. The Academy has each winner sign an agreement that if they want to sell their award, they must offer it to the Academy for $1 first. This rule only came into effect in 1950, which is why Steven Spielberg was able to purchase Bette Davis’ Oscar for the film Jezebel for $578,000.

This Year’s Nominees

Last year’s winners in each of the four acting categories (Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett, Jared Leto and Lupita N’yongo) will be on hand to award this year’s winners. Here, we have each of the nominees and a one-liner to add to any conversation. We got your back.



Best Actor



Michael Keaton for Birdman a film about an actor who is trying to make a comeback after being known for playing a superhero, Batman…sorry Birdman.



Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything, a biopic about Stephen Hawking and his physical decline due to ALS. No, he doesn’t do an ice bucket challenge.



Bradley Cooper for American Sniper a film about the Iraq war and real-life soldier Chris Kyle that has been under scrutiny thanks to a few inconsistencies in his book.



Steve Carrell for Foxcatcher where Carrell and his giant false nose do some of the best acting of their careers.



Benedict Cumberbatch for The Imitation Game about a genius looking to break Nazi codes during the war. Like A Beautiful Mind, but probably not all in his imagination.



Best Actress



Julianne Moore for Still Alice a movie-adapted-from-a-novel about a professor with early-onset Alzheimer’s, aka the movie your girlfriend cried all the way through.



Felicity Jones for The Theory of Everything where she played Stephen Hawking’s wife, but not the one who abused him.



Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl, the movie that costarred Ben Affleck’s penis. Not that you looked.



Reese Witherspoon for Wild, but there’s still an argument to be made for her Election snub.



Marion Cotillard for Two Days, One Night, but don’t worry, no one you know watched it either.



Best Supporting Actor



Ethan Hawke for Boyhood, the movie where the kid keeps getting older while he seems to stay the same age.



Edward Norton for Birdman, where everyone refers to Keaton as Batman but no one remembers that Norton was The Hulk.



Mark Ruffalo for Foxcatcher, a true story about the murder of an Olympic wrestler.



J.K. Simmons for Whiplash, where J.K gleefully played a sadistic, abusive music teacher.



Robert Duvall for The Judge ,which we recommend skipping… or watching The Godfather instead.



Best Supporting Actress



Patricia Arquette for Boyhood and she deserves this Oscar if only for being a Hollywood actress who allowed us to watch her age in real time.



Laura Dern for Wild. It’s been 23 years since her last nomination, which is almost as sad as her turn as Witherspoon’s deceased mother.



Emma Stone for Birdman and as much as we love her, she won’t be pulling a Jennifer Lawrence here.



Keira Knightley for The Imitation Game because no Europe-set period piece would be complete without her.