15 Days Until Oscar: The habit, get into it.

15 is today's magic number. As far as I can tell -- though I am not Pope-infallible-- 15 women have been Oscar nominated over the years for playing nuns or nun apprentices... what are they called, novitiates? novices? problems-like-Maria?

Let's pray for them together after the jump. Which of these nominations do you most approve of and why is it so hard to win for playing a Sister or Mother Superior? 

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18 Days Until Oscar. Nominations for Minors

Sal Mineo & Natalie Wood at the Oscars for REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) one of only two years wherein two minors were nominated. The other is 1973As Sunny Pawar (Lion) can attest this Oscar season, being a cute kid with a preternatural gift in front of the cameras can only get you so far. A little further if you're a girl but still, the point is: it's not easy to be Oscar nominated when you're a minor. Think of the famous or iconic minor performances that DIDN'T snag nominations: Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street, Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet, Hayley Mills in The Parent Trap, Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, Evan Rachel Wood in thirteen, Jacob Tremblay in Room and so on. 

On this 18th day before the Oscars let's quickly survey all the actors who managed a nomination before their 18th birthday!

There are 21 of them in total ... and almost 2/3rd of that number come from the Supporting Actress category which won't shock anyone who knows the Oscars and their double standards for men and women. But a few other statistics revealed might be more of a surprise...

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20 Days til Oscar. Beyond Meryl...

Everyone knows that Meryl Streep is Oscar's all time acting nomination queen. This year the queen received her 20th nomination, this time for playing the worst opera singer Florence Foster Jenkins. But Streep's astonishing numbers get a little less intimidating if you break them up into supporting and lead categories. So let's do that to place Streep in a slightly different context in the history of Oscar'ed actresses.

I begged for this Crayola set as a child. pic.twitter.com/uB5CDBkXup

— Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) February 3, 2017

We'll ignore wins in this particular exercize. Streep isn't #1 in the supporting sweepstakes, but she remains #1 by a very comfortable margin for leading actresses. More details after the jump...

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21 Days Until Oscars: Oscar's Perennial Bridesmaids

Kevin O'Connell, 21 nominations to date21 days until Oscar! Since 21 is the magic number of the day we must note that two contenders this year, Andy Nelson and Kevin O'Connell, competing against each other in Sound Mixing, are both on their 21st nomination. (Take that Meryl with your 20!) Nelson, who seems likely to win for La La Land has already won two Oscars for Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Les Misérables (2012). O'Connell is still waiting for that elusive win. He must be frustrated and his tux must be well worn by now.

So for today's trivia after the jump... 

The Living People With The Most Oscar Nominations Who Have Never Won  (if I've missed anyone you'll let me know in the comments) 

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22 Days til Oscar. Scorsese Trivia, Anyone?

22 is today's magic number. Two working directors, Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese, are ever inching up the statistics of "Directors who've guided the most Oscar-nominated performances"with 18 and 22 performances, respectively, thus far. William Wyler and Elia Kazan are still the champs but Martin Scorsese could eventually topple Kazan's record. This year's Scorsese picture Silence didn't manage an acting nomination (it's nominated only in cinematography) though some were rooting for Issei Ogata's sly supporting role as The Inquisitor. So Scorsese's number remains 22. 

Most Performances Nominated From Their Films

1. William Wyler (36... with 14 winners)
2. Elia Kazan (24... with 9 winners)
3. Martin Scorsese (22... with 5 winners)
4. George Cukor (21 ...with 5 winners)
5. Fred Zinneman (20 ...6 winners) 

It seems unthinkable now that the first two nominated performances Marty directed were by women, since he never again directed a female-focused picture after Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) but it's true. The Scorsese list of 8 supporting actresses, 7 lead actors, 5 supporting actors, and 2 lead actresses follows...

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