Terms of Endearment: 1983 Best Picture

With 11 nominations, “Terms of Endearments” was the favorite at the 56th Academy Awards and it picked up Best Picture, Best Director (James L. Brooks — and he also won Best Adapted Screenplay), Best Actress (Shirley MacLaine), and Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson). Debra Winger was also a nominee for Best Actress for the same film. Likewise John Lithgow as a Best Supporting Actor.

The other Best Picture nominees were “The Big Chill”, “The Dresser”, “The Right Stuff” and “Tender Mercies”.

Other films nominated for Oscars were “Fanny and Alexander”, “Silkwood”, “Yentl”, “Cross Creek”, “Flashdance”, “Return of the Jedi”, “Educating Rita” and “WarGames”.

“Trading Places”, “Octopussy”, “Sudden Impact”, “Staying Alive’ and “Risky Business” all made big splashes at the box office. “Eddie and the Cruisers”, “National Lampoon’s Vacation” and “Superman III” were pretty popular too, but we’d say “Scarface” and “A Christmas Story” are probably the most still watched films from 1983.

Jeopardy! clues on “Terms of Endearment”
MOVIES IN OTHER WORDS (SORT OF) $1200: Oscar’s Best Picture of 1983: “Sweetie Pie, Honey Lamb, Angel Feet, Snookie Muffin”
HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES! $1200: A 1983 weeper & Oscar fave: James L. Brooks, Michael Gore
STARTS WITH “T” $400: This 1983 tearjerker won “Best Picture”, “Best Actress”, “Best Director” & “Best Supporting Actor” Oscars
JACK NICHOLSON’S OSCAR-NOMINATED ROLES $800: Astronaut Garrett Breedlove (1983)
CORNHUSKER CINEMA $400: Debra Winger dated governor Bob Kerrey while in Nebraska filming this 1983 tearjerker with Shirley MacLaine
FILMS OF THE 1980s $200: In this film Debra Winger gets to have a fling with John Lithgow before she dies

More 1983 film clues:
MOVIE GUNS $800: When this character says, “say hello to my little friend” in a 1983 film, he means his M16 with M203 grenade launcher
THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE $600: Those newly in love often use these words, also the title of a 1983 tearjerking film
CELEBRITIES’ FAVORITE MOVIES $2000: (Hi, I’m Pat Sajak.) My favorite movie is this perfect little 1983 film about what happens when an oil company encounters the people of a Scottish town
WATCH “ING” THE MOVIES $400: In this 1983 film Eddie Murphy & Dan Aykroyd switch lives
MAD DOGS $800: The unusual behavior of the movie dog Cujo is the result of this disease
THAT’S ENTERTRAINMENT $1200: Rebecca De Mornay teaches Tom Cruise a few tricks aboard Chicago’s El in this 1983 coming-of-age film
ON THE BIG SCREEN $1600: Kevin Costner’s funeral kicks off this “big” 1983 film but sadly, Kevin couldn’t make it; he got cut from the film in editing
GIRLY MOVIES $2,000 (Daily Double): A tagline for this 1983 horror film is “She’ll possess you. Then destroy you. She’s death on wheels. She’s…”
’80s MOVIE MEMORIES $400: (Kelly of the Clue Crew reports from NORAD.) The experiments of a teenage computer whiz led him to NORAD’s Nuclear War Operations Centre in this 1983 film
LET YOUR GEEK FLAG FLY $600: You may wonder if Yoda disappeared after dying, why didn’t Vader after dying in this 1983 film
SUPER COOL $1000: Sales of Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses soared after Tom Cruise donned a pair in this 1983 film
SIDESHOW CINEMA $1200: This 1983 Ray Bradbury film gets its title from the line in “Macbeth” that follows, “By the pricking of my thumbs…”
ROCK & ROLL CINEMA $400: “We Will Rock You” is the title of the 1983 film about this band’s live concert in Montreal, Canada
COLD MOVIES $400: Peter Billingsley watches Flick get triple-dog-dared into sticking his tongue to a flagpole in this film
THE SILVER SCREEN $1000: For this 1983 film, Horton Foote won an Oscar for his screenplay & Robert Duvall won for his performance
BOOKS & AUTHORS $400: He wrote the screenplay to the 1983 Disney film “Something Wicked This Way Comes”, which was based on his 1962 novel
PIGSKIN PIX $500: High school football player Tom Cruise has these, the title of a 1983 film co-starring Lea Thompson
MERYL STREEP FILMS $400: Streep suspects unsafe working conditions at the Kerr-McGee nuclear plant in this 1983 film bio
CINEMA MANIA $800: This 1983 Dirty Harry film contains the line “Go ahead, make my day”
THE FILM VAULT $200: It’s the title nickname of the psychopath Al Pacino played in a 1983 film
THE SILVER SCREEN $200: If you want to see Mel Brooks play “Hamlet”, rent this 1983 film named for a “Hamlet” soliloquy
BRIAN DE PALMA FILMS $400: Oliver Stone wrote this 1983 film starring Al Pacino as a drug-addled Cuban gangster
“HARD” & “EASY” MOVIES $1000: Rodney Dangerfield cleans up his life to clean up financially in this 1983 film
TALK SHOW HOSTS $600: Baba in the 1983 film “D.C. Cab”, he now takes guests on a “Politically Incorrect” ride
MOVIE DEBUTS $1000: Kathy Baker’s career blasted off when she played the wife of Alan Shepard in this 1983 film bio
SCARY MOVIES $400: Dan Aykroyd promises to show Albert Brooks “something really scary” in this 1983 anthology film
DANCERS $300: This 1983 film focused on a steelworker named Alex who wanted to be a ballerina
ACTOR-DIRECTORS: The only woman to win a Golden Globe for directing, she won for a 1983 film that she had also co-written