Q 01/05

The first Academy Awards, a private dinner in May 1929, was held at which Los Angeles venue?

A) The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

B) The Ambassador Hotel

C) Grauman's Chinese Theatre

D) The Biltmore Hotel

Answer · why

A) The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel's Blossom Room hosted the black-tie dinner on 16 May 1929, with tickets at $5; unlike every ceremony since, it was never...

Q 02/05

Why was there no suspense at the first Oscars in 1929?

A) One nominee each

B) Winners already announced

C) Studios shared prizes

D) Guests voted openly

Answer · why

B) Winners already announced

Winners were already announced three months before the 1929 dinner, so the statuettes were handed over in a matter of minutes; from the second ceremon...

Q 03/05

Which film won Outstanding Picture, the forerunner of Best Picture, at the very first Academy Awards?

A) Sunrise

B) The Jazz Singer

C) Wings

D) Metropolis

Answer · why

C) Wings

Wings, a First World War flying epic, won Outstanding Picture while Sunrise took a separate 'Unique and Artistic Picture' prize; a year later the Acad...

Q 04/05

What did the Academy start doing in 1941 after the LA Times printed the Oscar winners early in 1940?

A) Counting ballots twice

B) Banning press from the room

C) Using a sealed envelope

D) Delaying results until midnight

Answer · why

C) Using a sealed envelope

Using a sealed envelope began in 1941: until then the results were handed to newspapers in advance, and in 1940 the Los Angeles Times printed the winn...

Q 05/05

Which accounting firm and its predecessor have certified the Academy Awards votes since 1935?

A) Deloitte & Touche

B) Ernst & Young

C) Arthur Andersen

D) PricewaterhouseCoopers

Answer · why

D) PricewaterhouseCoopers

PricewaterhouseCoopers and its forerunner Price Waterhouse have counted the ballots since 1935; after a partner handed over the wrong card in 2017's B...