Golden Globe Nominees Announced!

January 04, 2012

The Golden Globe nominees have been announced. Hollywood's originality well has seemingly run dry, so it comes as no surprise that several, if not a majority, of the movies are based on books. I don't know about you but I always like to read the book before seeing the movie. I know I'm almost always dissappointed with the results, the books are almost always better, but I just can't help myself. These books also make great book club books. You can all read the same book and then take a field trip to see the movie. Then, not only do you have the book to talk about, you also have the movie as well. You can discuss all the differences between the two. You can check out all of these books through our libraries. It seems that anytime a book becomes popularm Hollywood must then, of course, make it into a film. I'm sure you've heard of most of these and probably read a few of them already. However, a few may be a surprise. Here is a list of all the movies that are based on books. 

• Best Picture: Drama

The Descendants is based on the book The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings. Narrated in a bold, fearless, hilarious voice and set against the lush, panoramic backdrop of Hawaii, The Descendants is a stunning debut novel about an unconventional family forced to come together and re-create its own legacy.

The Help - For those of you who haven't read The Help by Kathryn Stockett, get your name on the list now! In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women—mothers, daughters, caregivers, and friends—view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by and the ones we don’t.

Hugo is based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life and his most precious secret is put in jeopardy.

Moneyball is based on the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning the Unfair Game by Michael Lewis. In a narrative full of fabulous characters and brilliant excursions into the unexpected, Michael Lewis shows us how and why the new baseball knowledge works. He also sets up a sly and hilarious morality tale: Big Money, like Goliath, is always supposed to win...how can we not cheer for David?

War Horse is based on the young adult book War Horse by Michael Morpurago. In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red foal with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey's courage touches the soldiers around him, and he is able to find warmth and hope. But his heart aches for Albert, the farmer's son he left behind. Will he ever see his true master again?

• Best Actress

Rooney Mara: The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo is based on the book The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson. It’s a contagiously exciting, stunningly intelligent novel about society at its most hidden, and about the intimate lives of a brilliantly realized cast of characters, all of them forced to face the darker aspects of their world and of their own lives.

Tilda Swinton: We Need to Talk about Kevin is based on the book We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Uneasy with the sacrifices and social demotion of motherhood from the start, Eva fears that her alarming dislike for her own son may be responsible for driving him so nihilistically off the rails. Summary from Goodreads.com

• Best Supporting Actor

Viggo Mortensen: A Dangerous Method  is based on the book A Most Dangerous Method by John Kerr. In 1907, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung began what promised to be both a momentous collaboration and the deepest friendship of each man’s life. Six years later, they were bitter antagonists, locked in a savage struggle that was as much personal and emotional as it was theoretical and professional. Between them stood a young woman named Sabina Spielrein, who had been both patient and lover to Jung and colleague and confidante to Freud before going on to become an innovative psychoanalyst herself.

Albert Brooks: Drive is based on the book Drive by James Sallis. It's the story of a man who works as a stunt driver by day and a getaway driver by night. He drives, that's all--until he's double-crossed. Powerful and stylistically brilliant, Drive has been hailed by critics as the "perfect piece of noir fiction" (The New York Times Book Review ) and an instant classic.

• TV Series Drama

Game of Thrones is based on the book Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. Here is the first volume in George R. R. Martin’s magnificent cycle of novels that includes: A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hailed as a classic, George R. R. Martin’s stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.

Jenny C
Smithville Branch