50 Fun Facts About 12 Years a Slave

Who directed 12 Years a Slave?

His previous films were Hunger and Shame.

Who plays Solomon Northup?

He won the BAFTA for Best Actor and was Oscar-nominated.

What is Northup's profession before he is kidnapped?

He lives with his wife and two children in Saratoga Springs, New York.

In which city is Northup drugged and delivered to a slave pen?

Brown and Hamilton lure him there with the promise of musical work.

What slave name is Northup given by the trader Theophilus Freeman?

The identity is that of a runaway from Georgia.

Who plays the slave trader Freeman?

Paul Dano plays the carpenter Tibeats.

Who plays William Ford, Northup's first owner?

The film undercuts Ford, though Northup's book called him 'a more kind, noble, candid, Christian man' than any other.

What does Ford give Northup as a gift?

Northup later destroys it in rage after being forced to whip Patsey.

Which carpenter tries to lynch Northup after Northup beats him?

The overseer stops it, but Northup is left on tiptoes with the noose around his neck for hours.

Who plays the sadistic plantation owner Edwin Epps?

It was his third film with McQueen after Hunger and Shame.

Who plays Patsey?

It was her first feature film role, straight out of Yale, and won her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Why does Epps whip Patsey nearly to death?

Mrs. Epps would not let her have any soap.

Who plays Mary Epps, the jealous wife?

Alfre Woodard plays Mistress Harriet Shaw.

What destroys Epps's crop, forcing him to lease his slaves out?

Judge Turner favours Northup and lets him keep his fiddling earnings.

Who betrays Northup after taking his money to mail a letter?

Northup convinces Epps the man is lying and burns the letter.

Which Canadian labourer finally helps Northup get word to New York?

He cites his Christian faith to castigate Epps over slavery.

Who plays Bass?

His company Plan B Entertainment backed the film.

What are Northup and Bass building when Northup confides in him?

The sheriff arrives soon after with a shopkeeper Northup knew in New York.

Who arrives with the sheriff to identify Northup?

Epps tries to stop Northup leaving but is rebuffed.

What is the name of the grandson introduced at the homecoming?

His daughter has married in his absence.

Who wrote the screenplay?

He and McQueen reportedly feuded over shared credit and didn't thank each other at the Oscars.

Who found Northup's memoir and brought it to McQueen?

McQueen said it read like Anne Frank's diary written 97 years earlier.

In which state was the film shot?

Four historic antebellum plantations were used as locations.

Which plantation location is nearest to where the real Northup was held?

Ejiofor described the feeling as 'dancing with ghosts'.

How long did principal photography take?

It ran from June 27 to August 13, 2012, on a $22 million budget.

Which painter did McQueen cite as a visual reference for depicting violence beautifully?

The film deliberately avoided a desaturated, gritty documentary look.

Roughly how many costumes did designer Patricia Norris create?

She took earth samples from the plantations to match the clothes.

Who composed the score?

Nicholas Britell wrote the on-screen fiddle music, performed by Tim Fain.

Which spiritual did John Legend cover for the soundtrack?

It debuted online three weeks before the album.

How many Oscars did the film win?

Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actress, from nine nominations.

The film's top Oscar made McQueen the first what?

He was also the first Black producer to receive the award.

Who hosted the 2014 Oscars where the film won?

It was her second time hosting.

Which film won the most awards that night, with seven?

It tied American Hustle for most nominations with ten.

Where was the actress who plays Patsey born?

Her father, a Kenyan politician, was teaching there; she was raised in Kenya from age three.

In what year was Northup's memoir published?

It came out soon after Uncle Tom's Cabin, to which it lent factual support, and was dedicated to Harriet Beecher Stowe.

How many copies did the memoir sell in the 19th century?

It then went out of print until two historians revived it in 1968.

Which two historians restored the memoir to prominence in 1968?

Eakin first saw a first edition as a child growing up in plantation country.

On what date did the real Northup regain his freedom?

The governor of New York helped secure his release.

How accurate did the blog Information is Beautiful judge the film?

Its verdict: 'the most gut-wrenching scenes really happened'.

Which festival gave the film its premiere in August 2013?

It then took the People's Choice Award at Toronto.

What was the film's production budget?

It went on to earn $187.7 million worldwide, and was the tenth most pirated film of 2014 with over 23 million illegal downloads.

Who was the film's cinematographer, shooting on 35 mm with anamorphic lenses?

Bobbitt argued widescreen film suited 'an epic tale of human endurance', and the look was deliberately not desaturated.

The director said Northup's memoir read like which famous diary, 'written 97 years before'?

Living in Amsterdam, he was upset with himself for not already knowing the book and made filming it his passion.

The director met his future screenwriter at a 2008 screening of which of his own films?

After both won Oscars, the two were reported to be feuding over screenplay credit; neither thanked the other on stage.

Which prize did the film take at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival?

Strong test screenings had already prompted the studio to pull the US release forward from late December to October.

Which Golden Globe did the film win?

At the BAFTAs it added Best Film and Best Actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Which production company backed the film after its lengthy development?

Its backing helped draw in other financiers; Fox Searchlight then took North American rights in exchange for sharing box-office proceeds rather than paying a fee.

Who wrote the on-screen violin music, performed by Tim Fain?

The soundtrack also folds in Schubert's Trio in B-flat and the fiddle tune 'Money Musk'.

Which African-American history scholar served as a consultant on the film?

Historian Emily West said she had never seen a film represent slavery so accurately.

In which year did the film enter the US National Film Registry, in its first year of eligibility?

It was only the ninth film ever inducted at the first opportunity, and the 49th Best Picture winner to be preserved.