I geek books and movies

The nominations for the 2012 Academy Awards have been announced and Hollywood’s special evening is fast approaching (2/26/12).

Each year at this time I wonder if I have seen most of the movies that were nominated, how many were based on books—and have I read those books?

There is a display in the Teen and Adult area of books that were made into movies from past years; and this year is no exception. One of the most popular novels from 2009, The Help, has at least three nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress and two for Best Supporting Actress. I am happy to report that the movie closely followed the story line of the novel—I thoroughly enjoyed both.

Of the nine nominees for Best Picture, five were based on books. In the Best Actor and Best Actress categories, six of the ten pictures were developed from books. The same number is true of Best Supporting Actor and Actress categories. What three movies are tied as the most honored motion pictures in Academy Award history? (answer below)

Stop in the library and check out or download one of the featured titles:

Extremely Loud & Incredible Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

                The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Hugo (based on the children’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick)

Moneyball (based on Moneyball: Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis)

My Week with Marilyn by Colin Clark

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy by John LeCarre

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo (a teen title)

Of all the movies, Hugo has the most nominations with eleven. 

You can also Google and print the Oscars Award Ballot, and see if your picks are the same as the Academy’s chosen movies. There are many books in the library about the film industry. You might check out Awake in the Dark: the Best of Roger Ebert by Mr. Ebert or The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies and a Company Called Dreamworks by Nicole Laporte. The library also has many award-winning movies on CD and Blue-ray.

Popcorn anyone?

The answer to the question is: Ben Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and Return of the King (2003) each earned 11 awards. For more quizzes go to quizland.