85th Academy Awards

And they've finally happened. After all the hype, the predictions and the glitzy dresses, the Oscars have been awarded by the Academy and I have to say, it's been quite an exciting year. Not because the films are any more amazing than previous years, or because the fabulous Adele sang "Skyfall" at the ceremony or even that DanRad danced his merry way across the stage of the Kodak Theatre, but because, except for Daniel Day Lewis, no one really knew what was going to happen (certainly didn't expect poor J-Lawrence to stumble up the steps). And actually partly because Jennifer Lawrence was nominated and, in the words of Bridget Jones, I have, 'let's face it, a bit of a crush now, actually'. I. Love. Her.

Anyway, as last year, I can't really persuade you that film awards are 100% to do with books. I can, though, talk about the award for Best Adapted Screenplay. This year rather embarrassingly I have not read any of these books despite my mum having bought me Life of Pi, twice.

Argo, winner of Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, was adapted from Antonia J Mendez' book The Master of Disguise and Joshuah Bearman's Wired article, 'The Great Escape'. Mendez is a, now retired, CIA technical operations officer who led the rescue of 6 American. diplomats from Tehran during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. The film stars Ben Afleck, who also directed and produced along with fellow producers Grant Heslov and George Clooney.

Other contender, Beast of the Southern Wild, was derived from Lucy Alibar's play Jucy and Delicious. The fantasy drama garnered a Best Actress nomination for the youngest ever Best Actress nominee, 9 year-old Quvenzhané Wallis and has been highly praised since its release last year. Then six years old, Wallis plays young Hushpuppy whose dilapidated bayou community falls victim to a flood caused by melting icecaps. If that weren't enough, she must also cope with her hot-tempered father who is not well.

Life of Pi may not have won this film but this magical realist adventure unexpectedly saw Ang Lee snatch the Best Director award for the second time in his career. The book has already received high praise since it was published over ten years ago in 2001 but there was always a question of how the unusual style would translate into film. Ang Lee's fantastical masterpiece, though, seemed pretty successful, also picking up the award for Special Effects. Amazingly the book (which follows Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, after he survives a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean with just a Bengal tiger for company, was originally rejected by 5 London publishing houses before being taken on by Knopf in Canada. The book has now sold well over three million copies worldwide.

Lincoln was inspired by the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. As we all know, Daniel Day Lewis broke the records this year by winning his third Best Actor Academy award for his portrayal of the beloved president. While the film focuses on the turbulent final four months of Lincoln's life and presidency, focusing on the passing of the thirteenth amendment, the book is a real beast at nearly 1,000 pages and looks at the final four years. Apparently Goodwin had previously consulted with director Steven Spielberg on a project of his in 1999 and just mentioned that she was planning to write Team of Rivals. Spielberg didn't hang about... and immediately asked for film rights there and then. Interestingly, Lincoln was going to be played by Liam Neeson until he had to withdraw in 2010. Reportedly, the film was then pushed back by a year so that DDL felt he had enough time to prepare for the role... we've all heard how he likes to prepare...

Finally, my highlight of 2012 cinema, Silver Linings Playbook, was adapted from the novel by Matthew Quick. For what is, essentially, a romantic comedy, this adaptation did very well this awards season, being nominated for 8 Oscars (including the Big Five - the first time since Million Dollar Baby in 2004) and with J-Lawrence walking/tripping away with Best Actress. The story follows Pat Solitano (played by Bradley Cooper), a bi-polar sufferer who has just spent some time in a mental institution, who meets recovering sex addict Tiffany (Lawrence) who has problems of her own. The film's subject brought Robert De Niro, who also stars in the film, uncharacteristically to tears during an interview and Director David O. Russell has spoken openly about his inspiration: "It's personal to me, because I've lived through some of these experiences with a son". 

Anyway, excuse the long post and go see ALL these films. Ciao!