Gallery: How to Sound Smart During the Oscars: A Cheat Sheet
01lincoln
For movie buffs, the Oscars are one of the best nights of the year – the elation! the fashion! the inevitable acceptance speech flubs! But watching the Oscars, either with friends at an IRL party or the hivemind of Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks, it can devolve into a big game of *Didja Know?* Most people don't have time to see every movie that's nominated, let alone research every little factoid about them. So this year, we're here to help. This quick "cheat sheet" of talking points is by no means an exhaustive list of every piece of relevant trivia, but it's a useful resource for moving your small talk beyond "Ben Affleck was robbed!" (He was. Everyone knows it. BUT there are more interesting ways to talk about it.). Peruse the items above and then comment with your own favorite pieces of trivia about this year's Oscars, which will be airing Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific on ABC. __Above:__ This Is One of the Most Political Best-Picture Races Ever --------------------------------------------------------- __Talking Point:__ Of the nine films up for Best Picture this year quite a few have political messages or undertones of some kind. *Zero Dark Thirty*'s intense take on the search for Osama bin Laden had [everybody talking about torture](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/12/zero-dark-thirty/). *Argo* is the movie version of the real-life tale of rescuing six American embassy workers during the [Iran hostage crisis](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/magazine/2007/04/feat_cia/). *Django Unchained* is a revenge tale about slavery; *Lincoln* is the story of how America's 16th president pushed through the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery. Even *Beasts of the Southern Wild* is a fantastical, metaphorical take on life in the Louisiana bayou in a Katrina-like storm. When all else fails on Oscar night, make a point about Hollywood making some serious point-making films in 2012. *Photo courtesy Touchstone Pictures/20th Century Fox*
Ed Ritger02tony-kushner
Speaking of Politics, *Lincoln* Scribe Tony Kushner Supports *ZDT* ------------------------------------------------------------------ __Talking Point:__ [Tony Kushner](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Kushner) might be one of the greatest drama writers of our time. His engaging script for [*Lincoln*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/), which at its core is really just two-plus hours of *really fascinating* talking, is proof of that (so is his Pulitzer Prize for the play [*Angels in America*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_in_America:_A_Gay_Fantasia_on_National_Themes)). One of the things that makes him such a good dramatist is his ability to turn political back-and-forth into edge-of-your-seat suspense. It's a skill that often intertwines with Kushner's own political life, where he's never shied away from his views (he was [blocked from getting an honorary degree](http://www.salon.com/2011/05/04/tony_kushner_cuny_israel/) from the City University of New York for his criticisms of Israel's treatment of Palestine). So it should be no surprise that – even amidst the *me, me, ME!*-ness of the Oscar race – Kushner stood up for *Zero Dark Thirty* filmmakers Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, [signing a letter to the Senate](http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/kushner-backs-zero-dark-thirty-filmmakers/) asserting several Senators went too far in suggesting Sony Pictures should correct its depiction of torture in the film. Kushner himself isn't up against either of the filmmakers – he's nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay whereas Boal is up for Best Original Screenplay – but both movies are up for Best Picture, so the move means, if nothing else, Kushner should win for Best Supportive Screenwriter. *Photo: [Ed Ritger, Commonwealth Club/Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/commonwealthclub/5190776194/)*
03john-williams
John Williams' Nomination for *Lincoln* Is His 48th (!!!) Oscar Nod ------------------------------------------------------------------- __Talking Point:__ Forever beloved by nerds for creating the soundtrack to our lives – aka the score for *Star Wars* – [John Williams](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002354/) is the most Oscar-nominated person alive. The only person in history with more Oscar nominations than him is Walt Disney, [who racked up 59](http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/10/entertainment/la-et-mn-oscars-2013-nominations-trivia-20130110) by the time he passed away. The man behind the *Lincoln* score has won a total five gold men total – including one for Steven Spielberg's *Schindler's List* – and his closest competition for most nominations is Woody Allen, who has 23.
04best-actress
The Best Actress Category Has the Youngest and Oldest Nominees Ever ------------------------------------------------------------------- __Talking Point:__ This year's Best Actress Oscar is a pretty close race, but that happens a lot (Hollywood loves its starlets). What doesn't happen often is what's going down this year in that category – the [youngest and oldest nominees ever](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/oscars-2013-records-broken-oldest-410704) facing off against one another. Quvenzhané Wallis, who gave an unimaginably great performance in *Beasts of the Southern Wild*, is just nine years old (she was [only six when she filmed](http://www.wbur.org/npr/172123590/quvenzhane-wallis-if-i-have-to-be-fierce-ill-be-fierce)). Then there's 85-year-old Emmanuelle Riva from *Amour*, whose nomination breaks Jessica Tandy's previous record (she was nominated at age 80 for *Driving Miss Daisy*). In the end, the smart money is on the women in the middle of the age spectrum – Jennifer Lawrence for *Silver Linings Playbook* or Jessica Chastain for *Zero Dark Thirty* – but if Wallis or Riva win, it will be historic. *Photo courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures*
05django-unchained-3
The Internet Thinks *Django Unchained* Will Win Best Picture and Jennifer Lawrence Will Get Best Actress (Nate Silver Agrees With the Second Part) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- __Talking Point:__ All Oscar aficionados have their barometers for predicting who they think will take any particular award – some lean on the Golden Globes, some watch that amorphous thing known as "buzz," others use tea leaves (we're presuming). But in the last couple weeks a few even more alternative prediction models have come out of the woodwork. One is provided by the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), which picked winners based on how many page views any particular person/film got from the site's 160 million monthly unique visitors. By that metric, [they predicted *Django Unchained* would win Best Picture](http://www.imdb.com/list/tZRF3QxKkAA/?ref_=hm_ad_t2#1) (and Steven Spielberg would get Best Director for *Lincoln*, and so on). However, using a different set of numbers, overall smart guy Nate Silver used a model similar to his election prediction system to find a winner and [came up with *Argo*](http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/22/oscar-predictions-election-style/) (he agrees, however, that Spielberg will win Best Director). On the other end of the random spectrum, a recent survey of New York City taxi riders playing around on those backseat TVs [determined that Jessica Chastain will win](http://movieline.com/2013/02/21/jessica-chastain-best-actress-oscar-survey-new-york-city-taxi-riders/) for Best Actress. [A tally of Yahoo search results](http://www.thecredits.org/2013/02/nate-silver-ing-the-oscar-race-predicting-academy-award-winners-using-statistics/) and Silver agree with that prediction. So there's that.
Ron Phillips06joseph-gordon-levitt
*The Dark Knight Rises* Got Snubbed. Hard. (But at Least Joseph Gordon-Levitt Will Be There) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- __Talking Point:__ No one really seems to be talking about this much – the word "snub" in Oscar talk this year is usually preceded by the words "Ben" and "Affleck" – but *The Dark Knight Rises* didn't get any Oscar noms. Competition was tough this year, and there wasn't really a huge stand-out performance like Heath Ledger's in *The Dark Knight*, but it's a shame [Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is ending](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2012/07/review-dark-knight-rises/) without so much as a nomination for a minor award. At least there is one consolation prize: Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be making a "[special appearance](http://oscar.go.com/blogs/oscar-news/special-appearance-on-the-oscars)" (dear god, we hope [he sings](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwcHHg_0ue4)). *Photo courtesy Warner Bros.*
07paranorman
Stop-Motion Dominates in Best Animation This Year ------------------------------------------------- __Talking Point:__ Say "Best Animated Feature" to most people and visions of Disney films will likely dance in their heads (or maybe Pixar flicks). But this year, most of the best animation was of the stop-motion variety. [Laika's *ParaNorman*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2013/02/paranorman-oscar-art/), Tim Burton's *Frankenweenie*, and Aardman Animation's *The Pirates! Band of Misfits* are all slightly different forms of stop-motion animation. And they're all very different and very creative. Hopefully at least one of them will win and keep the dream of stop-motion films alive. *Photo courtesy Focus Features*
08best-adapted-screenplay
2012 Was the Year of the Great Adapted Screenplay -------------------------------------------------- __Talking Point:__ It's easy to think of book adaptation as something of a film cop-out: Option a popular book, instantly make a popular movie. But a truly great adapted screenplays are a work of art in and of themselves and this year's crop proves it. From Tony Kushner's sleek adaptation of Doris Kearns Goodwin's [*Team of Rivals*](http://www.amazon.com/Team-Rivals-Political-Abraham-Lincoln/dp/0743270754) for *Lincoln* to director David O. Russell's own adaptation of [Matthew Quick's book](http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Linings-Playbook-Novel/dp/B0058M7VQQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361500110&sr=1-1&keywords=Silver+Linings+Playbook) for *Silver Linings Playbook* to Chris Terrio's adaptation of the [Wired story that inspired *Argo*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/magazine/2007/04/feat_cia/) – every single nominee in this category is incredible this year, and could raise the bar for book adaptations for years to come. *Image courtesy Simon & Schuster*
Claire Folger09argo
When All Else Fails, Say '*Argo*, F\*ck Yourself' ------------------------------------------------- __Talking Point:__ The line "[*Argo*, f\*ck yourself](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTjJTsrglDA)" was probably the best catchphrase spawned by any film in 2012 (close seconds: "May the odds be ever in your favor." from *The Hunger Games*, "The 'D' is silent." from [*Django Unchained*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2012/12/review-django-unchained/), and "Aca-scuse me?" from *Pitch Perfect*). But that phrase seemed to take on new meaning when Ben Affleck didn't get nominated for Best Director. So when the winner in that particular category gets announced Sunday night, anyone looking to get in good zinger and impress their friends should reach for that particular catchphrase. Though, be warned, that might seem foolish in retrospect if the film wins for Best Picture, which is highly likely. *Photo courtesy Warner Bros.*
