Stupidly hard work quiz (help!)

[ApocalypseNowt]

If anyone remembers previous years my work sets a stupidly hard quiz for us to have a go at every Christmas. This year's is no different....

I've managed to complete the first 8 puzzles myself but now I'm stuck Very frustrating as I've got the gist of the puzzles but can't figure out what the answer is!

Here's the first one and here's my answers. If anyone can figure out the final answer (two words 5,7) I'd be ever so grateful 😊

Oscar holders?

I'm generally rubbish at these but love watching and thinking oh yes of course that's the answer!! Could it be quote unquote? Not sure show that relates to the numbers but two meanings related to the style of clues

I have now found "I feel the need for speed" from Top Gun. It is 20 of the 40 letters - maybe the clue in the title is saying only take 20 letters (20 from the 20th). However this falls down at Peter Mitchell which is 5,8 so not the solution!

Not George Clooney.

I think you might be onto something though pasta - if the 40 letters is a movie quote then the 5,7 could be the character's name that says it?

But why put the numbers as e.g. 4,3 or 20, 3 if the order of the letters doesn't matter?

That's what I am working on, Making a whole other clue from the letters that would involve a quote and a character.

From the year 2000, a it i the only year woth 20 in it missing form that list

I feel the need for speed - Peter "Maverick" Mitchell doesn't fit though

Did you try BAFTA awards?

I did trimble. No joy.

@pastabest that's what I've been thinking!!

The letters we have separated out and alphabetised are

AAAA
B
C
DDD
EEEEEEEE
FFFF
H
I
LL
MMM
N
OO
PP
RR
S
T
U
WW

The fact that E is in there so much suggests to me that we're on the right lines in it spelling something out, but I can't work out what.

@pastabest

But why put the numbers as e.g. 4,3 or 20, 3 if the order of the letters doesn't matter?

This is partly why I am not convinced that we should be using all 40 letters as an anagram.

I think it will be 20 letters, and 4,3 means the third letter of the fourth clue, or vice versa.

But why put the numbers as e.g. 4,3 or 20, 3 if the order of the letters doesn't matter? So you can get them from the clue 4 and 3 not 43.

Even if you keep them in order, which I am on one sheet, they don't fit with any film, actor etc,

If the acrostic one was anything to go by then those numbers should form another clue that is set up just like the 20 we were given. And the 5,7 should be an additional clue. But that's getting me nowhere at the moment

New train of thought that I've only partially tested

I think the numbers might relate to nominations....

I have no idea but I am invested already

DE, MO, OL, ME, RW, WF, DL, AE, TR, NE, UB, PP, FF, AM, DH, EC, EA, IS, EE, AF

and TF, possibly

Ooh! Nominations? I'll have a think on that...

Taking (8, 14) to be the 14th letter in clue 8 et c gets me

Teiademamatoaodarehf

(possible errors due to dodgy eyesight!)

Kevin Costner? Only actor I can think of with 5,7

But there are no Ks in the letters we extracted and it is character names in the clues we were given.

I'm sure I ask this every year, but how do you get any work done?

@pastabest

New train of thought that I've only partially tested

I think the numbers might relate to nominations....

I've tested it more. It works for some but not for others.

Am I the only person getting the banagrams tiles out?

Terrified I don't. Work gets left, children get neglected, pets go unfed...

Seems reasonable