Steven Spielberg Mentioned More Than God In Oscars Acceptance Speeches

The Oscars are but a few hours away, and there is an interesting study about acceptance speeches. Turns out, Steven Spielberg gets more mentions than anyone, even God.

You know how it goes: a nominee comes on stage and either stumbles through an acceptance speech or gracefully lists all the people they are thankful for. These can include their co-stars, executive producers, studios, and families.

But the one person who has been mentioned more than anyone in Oscars acceptance speeches is famed director Steven Spielberg. While it’s not surprising that such a prominent Hollywood figure’s name is spoken so frequently, one can’t help but notice that God is a few slots down the list.

Even though Hollywood is, in general, a very secular community and they purposely stay away from religious connotations, in recent years, it has become a more wide spread practice to thank God. However, apparently it hasn’t been done nearly as often as mentioning Spielberg.

There is no question that Steven Spielberg is one of the most influential members in Hollywood because of how much reach and notoriety his films garner, so it’s no wonder the study conducted by Vocativ puts him at the top of the list of mentions.

“In advance of the 87th Academy Awards on Sunday, we mined all 1,396 acceptance speeches currently archived on the Academy’s website to find out which members of Hollywood’s power elite can lay claim to the ultimate in Oscar bragging rights: most likely to be name-dropped. ‘The Academy’ gets respect in 43 percent of all speeches, and Mom and Dad are recognized 28 percent of the time. But which individuals have received the most golden shout-outs?”

Let’s take a look at the top names mentioned more often when winners come up to the stage to receive their Oscar. In second place to Steven Spielberg’s 42 mentions came Harvey Weinstein, of the Weinstein Company (The Imitation Game), who was mentioned 34 times.

In third place is James Cameron (Avatar), who has been thanked 28 times in Oscar acceptance speeches. In fourth place is George Lucas (Star Wars) with 23 times, in fifth place we find Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), and, finally, in sixth place is God, who has been thanked a total of 19 times.

With this new knowledge, it will be interesting to see whether Steven Spielberg or God are mentioned tonight as Hollywood crowns the best of the best at the 87th Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment]