Quiz: Oscar worthy movie lines

By Elena Howe and Glenn Whipp

In a nod to struggling screenwriters everywhere and, indeed, the written word itself (and, yes, to the actors who give such pitch-perfect deliveries as to make the words indelible), we offer up some of our favorite lines from this year's crop of best picture nominees. Match the quote with the movie below.



Clockwise from left: Scenes from 'The Artist,' 'The Help,' 'Hugo' and 'Midnight in Paris.' (The Weinstein Co., Dreamworks, Paramount and Sony Picture Classics)

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  • 1. "Courage sometimes skips a generation. Thank you for bringing it back to our family."

    • A. "War Horse"

    • B. "The Help"

    • C. "The Tree of Life"

    • D. "The Descendants"

  • 2. "You are about 100 miles from Smartville."

    • A. "Moneyball"

    • B. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

    • C. "Midnight in Paris"

    • D. "The Descendants"

  • 3. "When your enemies make mistakes, don't interrupt them."

    • A. "Moneyball"

    • B. "War Horse"

    • C. "The Artist"

    • D. "Hugo"

  • 4. "Originally, all this was swampland. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, in Old French the word 'Versailles' means something like 'terrain where the weeds have been pulled.'"

    • A. "The Artist"

    • B. "Hugo"

    • C. "Midnight in Paris"

    • D. "The Descendants"

  • 5. "If you ever need more rats, we can always send ours over because we have more than we need, strictly speaking."

    • A. "War Horse"

    • B. "Hugo"

    • C. "The Tree of Life"

    • D. "Moneyball"

  • 6. "Seems Maximillian doesn't like the cut of your jib, little man. He's disturbed by your physiogamy. He is upset by your visage."

    • A. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

    • B. "War Horse"

    • C. "Midnight in Paris"

    • D. "Hugo"

  • 7. "I won't talk. I won't say a word."

    • A. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

    • B. "The Artist"

    • C. "The Tree of Life"

    • D. "The Help"

  • 8. "Love and hate are two horns of the same goat ... and you need a goat."

    • A. "Moneyball"

    • B. "War Horse"

    • C. "The Help"

    • D. "The Descendants"

  • 9. "Although my stomach hurt and my eyes were watering, I made up my mind that nothing was going to stop me. Not even me."

    • A. "Hugo"

    • B. "Midnight in Paris"

    • C. "The Tree of Life"

    • D. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

  • 10. "I wanted to be loved because I was great — a big man. I'm nothing. Look at the glory around — trees … birds. I dishonored it all and didn't notice the glory. I'm a foolish man."

    • A. "The Tree of Life"

    • B. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

    • C. "The Descendants"

    • D. "Midnight in Paris"

  • 11. "Maybe that's why broken machines make me so sad; they can't do what they're meant to do. Maybe it's the same with people. If you lose your purpose, it's like you're broken."

    • A. "The Help"

    • B. "Hugo"

    • C. "The Artist"

    • D. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

  • 12. "Would you rather get a bullet to the head or five to the chest and bleed to death?" "Are those my only two options?"

    • A. "Moneyball"

    • B. "War Horse"

    • C. "The Tree of Life"

    • D. "Midnight in Paris"

  • 13. "I don't say anything when you walk too slow ... And I don't say anything when you go to the bathroom three times an hour ... But you could eat a little faster!"

    • A. "Hugo"

    • B. "The Help"

    • C. "The Tree of Life"

    • D. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

  • 14. "What he done in Africa, whatever it was, he takes no pride in it. Hard as it surely was, and however much pain it cost him, he refuses to be proud of killing, I suppose."

    • A. "The Tree of Life"

    • B. "The Artist"

    • C. "War Horse"

    • D. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

  • 15. "Toscanini once recorded a piece 65 times. You know what he said when he finished? 'It could be better.' Think about it."

    • A. "The Artist"

    • B. "The Tree of Life"

    • C. "Midnight in Paris"

    • D. "Hugo"

  • 16. "You could have had the decency to lie about that one."

    • A. "The Help"

    • B. "The Descendants"

    • C. "Midnight in Paris"

    • D. "Moneyball"

  • 17. "I wish it wasn't like this, but the public wants fresh meat and the public is never wrong."

    • A. "The Artist"

    • B. "Moneyball"

    • C. "Hugo"

    • D. "Midnight in Paris"

  • 18. "No subject is terrible if the story is true and if the prose is clean and honest and if it affirms courage and grace under pressure."

    • A. "The Help"

    • B. "The Artist"

    • C. "The Tree of Life"

    • D. "Midnight in Paris"

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