Oscar Best Picture Nominees 2018 Quiz

Answer: Winston Churchill

'Darkest Hour' is set during World War II at the point where the Allied forces in Europe were closest to being defeated. The German troops were taking over most of continental Europe, and the entire British army was being pushed towards the coast of Northern France, providing a very similar setup to another Best Picture nominee, 'Dunkirk'.

Winston Churchill was known for his hard drinking and cigar smoking, issues that are not shied away from in the film. Gary Oldman beat out competition from former winners Denzel Washington and Daniel Day-Lewis to take home the award.

Answer: Steven Spielberg

Directing such classic films as 'E.T.', 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' and 'Duel' earlier in his career, Steven Spielberg has become one of the most powerful people in Hollywood. Despite spending more time producing than directing as time has gone on, he still found time to direct Best Picture nominee 'The Post' starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks.

'The Post' is referring to 'The Washington Post', and tells the story of the newspaper uncovering and releasing secret documents that could tarnish the reputation of former presidents. The end of the film is at almost the same time as the beginning of the journalistic classic 'All the President's Men', and the two films share several characters.

Answer: Italy

'Call Me By Your Name' is about a 17 year old boy discovering his sexuality when a male research assistant comes to work with his father. The boy, Elio, is played by Timothee Chalamet, while the researcher, Oliver, is played by Armie Hammer. The film won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2018.

The photo is of the Duomo or cathedral in the city of Florence in Italy.

Answer: Paul Thomas Anderson

'Phantom Thread' is set in the world of London fashion in the 1950s, and centres around eccentric and demanding designer Reynolds Woodcock, played by Daniel Day-Lewis. Reynolds makes a habit of using women as muses before asking his sister to get rid of them when they no longer inspire him. His most recent muse, Alma (played by Vicky Krieps), is having no such dismissal, and goes to fairly extreme lengths to keep Reynolds with her.

The 1999 Paul Thomas Anderson film is called 'Magnolia', starring Tom Cruise and Julianne Moore.

Answer: Sacramento

Set in 2002 in Sacramento, California, 'Lady Bird' is a coming of age tale written and directed by Greta Gerwig. Shockingly, Gerwig was only the fifth woman in the 90-year history of the Academy Awards to have been nominated for Best Director. The previous four women were Lina Wertmuller ('Seven Beauties'), Jane Campion ('The Piano'), Sofia Coppola ('Lost in Translation') and Kathryn Bigelow ('The Hurt Locker'), with Bigelow the first woman to take home the award.

The title role in 'Lady Bird' is played brilliantly by Irish actor Saoirse Ronan who was herself nominated for the Best Actress Oscar. The photo shows Tower Bridge in Sacramento.

Answer: Mole

That furry creature is indeed a mole (a star-nosed mole to be precise), namesake of the large stone structure on the beach of Dunkirk from which stranded soldiers try to escape onto friendly vessels without being bombed. The film follows three different storylines simultaneously, considering the evacuation of Dunkirk from the perspective of those on the beach, civilians crossing the channel, and RAF pilots in the air. The timescales for these three stories are a week, a day and an hour respectively, giving the film its non-linear structure as the three narratives are woven together.

'Dunkirk' collected several technical Oscars in 2018, and was highly praised for its sound editing and score.

Answer: Missouri

The full title of the film is 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' (hopefully the Gateway Arch in St. Louis gave it away!). The three billboards play a pivotal role in the film as Frances McDormand's character Mildred hires the space to publicly ask local police why they have not solved the case of her daughter's death from the previous year. Both Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell won Oscars for their performances, with McDormand's for her lead role and Rockwell's for supporting.

Answer: Jordan Peele

'Get Out' is a satirical black comedy about problems of race in the United States. It tells the story of Daniel Kaluuya's Chris meeting the family of his white girlfriend Rose (played by Allison Williams). Whilst he gets some strange vibes pretty much as soon as he arrives at the house, things go from bad to worse for Chris.

In addition to the win for Best Original Screenplay and the nomination for Best Picture, 'Get Out' was also nominated for Best Actor and Best Director. The incorrect answers were all producers on the film.

Answer: Sally Hawkins

Despite its magical and seemingly timeless air, 'The Shape of Water' is set in the 1960s in Baltimore, Maryland. It shows the fairytale romance between a mute cleaner in a scientific research laboratory (Sally Hawkins) and an unusual specimen that has been brought there for study (played by Doug Jones).

In addition to Best Picture, Guillermo del Toro also picked up the Best Director Oscar for 'The Shape of Water'.

Answer: Michael Stuhlbarg

The three films in which Michael Stuhlbarg featured were 'Call Me By Your Name', 'The Shape of Water' and 'The Post'. All three of the incorrect answers featured in two Best Picture nominees in 2018. Timothee Chalamet was in 'Call Me By Your Name' (for which he was nominated for Best Actor) and 'Lady Bird', and both Kathryn Newton and Lucas Hedges appeared in 'Lady Bird' and 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'.

The photo shows a boardwalk, and Stuhlbarg is also known for his role in the TV series 'Boardwalk Empire' with Steve Buscemi and Michael Shannon.