The Slap (Not) Heard Around the World Quiz

Answer: Ellen DeGeneres

Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Regina Hall were chosen as the first hosts for the Academy Awards in four years. The previous two ceremonies had had no host due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 91st Academy Awards was deliberately without a host after Kevin Hart resigned from the position.

The three ladies had their gloves off from the beginning, poking fun at many different things. They started by saying that the Academy had chosen three female hosts because it was cheaper than hiring one male host, and the digs kept coming constantly after that. The ladies kept the show tastefully amusing, a theme that was constant, well, up until 'the incident'...

Answer: Dune

"Dune" ran away from the 2022 Academy Awards with six Oscar wins. Though they didn't win any in any of the 'big' categories, they still were able to take an award for Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects.

"Dune" is the 2021 movie adaptation of the first half of the novel by Frank Herbert. It tells the story of the planet Arrakis and the mining of the spice on it, spice necessary for space travel. It was a great success compared to the 1984 adaptation.

Answer: Jessica Chastain

"The Eyes of Tammy Faye" won two Academy Awards in the 2022 ceremony. The first was for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, while the second was for Best Actress. Jessica Chastain won her very first Oscar for her role as Tammy Faye Bakker, an evangelist preacher.

Jessica Chastain had acquired the rights to the story of Tammy Faye Bakker a few years earlier and wanted to bring to light the truth behind her story. The movie is a biopic that tells about the life of Bakker and how she supported the LGBTQ+ community at a time when it wasn't popular to do so.

Answer: Deafness

Troy Kotsur took on the role of Frank Rossi in the 2021 movie "CODA". In the movie, the role that Troy took on was deaf, something that mirrors his real-life disability. It tells the story of two deaf parents, Frank and Jackie Rossi, who have to deal with their hearing daughter who is growing up and finding her own way in life.

Troy Kotsur was the first actor to win the Academy Award in a supporting category as a deaf person. The first winner of an Oscar while deaf was his acting partner, Marlee Matlin, who played Jackie. She won in 1986 for her role as Sarah Norman in "Children of a Lesser God".

Answer: Japan

"Doraibu mai kā" or "Drive My Car" was a 2021 Japanese film that won Best Foreign Film and had other nominations as well. It tells the story of an actor and director, Yūsuke, who loses his wife and, in the process, loses himself. He is asked to put on a production of "Uncle Vanya" and he casts a young actor, Kōji, to play the role of Vanya. The two bond as they get driven around in a bright red Saab and Yūsuke learns how to move on.

"Drive My Car" was directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi and starred Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tōko Miura, and Masaki Okada. It was critically praised for the narrative, the visuals, and the rich plot. It was nominated for four awards at the 2022 Academy Awards but won only the aforementioned one.

Answer: The Power of the Dog

"The Power of the Dog" is a 2021 film based on a novel of the same name by Thomas Savage. It tells the chilling story of a two brothers, George and Phil, who own a horse ranch and meet a widowed hotel owner Rose. George is besotted with Rose and eventually marries her, taking in her teenaged son Peter. When things start turning up dead and dissected around Peter, Phil is suspicious, but attempts to build his relationship with him. Rose has descended into alcoholism in the meantime, and Peter does what he can to protect her. The end of the movie, needless to say, is unexpected and chilling.

Jane Campion first read the novel "The Power of the Dog" in 2017 and was captivated by the story. She secured the rights to the book and wrote the screenplay, then decided to return to her birthplace of New Zealand to film the movie (for budgetary reasons). The result led her to her first Academy Award for Best Director.

Answer: Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson was singled out for receiving the lifetime achievement award at the 94th Academy Awards. He was so honoured along with Liv Ullmann and Elaine May. Jackson had not received the award up to that point. In fact, he had only been nominated once, for his role as Jules Winnfield in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction". He has also had memorable roles in a recurring role as Nick Fury in the "Marvel" movies, as John Shaft in the "Shaft" movies, and Stephen Warren in "Django Unchained", amongst many others.

As an actor, at the time of the 94th Academy Awards, Samuel L. Jackson was the highest grossing actor of all time, his films having grossed over $27 billion (USD). Aside from these, he was a cultural icon who supported important causes like masking during the COVID-19 pandemic and equal rights in support of Black Lives Matter.

Answer: CODA

"CODA" was a 2021 remake of the film "La Famille Bélier", a 2014 French movie. The acronym 'CODA' means 'child of deaf adults' and refers to the protagonist, Ruby, a hearing child whose parents are both deaf. She has her own hopes and dreams, but has to navigate helping out her own parents with their struggling fishing business.

"CODA" was successful in the 94th Academy Awards, winning in the three categories it was nominated in. It won the awards for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay, becoming the second-most successful film at the ceremony.

Answer: Bob Saget

The 2022 "In Memoriam" tribute featured "The Samples" choir singing and remembering some of the actors and filmmakers that were lost in the previous year. The tribute opened with Tyler Perry speaking about Sidney Poitier, the amazing Bahamian actor. In the middle, Bill Murray got up to speak about Ivan Reitman, Czech-born director and producer.

The tribute ended with Jamie Lee Curtis speaking about Betty White and her animal activism. Bob Saget's name was omitted from the main tribute, which also featured some big names like Stephen Sondheim, William Hurt, Olympia Dukakis, Sonny Chiba, and many more.

Answer: Chris Rock

Chris Rock was on stage presenting the award for Best Documentary and was making a few jokes. However, one of them did not sit well with Will Smith. Rock likened Jada Pinkett Smith's new hairstyle to "G.I. Jane" a movie where Demi Moore shaves her head. Seeing how Jada had publicized the fact that she has alopecia, a condition that causes her to lose hair, this did not sit well with Will Smith. A moment after the joke (where he was seen laughing briefly before seeing his wife's shocked expression), he got up on stage and slapped Chris Rock.

Chris Rock tried to justify that it was just a joke to which Smith loudly shouted "keep my wife's name out of your (expletive) mouth", twice. Afterward, when Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor, he apologized to the Academy for his outburst and conduct, however, Rock's name was loudly omitted. Chris Rock declined to press charges immediately following the incident.

The incident clearly took out much of the joyous atmosphere from the event and immediately became the tending topic across all social media and the news. While many people did not hear the verbal altercation (it was muted by censors), the actions were certainly heard loud and clear all across the world.