If the Golden Globes and SAG Awards were any indication, it’s no doubt that last night’s Academy Awards held a special place for book adaptations. Already, I’ve mentioned that this was the year of the book adaptation at the movies, but it’s surprising to see just how well they did in this year’s awards ceremonies. Below are the nominations and results.
Life of Pi – Pi Patel is the son a zookeeper and a story teller. While traveling on a cargo ship from Japan to North American, the ship sinks and leave Pi alone on a lifeboat full of zoo animals including a Bengal Tiger named Richard. Richard manages to eat the other animals, but with Pi’s knowledge of animals, he’s able to outsmart the tiger until they land off the coast of Mexico. Mexican authorities are skeptical of Pi’s story so he tells another that may be more believable, but is it true?
Oscar Nominations – Best Picture, Cinematography*, Best Director (Ang Lee)*, Film Editing, Music*, Best Original Song (Pi’s Lullaby), Production Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects*, Best Adapted Screenplay
Argo – Tony Mendez, a former CIA Agent, retells the story of the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-81 when 6 Americans manage to escape the Embassy and were being held in the Canadian Ambassador’s home awaiting rescue in his book The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA. Mendez used the guise of doing a sci-film and needing the landscape of the desert to bring the hostages out and rescue them from certain death.
Oscar Nominations – Best Picture*, Best Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin), Film Editing*, Music, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Best Adaptive Screenplay*
Lincoln – Doris Kearns Goodwin biography of Abraham Lincoln, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, is the setting by which this movie was adapted and focuses on the last four months of the President’s life in which he battles to have the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution passed by the United States House of Representatives.
Oscar Nominations – Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis)*, Best Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones), Best Supporting Actress (Sally Field), Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing (Steven Spielberg), Sound Mixing, Production Design*, Music, Best Adaptive Screenplay, Film Editing
Les Miserables – Author Victor Hugo brings to life the plight of the French during the time of the French Revolution. Through the many twists and turns we are introduced to several characters including Jean Valjean, a criminal fugitive who has turned his life around, Javert is the ruthless bounty hunter who is after Jean Valjean. Cossette is the bastard child of a prostitute, Fantine, in which Valjean has vowed to raise and nuture. Marius is the son of a Napoleon sympathizer who fights the revolution.
Oscar Nominations – Best Picture, Best Actor (Hugh Jackman), Best Supporting Actress (Ann Hathaway)*, Costume Design, Makeup & Hairstyling*, Production Design, Best Original Song (Suddenly), Sound Mixing
Silver Linings Playbook – Author Matthew Quick tells the story of a former history teacher who returns home to Collingswood, NJ after being released from a Neurology hospital in Baltimore. Pat theorizes that life is a film created by God that the “silver lining” will be what allows him to be reunited with his wife Nikki.
Oscar Nominations – Best Picture, Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence)*, Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro), Best Supporting Actress (Jacki Weaver), Directing (David O. Russell), Film Editing, Best Adaptive Screenplay
Anna Karenina – Russian writer Leo Tolstoy tells us a story of forbidden love that turns into heart-breaking obsession. Married to a government official, Anna Karenina falls in love with the Count Vronsky and runs away with him to Italy. When their life together is unsuccessful they return to Russia where Vronsky picks up his life where he left it and Karenina finds she has been shunned by her society. Karenina grows increasingly possessive and paranoid of moments of infidelity she imagines Vronsky having with others. This eight-part novel was originally part of a Russian newspaper series similar to the stories of Sherlock Holmes.
Oscar Nominations – Cinematography, Costume Design*, Music, Production Desgin
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Bilbo Baggins is perfectly satisfied in his recluse lifestyle at Bag End when a wizard and group of dwarves turn up for dinner and turn his world upside down. Unwittingly, Bilbo is solicited for a journey to help the dwarves take their home back from an evil, notorious dragon. Along the way Biblo encounters trolls, elves, wizards, goblins and the infamous Gollum.
Oscar Nominations – Makeup & Hairstyling, Production Design, Visual Effects
Snow White and the Huntsman – In this feminist take on the classic fairytale, Snow White escapes the imprisonment of her step-mother the evil queen to seek refuge in the Forbidden Forest. The evil queen solicits a down-on-his-luck huntsman to hunt her down and bring her back for her execution. The reluctant huntsman finds Snow White in the company of a group of townfolks and vows to help lead a military campaign against the queen to restore Snow White to her proper place of power as queen. In true Joan of Arc fashion, Snow White leads the campaign to defeat the queen.
Oscar Nominations – Visual Effects, Costume Design
Beasts of the Southern Wild – Based on a play that was later adapted into a book, Hushpuppy and her father Wink have a precarious relationship as they live in a small island town known as Bathtub in the state of Louisiana. Like the impending storm, Hushpuppy and her father have a blow up and as the storm recedes and the devastation is left, the two try to pick up the pieces before Wink dies of heart failure leaving Hushpuppy alone at a tender school age.
Oscar Nominations – Best Adaptive Screenplay, Directing (Benh Zeitlin), Best Actress (Quvenzhane Wallis), Best Picture
*Indicates a win for the film.
On a special note can I just say what a great job Seth McFarland did as host? Wow! It was great. I especially liked the opening scenario when he sang the show tune “Boobs” with the gay men’s chorus. We were rolling. And then they used the Jaws music to indicate when an acceptance speech needed to be cut short. Oh my word!
Did your favorite book adaptation win last night?
