Oscar-nominated Books 2012

The 2012 Academy Award nominations were announced this morning. As far as movies based on books go, the Best Picture race looks a lot like that of this year’s Golden Globes. Just replace Ides of March with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. (There are also three movies not based on books, but who cares about those?)

Click a poster below to learn about the book your favorite film in this year’s Oscar race is based on.

 

Best Adapted Screenplay

Golden Globe best picture nominee The Ides of March is nominated for a best adapted screenplay Academy Award. Alongside it are best picture nominees The Descendants, Hugo, and Moneyball, as well as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

And the rest…

Rooney Mara received a Best Actress nomination for playing Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Glenn Close also received a Best Actress nom for her role as a woman pretending to be a man in Albert Nobbs.

Michelle Williams and Kenneth Brannagh were both nominated for their roles in My Week with Marilyn.

Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin, based on the comics by Herge, was not nominated for Best Animated Feature!

Learn about these books (and a couple more you might enjoy) on our previous post on this year’s Golden Globe awards.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, Gary Oldman, and Best Adapted Screenplay, Bridget O’ Connor and Peter Straughan.

O’Connor and Straughan adapted their screenplay from John le Carre’s thriller of the same name. O’Connor also adapted The Men Who Stare at Goats from the book by Jon Ronson. That 2009 movie starred George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, and some goats.

Many of le Carre’s books have been adapted into film. Most recently 2005’s The Constant Gardner, for which Rachel Weisz won an Oscar. Tinker Tailor… was even a 1979 mini-series produced by the BBC.

If you’re local, the Wilton Town Hall Theater is scheduled to start playing Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on Friday, January 27. If you’re not local, it’s worth the trip!

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close has received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Support Actor (Max von Sydow). The film also stars Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, and Thomas Horn as Oskal Schell. (Fun fact: Horn was discovered after appearing on Jeopardy! Kids Week.)

The book, by Jonathan Safran Foer, was published in 2005. The book has returned to the New York Times’ bestseller list after the release of the movie.

The movie wasn’t nominated for any Golden Globe or SAG awards. Are you surprised in its inclusion in the Oscars? If you’ve seen the movie, let us know how it compares to the book!

Another of Foer’s books, Everything is Illuminated, was adapted into a movie starring Elijah Wood.

Bookbyte: The Future of Us

What would you do if you could see your future? How would you try to change it? The Future of Us is about the journey from adolescence to adulthood, and learning that you can, in fact, control your own future.

Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler (authors of Thirteen Reasons Why and The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, respectively) have co-written a book with a unique premise. It’s 1996, and two friends, Josh and Emma, are dialing up to the Internet for the first time. Cue bloorpy 56k modem noises… now. Josh has given one of those ubiquitous AOL CDs to Emma. (Remember those? We never lacked for a coaster in the 90s.) When Emma signs up for AOL, she gets more than “You’ve Got Mail” and the world’s worst customer service; she gets access to her Facebook page 15 years in the future.

What would you do if you could see your future? How would you try to change it? Josh likes his future–married, with children, to one of the most popular girls in high school. Emma doesn’t like hers–she’s unhappily married, and not happy with where she lives or her career. (She’s also one of the most annoying people on Facebook. You know, the kind who whine & complain All. The. Time. But that’s beside the point.) They learn that the smallest of decisions can affect their own futures, and the futures of their friends.

The Future of Us has appeal for two generations–today’s teens and those who grew up in the 90s. The 90s references are sprinkled throughout. They’re used for fun, nostalgic moments, and not really critical to the plot. The time-traveling conceit is never fully explained, but it doesn’t need to be. The Future of Us is about the journey from adolescence to adulthood, and learning that you can, in fact, control your own future.

Learn more about The Future of Us at Jay Asher’s and Carolyn Macker’s websites.