Quizzes & Puzzles Storytime with Corey Trivia with Corey! Test Your Knowledge of Cornell at the Oscars Big Red history expert Corey Ryan Earle ’07 offers a challenging prelim on alums nominated for one of filmmaking’s highest honors 10 Questions • Level: Challenging By Corey Ryan Earle ’07 The 97th Academy Awards—recognizing the best of cinema from 2024—are scheduled for March 2, 2025. Unfortunately, no Cornellians are nominated this year. That said, journalist Keri Blakinger ’11, BA ’14, is a producer of I Am Ready, Warden, nominated for Best Documentary Short. The film—which is currently streaming on Paramount+—tells the story of a death row prisoner whose case Blakinger (and fellow alum Maurice Chammah ’10) covered in a 2021 article for the Marshall Project. (Due to Academy rules limiting the number of producers who can be included in a nomination, Blakinger’s name doesn’t appear on the Oscar ballot. The same rule impacted producer Ryan Silbert ’02 when God of Love won Best Live Action Short in 2011.) Cornell’s next closest connection to this year’s awards might be the inclusion of Peter Yarrow ’59 as a character in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. Actor Nick Pupo plays the late musician (of Peter, Paul, and Mary fame) in the film, which is nominated for eight Oscars including Best Picture. But over the years, many alumni have made their mark on Hollywood and on the Oscars. And dozens have brought home a gold statuette, primarily for roles behind the camera. (In 2024, the drama Oppenheimer—which was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won seven—had numerous historical Cornell connections.) Think you’re a whiz at Big Red movie trivia? Test your knowledge in our Oscars-themed quiz. And if you know of a Cornellian involved with one of this year’s Oscar-nominated films, let us know in the comments! 1) With three Oscar wins out of nine nominations, which alum has the most statuettes? Richard Price ’71 Christopher Reeve ’74 Thelma Schoonmaker ’61 David Seidler ’59 None 2) Franchot Tone 1927 was one of three Best Actor nominees for the 1935 film “Mutiny on the Bounty”—a situation that eventually prompted what? A limit on nominees from any one film Creation of the Best Supporting Actor category The tradition of announcing nominees before the ceremony Use of sealed envelopes for results None 3) Director and producer Tia Lessin ’86, BA ’88, was nominated for making what acclaimed documentary feature? “Trouble the Water” “Hoop Dreams” “Food, Inc.” “Inside Job” None 4) Described by critic Leonard Maltin as “the greatest American director who is not a household name,” Howard Hawks 1918 is the only Cornellian to have what distinction? Being nominated twice in the same category Receiving 10 or more nominations Winning two Academy Awards in one year Winning an honorary Oscar None 5) The first Cornellian nominated for an Oscar was actor Adolphe Menjou 1912 for 1931’s “The Front Page.” He was best known for what element of his personal style—which he claimed had its roots on the Hill, when he woke up late for an 8 a.m. class? Bowler hat Mustache Monocle Muttonchop sideburns None 6) Rob Cook, MArch ’82, has won two Scientific and Technical Academy Awards for RenderMan, a photorealistic 3D rendering software at the core of the work of which studio? Dreamworks Industrial Light & Magic Pixar Weta FX None 7) The daughter of which Cornellian building namesake won Best Supporting Actress for her role in 1976’s “Network”? Willard Straight 1901 Goldwin Smith Anna Botsford Comstock 1885 Prudence Risley None 8) David Seidler ’59 won Best Original Screenplay for which historical drama about the British royal family? “Darkest Hour” “Elizabeth” “The King’s Speech” “The Queen” None 9) Arthur Laurents ’37 wrote the novel—based on his own undergrad experiences—that was made into what Oscar-winning film of the 1970s? “The Last Picture Show” “Love Story” “Animal House” “The Way We Were” None 10) Songwriter Mack David ’32 was nominated for co-penning what classic Disney tune? “Someday My Prince Will Come” “Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo” “Whistle While You Work” “Once Upon a Dream” None Time’s up An expert on Big Red lore, Corey Ryan Earle ’07 teaches “The First American University,” a wildly popular spring semester course on Cornell history. Published February 18, 2025 Comments Nuria Alvarez Grant, Class of 1980 25 Feb, 2025 This was awesome information. Great refresher on Oscar history for an aspiring creative like me (yes… I’m a life long learner) and for an artistic connection to Cornell. Thanks, Nuria Alvarez Grant, Class 1980 Reply Harry Petchesky, Class of 1959 25 Feb, 2025 Franchot Tone asked his classmate Gene Tonkonogy to come to Hollywood with him. Gene declined, but distinguished himself by purchasing a British Virgin Island which was used as the set for the film “My Virgin Island “, buying many thousands of acres of land in the East Hampton woods in the 1950’s, and serving into his 90’s as a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like 6 Questions For ... 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