Life of Pi
Suraj Sharma, the actor who played Pi, was never in the boat with a live tiger. Most of the tiger shots were made with CGI by Rhythm & Hues Studios. Only a few scenes, such as the tiger swimming in the water, included a real tiger. Rhythm & Hues Studios filed for bankruptcy prior to winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for "Life of Pi" in 2013.
Director Ang Lee has a history of getting snakebit when it comes to Best Picture at the Oscars. "Life of Pi" received the Oscar for Best Director without winning the Oscar for Best Motion Picture, an experience Lee had when his previous film, "Brokeback Mountain" (2005), was nominated in 2006.
Pi is stranded at sea on the lifeboat for 227 days. The number may not seem significant at first, but it turns out that 22/7 is the fraction version of the number Pi.