Oscar-Nominated Films Based on Books

The Academy Award nominations were announced on January 24th. Of the nine nominees for best picture, six of them were film adaptations of books! I've seen two of them (The Help and Moneyball) and thought they were both fantastic.

Hugo based on the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick garnered an impressive eleven nominations including best picture, best director (Martin Scorsese), and best adapted screenplay. It received more nominations than any other film.

Moneyball based on the nonfiction book, Moneyball: the art of winning an unfair game by Michael Lewis earned six nominations including best actor (Brad Pitt), best supporting actor (Jonah Hill), and best adapted screenplay.

The Descendants is based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings. It was nominated for best picture, best director (Alexander Payne), best actor (George Clooney) and best adapted screenplay. I really want to see this movie and can't wait for it to be released on DVD.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's nominations include best picture and best supporting actor (Max von Sydow).

The Help, based on the book by Kathryn Stockett was nominated for best picture, best actress (Viola Davis), and two supporting actress nominations (Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer).

War Horse based on Michael Morpurgo's novel was nominated for best picture and has six total nominations.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy which is based on John Le Carre's novel is nominated for best actor (Gary Oldman) and best adapted screenplay.

My Week with Marilyn based on the memoir by Colin Clark is nominated for best supporting actor (Kenneth Branagh) and best actress (Michelle Williams).

Albert Nobbs is based on the novella by George Moore secured nominations for best actress (Glenn Close) and best supporting actress (Janet McTeer). You can find the novella in The Oxford book of Irish Short Stories.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo based on the bestseller by Stieg Larsson is nominated for best actress (Rooney Mara).

I'd love to hear your comments of what you think of the film adaptations of these that you've read and seen.

The 84th Academy Awards ceremony is set to air on Sunday February 26th on ABC. It will be interesting to see who walks away with the statues.

Talk to you soon. Have a great week.

Happy reading,
Angela