All the Info You Need to Play Trivia

Joan Allen, best supporting nominee for “The Crucible,” is the only acting nominee who was also nominated last year. She was a best supporting contender for “Nixon.”

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“The English Patient” nominees Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche previously starred together in the ill-fated 1992 remake of “Wuthering Heights.”

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If “Sling Blade’s” Billy Bob Thornton wins for best actor and best original screenplay, he will be the first person in Oscar history to do so for the same film.

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Kenneth Branagh has now been nominated in four categories. He’s a 1996 nominee for best screenplay based on material previously produced or published for “Hamlet,” he was a best actor and best director nominee for 1989’s “Henry V” and he was nominated for his 1992 live-action short “Swan Song.”

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Although Barbra Streisand failed to get a best actress nomination for “The Mirror Has Two Faces,” she is nominated for co-writing the film’s best song contender “I Finally Found Someone” with Marvin Hamlisch, Bryan Adams and Robert “Mutt” Lange. She previously won the best song Oscar with Paul Williams for 1976’s “Evergreen.” It’s her fourth nomination overall.

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Best supporting nominee James Woods (“Ghosts of Mississippi”) was a best actor nominee for 1987’s “Salvador.”

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“The People vs. Larry Flynt” best actor nominee Woody Harrelson is the first cast member of the series “Cheers” to receive an Oscar nomination.

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Before venturing into films, best actor and screenplay nominee Billy Bob Thornton played the role of Billy Bob Davis in the 1992-95 CBS comedy “Hearts Afire” and the part of Buck Merrill in the 1990 Fox series “The Outsiders.”

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Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet” is the only film adapted from a Shakespeare play to receive a screenplay nomination. Laurence Olivier’s 1948 “Hamlet” won the best picture Oscar.

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“Fargo” best director nominee Joel Coen is married to “Fargo” best actress nominee Frances McDormand. The last time a married director and actress shared nominations for the same film was for 1974’s “A Woman Under the Influence,” directed by John Cassavetes and starring Gena Rowlands.

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Best director nominee Milos Forman (“The People vs. Larry Flynt”) has won the best director Oscar the previous times he’s been nominated. He won for 1975’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and 1984’s “Amadeus.” This marks the first time, though, the film he directed failed to be nominated.