10 Most-Thanked People in Oscar History

And the winner is ... Steven Spielberg
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 20, 2015 10:27 AM CST
10 Most-Thanked People in Oscar History
Steven Spielberg arrives for a meeting with Holocaust survivors in Krakow, Poland, Monday, Jan. 26, 2015.   (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

In anticipation of the Oscars on Sunday, Vocativ analyzed all 1,396 acceptance speeches the Academy has archived on its website to figure out which Hollywood bigwigs get thanked the most. The results:

  1. Steven Spielberg: He's been thanked 42 times—and even by people who have simply been inspired by him (think Sam Mendes, American Beauty).
  2. Harvey Weinstein: 34 times.
  3. James Cameron: 28 times, mostly from people who worked on Titanic, Avatar, and Terminator.
  4. George Lucas: 23 times.
  5. Peter Jackson: 22 times, mostly from people who worked on the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

  1. God: Maybe he's not exactly a "Hollywood bigwig," but he's been thanked 19 times (and Jesus has gotten one thank-you all to himself).
  2. Fran Walsh: The LOTR screenwriter and Jackson's wife has scored 18 thank-yous.
  3. Sheila Nevins: The president of HBO Documentary Films is the only other woman to make the top 10, with 17 thank-yous.
  4. Francis Ford Coppola and Barrie Osborne: Tied at 16 thanks each.
  5. Martin Scorsese and Saul Zaentz: Tied at 15 thanks each.
Others who get mentioned a lot, Vocativ notes, are "The Academy" (in 43% of all speeches) and, of course, the winner's parents (in 28% of all speeches). Click to see who else has been thanked at least 10 times. (More Academy Awards stories.)

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