ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

In the 1910s, which Mancunian had a squad of ju-jitsu trained female bodyguards?

2.

Who was the first woman to hold an academic post at the University of Manchester?  A palaeobotanist by training, she is better known for establishing a controversial organisation that now bears her name.

3.

Which film, set in remote Scotland, won the 1984 BAFTA for Best Direction and features a soundtrack by Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler?

4.

Which 1991 Irish film, based on a book of the same name, won the best film BAFTA that year and includes bit parts for all four Corrs siblings?

5.

If you add the number of novels written by Sylvia Plath to the number written by Jane Austen, and multiply the total by Kurt Vonnegut’s 'Slaughterhouse', what number do you get?

6.

If you add the number of novels written by Anne Bronte to the number written by Emily Bronte, and multiply the total by Joseph Heller’s 'Catch', what number do you get?

7.

Born in Stockport, who is the Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet?  He is best known for his striking very modern ballets set to equally modem music, such as the White Stripes and Radiohead.  Most recently he choreographed Trees of Code for the Manchester International Festival in 2015.

8.

Which highly acclaimed British contemporary dance choreographer came to prominence with his all male take on Swan Lake?  Other works include contemporary adaptations of Carmen, Edward Scissorhands and, most recently, Sleeping Beauty.

Sp1

If playing Scrabble, how many points would the word ‘Quiz’ get you (assuming tiles are not placed on any bonus points squares)?

Sp2

If playing Scrabble, how many points would the word ‘League’ get you (assuming tiles are not placed on any bonus points squares)?

ROUND 2 - Pairs

1.

What is the stage name of the electropop star who was born Charlotte Emma Aitchison in Cambridge in 1992 and who had her first UK top 10 hit in 2014 with the single Boom Clap?

2.

She was born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor in Auckland in 1996 and became the first New Zealand-born performer to top the US chart with her 2013 single Royals in 2013.  Under what one-word stage name does she perform?

3.

What is the name of the series of novels for teenagers, created by Francine Pascal which ran for twenty years from 1983.  It was set in a fictional Californian town and told the stories of identical twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield and their friends at the titular high school?

4.

What is the name of the series of short horror novels for children, written by R L Stine, which began being published in 1992 and featured such titles as Monster Blood, Say Cheese and Die and Night of the Living Dummy?

5.

The sequel to which Ben Stiller comedy film was released in February 2016, fifteen years after the original was released?

6.

Based on a 2009 novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, which in turn is loosely based on a novel published nearly 200 years earlier, which comedy horror film starring Lily James was released in February 2016?

7.

What is the name of the American sitcom which stars Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a council worker in the fictional Indiana town of Pawnee?

8.

Which American sitcom, starring Jason Bateman, Portia De Rossi, Henry Winkler, Michael Cera and Will Arnett, tells the story of a Jewish-American family whose patriarch has been imprisoned for fraud?

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme

1.

Which actor, born in South Kensington in 1904, received two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor; in 1965 for Becket and 1982 for Arthur, for which he won the award?

2.

Which element, atomic number 46, was discovered by William Hyde Wollaston in 1803 and named after the Greek goddess of wisdom?

3.

“An asylum, in every sense of the word.”  This was how the poet A. E. Housman described which English city, where he was appointed Kennedy Professor of Latin in 1911?

4.

Self-governing Commonwealth territories nominally under British sovereignty were known by what name?  Examples included Australia from 1901 until 1953 and New Zealand from 1907 to 1953.

5.

This year it was announced that more than 400,000 items will be transferred from the National Media Museum in Bradford to which London museum, located in Cromwell Gardens and established in 1852?

6.

What is the title of a 1903 novel by Henry James, and also the title of a 1533 painting by Hans Holbein the Younger?

7.

Which saint, who is the patron saint of soldiers and has a feast day on the 11th of November, was a 4th century bishop of Tours?  Paintings by El Greco and Anthony van Dyck have depicted a tale in which he cuts his cloak in half and shares it with a beggar.

8.

Which Welshman composed the popular First World War song Keep the Home Fires Burning, appeared in The Lodger and Downhill, two 1927 silent films directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and wrote music for, and starred in, the 1930s musicals Glamorous Night and The Dancing Years?

ROUND 4 - 'That Was the Week That Was'

All of this round's questions have been inspired by events from the past week

1.

Last week, a photo depicting a so-called ‘Survivors Lunch‘ went viral on the Internet.  Can you name 2 of the 4 people in the photo and what they have survived?

2.

A video that had garnered some interest on the internet since mid-February went truly viral last week.  The video featured Californian teenager Josh Holz complimenting his friend with what phrase?

3.

Who won Best lnternational Male Solo Artist at last week's Brit Awards?  He celebrated his 22nd birthday yesterday.

4.

Who won Best lnternational Female Artist at last week's Brit Awards?  Initially lead singer in The Sugarcubes, she embarked on a solo career in 1993 with her debut album Debut?

5.

This past week saw a General Election in the Republic of Ireland.  Which party had the second largest return and who is their leader?

6.

Yesterday saw the so-called Super Tuesday in the USA.  Ted Cruz, a candidate for the Republican nomination, holds which political office?

7.

Louise Rennison, renowned teen fiction author, sadly passed away this past week.  She is best known for her series of books featuring Georgia Nicholson, a typical teenager and her various relationships.  What is the title of the first book in the series, turned into a 2008 film staring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alan Davis?

8.

Frank Kelly, best known as Father Jack, sadly passed away this week.  But in which 1969 film, with an opening sequence shot in the Great Bernard Pass, did he have his first role?

Sp.

Grimsby, Sacha Baron-Cohen's latest film offering opened in the UK this past week.  His wife, who's appeared in Confessions of a Shopaholic and The Great Gatsby co-stars in it.  Who is she?

ROUND 5 - 'Mash-ups'

Each answer in this round can be constructed by combining the two things referred to in the question into one answer.  Both things will be connected by a common word, falling at the end of the first part and the beginning of the second.  For example, if you were asked to combine a Botticelli masterpiece with a carnivorous plant you would give the answer ‘The Birth of Venus flytrap'.  Some of the questions may feature homophones and, in some cases, where the second answer would usually begin with ‘the’ this word may be removed in order to make it fit with the first answer.

1.

Combine a darkly comic television series starring Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton with a 1953 musical comedy film starring Marilyn Monroe.

2.

Combine an Edward Albee play which features the characters George and Martha with a 2013 Oscar-winning film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

3.

Combine the common name for iron pyrite with a British pop duo who had their biggest hit with Ooh La La and are named after their eponymous front-woman.

4.

Combine the stage name of electronic musician Richard D James with the cult television series directed by David Lynch which focused on the investigation into the mysterious death of Laura Palmer.

5.

Combine a song from the Disney animated movie The Little Mermaid with the first book in Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy.

6.

Combine a classic radio comedy that starred Deryck Guyler and Richard Murdoch as the bumbling civil servants of the General Assistance Department and a fictional department run by John Cleese‘s character in a classic Monty Python sketch.

7.

Combine an actress who won an Oscar for her role in On the Waterfront with a country whose capital is Castries.

8.

Combine the author of The Good Soldier and Parade's End with a pre-Raphaelite artist known for his murals depicting Mancunian history.

ROUND 6 - 'A Hundred Years Ago'

All of this round's questions have been inspired by events from the year 1916

1.

Fort Douaumont was captured by a single German engineer on the 25th February.  The fort was part of the outlying defences of which city?

2.

In April 1916, the explorer Ernest Shackleton left Elephant Island in an open boat. On which island would he arrive sixteen days after setting out?

3.

One of the Titanic's sister ships was requisitioned by the Royal Navy as a hospital ship.  She would sink in November 1916 after hitting a mine in the Mediterranean.  What was her name?

4.

Which writer married Edith Bratt on the 22nd March 1916, with her serving as an inspiration for a major character in his works?

5.

Who would abdicate as Emperor of China on the same day as Tolkein‘s marriage?  He was the first President of the Republic of China.  He seized power as the Hongxian Emperor and ruled as such for 83 days.

6.

Which Russian general would lead an offensive, now named after him, in the Ukraine?  He would become Commander in Chief of the Russian Army in 1917, and would serve with the Red Army during the Russian Civil War.

7.

Which American politician lost the 1916 Presidential Election to Woodrow Wilson?

8.

Which Australian PM would be expelled from the Labor Party for his support for conscription, leading him to found the National Labor Party?

Sp1

Which moustachioed British Field-Marshal would die when HMS Hampshire sank after hitting a mine?

Sp2

Which equally moustachioed Mexican revolutionary raided Columbus, New Mexico, before being chased back into Mexico by General Pershing?

ROUND 7 - Pairs

1.

What city, now the most populous in Ecuador, was founded in the 1530s by the Spanish conquistador Francisco de Orellana?

2.

The location of the Temple of the Tooth Relic, a Buddhist pilgrimage site, and the last capital of the Sinhala kings, what is Sri Lanka's second most populous city?

3.

Which footballer released an autobiography called The Binman Chronicles and holds the record for the most appearances for Everton Football Club?

4.

I'm Not Really Here was the autobiography of which former Manchester City footballer, who retired at the age of 27?  It was nominated for Best Football Book at the 2012 Cross Sports Book Awards.

5.

In 2007 which politician became the first female Home Secretary?  She was the MP for Redditch from 1997 until 2010.

6.

In 2006 which politician MP became the first female Foreign Secretary?  She has been the MP for Derby South since 1983.

7.

The equations describing the momentum of a fluid element are named after two men.  Claude-Louis Navier is one.  Name the other, an Irish mathematician and physicist who served as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics from 1849 to 1903 and also has a theorem in vector calculus named after him. (surname only required)

8.

Differentiable complex functions satisfy partial differential equations that are named after two mathematicians. One is Augustin-Louis Cauchy.  Name the other, a German mathematician born in 1826 whose pioneering work in differential geometry proved vital to Einstein's Theory of General Relativity. (surname only required)

Sp1

Which mathematical symbol still in use today was invented by Robert Recorde in his 1557 book The Whetstone of Witte?

Sp2

Which mathematical symbol still in use today was invented by the mathematician John Wallis, although it had appeared before then on the cross of Saint Boniface?

ROUND 8 - 'Academy Awards - Nominees for Best Picture'

The 88th Academy Awards were held last weekend.  To celebrate, each answer in this round will contain at least one word that has appeared in the title of a Best Picture nominee since
the 84th Academy Awards, which were held in 2011.

1.

First organised in 1988 by Larry Shaw, a physicist then working at the San Francisco Exploratorium, March 14th has been a day to celebrate what?  The novelty of the day, however, only holds good for users of the American system of writing dates?  For those who do the 2015 celebrations would have held particular significance.

2.

The Cornhusker State is the official nickname for which US state?  Its name is said to derive from the Omaha or Oto word meaning 'flat water'.

3.

In which BBC TV series, first broadcast in 2004 and lasting for eight seasons, did Adrian Lester and Robert Vaughn star as Michael 'Mickey Bricks' Stone and Albert Stroller, respectively?

4.

Which song by The Troggs reached #1 in the US Billboard Top 100 in July 1966 and peaked at #2 in the UK Singles Charts?  The song featured in the 1998 episode of The Vicar of Dibley in which Hugo and Alice were married.

5.

Irish Draught, Clydesdale, Suffolk Punch and Cleveland Bay are UK breeds of which type of animal?

6.

Heroes’ Square, Andrassy Avenue and the Matthias Church are located in which European city?  It also contains the ruins of Aquincum, a Celtic settlement that became the Roman capital of Lower Pannonia.

7.

Les Contemplations and La Legende des Siecles are volumes of poetry by which nineteenth-century French writer who is more famous internationally for his prose writing?

8.

At the 2015 Australian Grand Prix who became the youngest F1 driver ever, making his debut aged just 17 years and 166 days?  Driving for the Scuderia Toro Rosso team, he came l2th in the Drivers‘ Championship, scoring 49 points. (full name required)

ROUND 1 - Pairs

1.

In the 1910s, which Mancunian had a squad of ju-jitsu trained female bodyguards?

Emmeline Pankhurst

2.

Who was the first woman to hold an academic post at the University of Manchester?  A palaeobotanist by training, she is better known for establishing a controversial organisation that now bears her name.

Marie Stopes

3.

Which film, set in remote Scotland, won the 1984 BAFTA for Best Direction and features a soundtrack by Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler?

Local Hero

4.

Which 1991 Irish film, based on a book of the same name, won the best film BAFTA that year and includes bit parts for all four Corrs siblings?

The Commitments

(based on Roddy Doyle’s book)

5.

If you add the number of novels written by Sylvia Plath to the number written by Jane Austen, and multiply the total by Kurt Vonnegut’s 'Slaughterhouse', what number do you get?

35

((1+6) x 5)

6.

If you add the number of novels written by Anne Bronte to the number written by Emily Bronte, and multiply the total by Joseph Heller’s 'Catch', what number do you get?

66

((2+1) x 22)

7.

Born in Stockport, who is the Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet?  He is best known for his striking very modern ballets set to equally modem music, such as the White Stripes and Radiohead.  Most recently he choreographed Trees of Code for the Manchester International Festival in 2015.

Wayne McGregor

8.

Which highly acclaimed British contemporary dance choreographer came to prominence with his all male take on Swan Lake?  Other works include contemporary adaptations of Carmen, Edward Scissorhands and, most recently, Sleeping Beauty.

Matthew Bourne

Sp1

If playing Scrabble, how many points would the word ‘Quiz’ get you (assuming tiles are not placed on any bonus points squares)?

22

(10+1+1+10)

Sp2

If playing Scrabble, how many points would the word ‘League’ get you (assuming tiles are not placed on any bonus points squares)?

7

(1+1+1+2+1+ 1)

ROUND 2 - Pairs

1.

What is the stage name of the electropop star who was born Charlotte Emma Aitchison in Cambridge in 1992 and who had her first UK top 10 hit in 2014 with the single Boom Clap?

Charlie XCX

2.

She was born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor in Auckland in 1996 and became the first New Zealand-born performer to top the US chart with her 2013 single Royals in 2013.  Under what one-word stage name does she perform?

Lorde

3.

What is the name of the series of novels for teenagers, created by Francine Pascal which ran for twenty years from 1983.  It was set in a fictional Californian town and told the stories of identical twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield and their friends at the titular high school?

Sweet Valley High

4.

What is the name of the series of short horror novels for children, written by R L Stine, which began being published in 1992 and featured such titles as Monster Blood, Say Cheese and Die and Night of the Living Dummy?

Goosebumps

5.

The sequel to which Ben Stiller comedy film was released in February 2016, fifteen years after the original was released?

Zoolander

6.

Based on a 2009 novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, which in turn is loosely based on a novel published nearly 200 years earlier, which comedy horror film starring Lily James was released in February 2016?

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

7.

What is the name of the American sitcom which stars Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a council worker in the fictional Indiana town of Pawnee?

Parks and Recreation

8.

Which American sitcom, starring Jason Bateman, Portia De Rossi, Henry Winkler, Michael Cera and Will Arnett, tells the story of a Jewish-American family whose patriarch has been imprisoned for fraud?

Arrested Development

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme

1.

Which actor, born in South Kensington in 1904, received two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor; in 1965 for Becket and 1982 for Arthur, for which he won the award?

Sir John Gielgud

2.

Which element, atomic number 46, was discovered by William Hyde Wollaston in 1803 and named after the Greek goddess of wisdom?

Palladium

3.

“An asylum, in every sense of the word.”  This was how the poet A. E. Housman described which English city, where he was appointed Kennedy Professor of Latin in 1911?

Cambridge

4.

Self-governing Commonwealth territories nominally under British sovereignty were known by what name?  Examples included Australia from 1901 until 1953 and New Zealand from 1907 to 1953.

Dominions

5.

This year it was announced that more than 400,000 items will be transferred from the National Media Museum in Bradford to which London museum, located in Cromwell Gardens and established in 1852?

Victoria & Albert Museum

6.

What is the title of a 1903 novel by Henry James, and also the title of a 1533 painting by Hans Holbein the Younger?

The Ambassadors

7.

Which saint, who is the patron saint of soldiers and has a feast day on the 11th of November, was a 4th century bishop of Tours?  Paintings by El Greco and Anthony van Dyck have depicted a tale in which he cuts his cloak in half and shares it with a beggar.

St Martin

8.

Which Welshman composed the popular First World War song Keep the Home Fires Burning, appeared in The Lodger and Downhill, two 1927 silent films directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and wrote music for, and starred in, the 1930s musicals Glamorous Night and The Dancing Years?

Ivor Novello

ROUND 4 - 'That Was the Week That Was'

All of this round's questions have been inspired by events from the past week

1.

Last week, a photo depicting a so-called ‘Survivors Lunch‘ went viral on the Internet.  Can you name 2 of the 4 people in the photo and what they have survived?

(two from)

Nick Robinson - cancer, George Alagiah - cancer, Andrew Marr -  stroke, Frank Gardner - gunshot

2.

A video that had garnered some interest on the internet since mid-February went truly viral last week.  The video featured Californian teenager Josh Holz complimenting his friend with what phrase?

"Damn Daniel!"

3.

Who won Best lnternational Male Solo Artist at last week's Brit Awards?  He celebrated his 22nd birthday yesterday.

Justin Bieber

4.

Who won Best lnternational Female Artist at last week's Brit Awards?  Initially lead singer in The Sugarcubes, she embarked on a solo career in 1993 with her debut album Debut?

Bjork

5.

This past week saw a General Election in the Republic of Ireland.  Which party had the second largest return and who is their leader?

Fianna Fail, Michael Martin

6.

Yesterday saw the so-called Super Tuesday in the USA.  Ted Cruz, a candidate for the Republican nomination, holds which political office?

(Junior) State Senator for Texas

7.

Louise Rennison, renowned teen fiction author, sadly passed away this past week.  She is best known for her series of books featuring Georgia Nicholson, a typical teenager and her various relationships.  What is the title of the first book in the series, turned into a 2008 film staring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alan Davis?

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging

(accept Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging as this is the book's American title)

8.

Frank Kelly, best known as Father Jack, sadly passed away this week.  But in which 1969 film, with an opening sequence shot in the Great Bernard Pass, did he have his first role?

The Italian Job

Sp.

Grimsby, Sacha Baron-Cohen's latest film offering opened in the UK this past week.  His wife, who's appeared in Confessions of a Shopaholic and The Great Gatsby co-stars in it.  Who is she?

Isla Fisher

ROUND 5 -  'Mash-ups'

Each answer in this round can be constructed by combining the two things referred to in the question into one answer.  Both things will be connected by a common word, falling at the end of the first part and the beginning of the second.  For example, if you were asked to combine a Botticelli masterpiece with a carnivorous plant you would give the answer ‘The Birth of Venus flytrap'.  Some of the questions may feature homophones and, in some cases, where the second answer would usually begin with ‘the’ this word may be removed in order to make it fit with the first answer.

1.

Combine a darkly comic television series starring Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton with a 1953 musical comedy film starring Marilyn Monroe.

The League of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

2.

Combine an Edward Albee play which features the characters George and Martha with a 2013 Oscar-winning film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf of Wall Street

3.

Combine the common name for iron pyrite with a British pop duo who had their biggest hit with Ooh La La and are named after their eponymous front-woman.

Fool's Goldfrapp

4.

Combine the stage name of electronic musician Richard D James with the cult television series directed by David Lynch which focused on the investigation into the mysterious death of Laura Palmer.

Aphex Twin Peaks

5.

Combine a song from the Disney animated movie The Little Mermaid with the first book in Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy.

Kiss the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

6.

Combine a classic radio comedy that starred Deryck Guyler and Richard Murdoch as the bumbling civil servants of the General Assistance Department and a fictional department run by John Cleese‘s character in a classic Monty Python sketch.

The Men from the Ministry of Silly Walks

7.

Combine an actress who won an Oscar for her role in On the Waterfront with a country whose capital is Castries.

Eva Marie Saint Lucia

8.

Combine the author of The Good Soldier and Parade's End with a pre-Raphaelite artist known for his murals depicting Mancunian history.

Ford Maddox Ford Maddox Brown

ROUND 6 - 'A Hundred Years Ago'

All of this round's questions have been inspired by events from the year 1916

1.

Fort Douaumont was captured by a single German engineer on the 25th February.  The fort was part of the outlying defences of which city?

Verdun

2.

In April 1916, the explorer Ernest Shackleton left Elephant Island in an open boat. On which island would he arrive sixteen days after setting out?

South Georgia

3.

One of the Titanic's sister ships was requisitioned by the Royal Navy as a hospital ship.  She would sink in November 1916 after hitting a mine in the Mediterranean.  What was her name?

Britannic

4.

Which writer married Edith Bratt on the 22nd March 1916, with her serving as an inspiration for a major character in his works?

J R R Tolkein

5.

Who would abdicate as Emperor of China on the same day as Tolkein‘s marriage?  He was the first President of the Republic of China.  He seized power as the Hongxian Emperor and ruled as such for 83 days.

Yuan Shikai

6.

Which Russian general would lead an offensive, now named after him, in the Ukraine?  He would become Commander in Chief of the Russian Army in 1917, and would serve with the Red Army during the Russian Civil War.

Alexsei Brusilov

7.

Which American politician lost the 1916 Presidential Election to Woodrow Wilson?

Charles E Hughes

8.

Which Australian PM would be expelled from the Labor Party for his support for conscription, leading him to found the National Labor Party?

Billy Hughes

Sp1

Which moustachioed British Field-Marshal would die when HMS Hampshire sank after hitting a mine?

Lord Kitchener

Sp2

Which equally moustachioed Mexican revolutionary raided Columbus, New Mexico, before being chased back into Mexico by General Pershing?

Pancho Villa

ROUND 7 - Pairs

1.

What city, now the most populous in Ecuador, was founded in the 1530s by the Spanish conquistador Francisco de Orellana?

Guayaquil

2.

The location of the Temple of the Tooth Relic, a Buddhist pilgrimage site, and the last capital of the Sinhala kings, what is Sri Lanka's second most populous city?

Kandy

3.

Which footballer released an autobiography called The Binman Chronicles and holds the record for the most appearances for Everton Football Club?

Neville Southall

4.

I'm Not Really Here was the autobiography of which former Manchester City footballer, who retired at the age of 27?  It was nominated for Best Football Book at the 2012 Cross Sports Book Awards.

Paul Lake

5.

In 2007 which politician became the first female Home Secretary?  She was the MP for Redditch from 1997 until 2010.

Jacqui Smith

6.

In 2006 which politician MP became the first female Foreign Secretary?  She has been the MP for Derby South since 1983.

Margaret Beckett

7.

The equations describing the momentum of a fluid element are named after two men.  Claude-Louis Navier is one.  Name the other, an Irish mathematician and physicist who served as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics from 1849 to 1903 and also has a theorem in vector calculus named after him. (surname only required)

(George Gabriel) Stokes

8.

Differentiable complex functions satisfy partial differential equations that are named after two mathematicians. One is Augustin-Louis Cauchy.  Name the other, a German mathematician born in 1826 whose pioneering work in differential geometry proved vital to Einstein's Theory of General Relativity. (surname only required)

(Bernhard) Riemann

Sp1

Which mathematical symbol still in use today was invented by Robert Recorde in his 1557 book The Whetstone of Witte?

= (the equals sign)

Sp2

Which mathematical symbol still in use today was invented by the mathematician John Wallis, although it had appeared before then on the cross of Saint Boniface?

∞ (the infinity symbol)

(do not accept lemniscate, which are curves that possess the same shape as the symbol for infinity)

ROUND 8 - 'Academy Awards - Nominees for Best Picture'

The 88th Academy Awards were held last weekend.  To celebrate, each answer in this round will contain at least one word that has appeared in the title of a Best Picture nominee since
the 84th Academy Awards, which were held in 2011.

1.

First organised in 1988 by Larry Shaw, a physicist then working at the San Francisco Exploratorium, March 14th has been a day to celebrate what?  The novelty of the day, however, only holds good for users of the American system of writing dates?  For those who do the 2015 celebrations would have held particular significance.

Number Pi

(accept 'Pi day', 3.1415...., 22/7 etc., or any variant thereof)
(Life of Pi, released in 2012)

2.

The Cornhusker State is the official nickname for which US state?  Its name is said to derive from the Omaha or Oto word meaning 'flat water'.

Nebraska

(Nebraska, 2013)

3.

In which BBC TV series, first broadcast in 2004 and lasting for eight seasons, did Adrian Lester and Robert Vaughn star as Michael 'Mickey Bricks' Stone and Albert Stroller, respectively?

Hustle

(American Hustle, 2013)

4.

Which song by The Troggs reached #1 in the US Billboard Top 100 in July 1966 and peaked at #2 in the UK Singles Charts?  The song featured in the 1998 episode of The Vicar of Dibley in which Hugo and Alice were married.

Wild Thing

(Beasts of the Southern Wild, 2012)

5.

Irish Draught, Clydesdale, Suffolk Punch and Cleveland Bay are UK breeds of which type of animal?

Horse

(War Horse, 2011)

6.

Heroes’ Square, Andrassy Avenue and the Matthias Church are located in which European city?  It also contains the ruins of Aquincum, a Celtic settlement that became the Roman capital of Lower Pannonia.

Budapest

(The Grand Budapest Hotel, 2014

7.

Les Contemplations and La Legende des Siecles are volumes of poetry by which nineteenth-century French writer who is more famous internationally for his prose writing?

Victor Hugo

(Hugo, 2011)

8.

At the 2015 Australian Grand Prix who became the youngest F1 driver ever, making his debut aged just 17 years and 166 days?  Driving for the Scuderia Toro Rosso team, he came l2th in the Drivers‘ Championship, scoring 49 points. (full name required)

Max Verstappen

(Mad Max: Fury Road, 2015)