Entertainment

Answers To Your Burning Oscar Nominee Questions

by Lia Beck

If you haven't already heard — okay, fine, you've definitely heard — the Oscar nominations were revealed this morning. There's been some snubs and some surprises, but what else did the nominations bring? For all you fellow nerds out there, you might be wondering if there were any cool new facts this year. How many actors had been nominated already? Who would be performing? Who had been nominated for Razzies in the past?

We have the answers to all — okay, fine, most — of your burning questions below!

How Many Of This Year's Acting Nominees Have Been Razzie Nominees In The Past?

Four.

-Julia Roberts was nominated for Worst Actress for Mary Reilly and Worst Supporting Actress for Hook.-Leonardo Dicaprio was nominated for Worst Actor for The Beach.-Bruce Dern was nominated for Worst Actor for Tattoo.-Sandra Bullock was nominated for Worst Supporting Actress for Demolition Man, Worst Actress for Speed 2: Cruise Control, and won a Worst Actress Razzie for All About Steve the day before she won her Academy Award for The Blind Side.

Are Any Oscar Nominated Films Up For Razzies This Year?

Just one. The Lone Ranger is Oscar nominated for Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The film is Razzie nominated for Worst Picture, Worst Actor for Johnny Depp, Worst Screenplay, Worst Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel, and Worst Director for Gore Verbinski.

Bradley Cooper, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actor, is not nominated for a Razzie, but his film The Hangover III, is nominated for Worst Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel.

How Many Previous Oscar Nominations Do This Year's Acting Nominees Have All Together?

All together, throughout all four acting categories, this year's nominees have a total of 45 previous nominations. The actors who have not previously been nominated for Oscars are: Matthew McConaughey, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sally Hawkins, Lupita Nyong'o, June Squibb, Barkhad Abdi, Michael Fassbender, and Jared Leto. The number was significantly boosted by Meryl Streep's 17 nominations.

How Many Previous Oscar Wins Do This Year's Acting Nominees Have All Together?

Nine.

Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side; Judi Dench for Shakespeare in Love; Meryl Streep for Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie's Choice, and The Iron Lady; Cate Blanchet for The Aviator; Christian Bale for The Fighter; Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook; and Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich.

Have Any Actors Ever Won Oscars For The Debut Film?

Barkhad Abdi is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Captain Phillips, his first ever film role, so what does history say about his chance of winning?

In the category of Best Support Actress, there have been several winners for their debut films. Jennifer Hudson won in 2006 for Dreamgirls, Anna Paquin won in 1993 for The Piano, and Tatum O'Neal won in 1973 for Paper Moon. Previous to that, several actresses won for their debuts in the '40s and '50s.

Four women have won Best Actress awards for their debut film: Shiley Booth in 1952 for Come Back, Little Sheba, Marlee Matlin in 1986 for Children of a Lesser God, Barbra Streisand in 1969 for Funny Girl, and Julie Andrews in 1964 for Mary Poppins.

Only one man has received an Academy Award for his debut: Haing S. Ngor won Best Supporting Actor in 1984 for The Killing Fields.

Who Will Be Performing At The Academy Awards?

A list performers has not yet been released, but judging by the nominees for Best Original Song, we could be getting performances from Pharrell Williams ("Happy," Despicable Me 2), Karen O ("The Moon Song," Her), and U2 ("Ordinary Love," Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.)

Have Straight-Identifying Actors Previously Been Nominated For Playing Gay Characters In The Past?

This question was raised in reference to the film Dallas Buyer's Club which is up for a total of six awards this year. The answer is yes and past nominees include: Greg Kinnear for As Good As It Gets, Jake Gyllenhall and Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain, Annette Bening for The Kids are Alright, and Tom Hanks who won Best Actor for Philadelphia.

This could be a big year for diversity among the top winners. When was the last time the Academy awarded Best Actor/Actress and Best Director to non-white nominees?

The most recent minority winners of these top awards were: Ang Lee, Best Director for Life of Pi last year; Forest Whitaker, Best Actor for The Last King of Scotland in 2006; and Halle Berry, Best Actress for Monsters Ball in 2001. Keep in mind, the lack of minority Academy Award winners has a lot more to do with the low number of minority directed or starring films being produced in the first place, than it does with who the Academy chooses.

Images: Focus Features, Annapurna Productions, Fox Searchlight Pictures