The Literary Connection of Oscar Nominated Films 2010

I have a very keen interest in seeing films that are based on books. This year is a bonanza, since four of the 10 films nominated for best picture are based on books

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game is a book written by Michael Lewis in 2006 about American football. It consists of two storylines. The first examines how offensive football strategy has evolved over the last 30 years and how this development has emancipated the role of the left tackle. This position now rivals the quarterback in both importance and pay. The second storyline is about Michael Oher, former left tackle for the Ole Miss football team, and current right tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. Lewis follows Oher from his impoverished childhood with a crack-addicted mother through his years at Briarcrest Christian School, his adoption by a wealthy white family and on to his position as one of the most successful highly-paid players in the NFL.

The movie, The Blind Side, is a 2009 American drama-sports film written and directed by John Lee Hancock. It primarily follows the story of Michael Oher. It stars Quinton Aaron as Michael. It also features appearances by several past and present college football coaches. The film ends with the 2009 NFL Draft, showing the real-life Michael Oher being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens. Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress -Motion Picture Drama.

An Education is a 2009 British coming-of-age drama film based on an autobiographical memoir of the same title written by British journalist Lynn Barber. Nick Hornsby created the screenplay based on an autobiographical essay by Barber published in the literary magazine "GRANTA." The paperback edition of Hornsby's screenplay includes stills from the film and is a perfect accompaniment to the movie. Barber's full memoir, An Education, was not published in book form until June 2009, when filming had already been completed. It is about her affair, while she was still in high school, with an older con man named Simon. Her parents were as infatuated with him a she was and impressed by his worldliness. This encounter changed her life. She spent weekdays prepping for Oxford and weekends flying off to European cities and staying in luxury hotels. The problem with Simon was that he was married and had a child. The education and lesson she received from Simon was that people are almost always NOT as they appear to be. The book is well-written and is a refreshingly straight-forward, honest, autobiography/memoir.

Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire is a 2009 American drama film directed by Lee Daniels. Precious is an adaptation by Geoffrey S. Fletcher of the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire. The film's title was changed from Push to Precious to avoid confusion with the 2009 action film Push.

Push is the1996 debut novel of American author Sapphire. A courageous and determined young teacher opens up a new world of hope and redemption for 16 year-old Claireece "Precious" Jones. She is a young African-American girl living in Harlem who has been repeatedly raped and left pregnant by her father as well as physically and mentally abused by her invalid mother. The book is based upon the "young women Sapphire encountered when she worked as a literacy teacher in Harlem and the Bronx for seven years." Sapphire uses a literary technique called stream-of-consciousness which presents Precious' thoughts as they are occurring in her mind. Sapphire aspired to promote awareness and hope in her readers by confronting many social issues such as incest/rape, teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and education/literacy.

Up in the Air is a 2009 American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner. This story is about a corporate downsizer and his travels. The film follows his isolated life and philosophy, along with the people he encounters. Turner wrote the screenplay adaptation which he sold to Dreamworks in 2003 after discovering the 2001 novel, Up in the Air, written by Walter Kirn. The book centers around 35-year-old Ryan Bingham, a traveling management consultant, who spends his life on airplanes and in airports as he travels around the country, pursuing his goal to accumulate one million miles in his frequent flyer account. The book stands on its own. It realistically portrays a life without a home - a life in chain hotels and airport restaurants. The protagonist, Ryan Bingham, is quite entertaining and Kirn's satirical philosophy regarding corporate culture is delivered through Ryan's voice. He is laugh out loud funny about air travel, hotels, restaurants, Vegas and family values. This novel does not have an action-backed plot; it is about interesting characters.

Check out these great reads for their own merit or to compare the book version with the film version. Let us know what you think! Also, be sure to check out our displays of Academy Award Winning Films and Academy Award Winning Performances, from previous years, in the Periodicals Department.