Unless you live under a rock or are a complete technophobe (in which case, how are you reading this?) you will know that the Oscar winners for 2016 have been announced, the statuettes have been handed out and the losers have got extremely drunk at the after parties.
We thought we’d have a look through some of the categories and see just how many of these winners owe their success to the humble little book? To the author who invested hours and days and weeks writing, and editing, and re editing, and proof reading, and securing a publisher in order for those actors and directors et cetera to stand on stage and thank God and their aunty Mabel for their little gold man that now adorns their mantelpiece.
Room – Emma Donoghue
Best Actress – Brie Larson.
Told from the perspective of five year old Jack, Room tells the story of a young boy who believes that the only things that are real are his mother, himself and everything else that is contained within the four walls of the Room that they live in.
Strangers on a Bridge– James B Donovan
Best Supporting Actor – Mark Rylance
Film Bridge of Spies.
Although there is a book called Bridge of Spies the film is actually loosely based upon the novel Strangers on a Bridge which focuses on the capture and trial of Colonel Abel, the Soviets’ most capable and effective spy, revealing the chilling depths of the KGB’s penetration of the West.
The Danish Girl – David Ebershoff
Best Supporting Actress – Alicia Vikander
Loosely based on the true story of a marriage that faces that most difficult of questions, what to do when one of you has to change. A touching story of a husband and a wife and the journey they both undertake.
The Revenant – Michael Punke
Best Actor – Leonardo DiCaprio
Best Director – Alejandro González Iñárritu
Best Cinematography – Emmanuel Lubezki
It’s 1923 and the fur trappers are out hunting. Hugh Glass is one of the best, but even the best make mistakes and when Hugh is mauled by a bear it’s not long before his colleagues abandon him to the elements to die. Hugh has other plans and his desire for revenge carries him through unimaginable obstacles.
Although Spectre may have seemed an obvious book to film adaptation it’s not actually been taken from any one single Ian Fleming novel and in fact takes inspiration from several of his books.
I hope these books follow the usual rule of being a damned sight better than the films they spawned. If you have read any of them please send us a review, we’d love to know what you thought.
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