Six of the eight best picture nominations for this year's Academy Awards, which will be presented February 22, are based on books or are book-related. The impressive reading list of nominees in Oscar's marquee categories includes:
Birdman, which centers on a Broadway stage adaptation of Raymond Carver's story "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love": best picture, actor (Michael Keaton), supporting actor (Edward Norton), supporting actress (Emma Stone), cinematography, director (Alejandro G. Iñárritu), original screenplay and two more nominations
The Grand Budapest Hotel, inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig: best picture, cinematography, director (Wes Anderson), original screenplay and five more nominations
The Imitation Game, based on Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges: best picture, actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), supporting actress (Keira Knightley), director (Morten Tyldum), adapted screenplay (Graham Moore) and three more nominations
American Sniper, based on American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History by Chris Kyle and Scott McEwen: best picture, actor (Bradley Cooper), adapted screenplay (Jason Hall) and three more nominations
The Theory of Everything, based on Jane Hawking's memoir, Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen: best picture, actor (Eddie Redmayne), actress (Felicity Jones), adapted screenplay (Anthony McCarten) and one more nomination
Foxcatcher, based on events depicted in Foxcatcher: The True Story of My Brother's Murder, John du Pont's Madness and the Quest for Olympic Gold by Mark Schultz and David Thomas: actor (Steve Carell), supporting actor (Mark Ruffalo), director (Bennett Miller), original screenplay and one more nomination
Gone Girl, based on the novel by Gillian Flynn: actress (Rosamund Pike)
Still Alice, based on the novel by Lisa Genova: actress (Julianne Moore)
Wild, based on the book by Cheryl Strayed: actress (Reese Witherspoon) and supporting actress (Laura Dern)
Unbroken, based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand: cinematography and two more nominations
Inherent Vice, based on Thomas Pynchon's novel: adapted screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson) and one other nomination
The best animated feature film category nominees include two book adaptations (The Boxtrolls, based on Alan Snow's Here Be Monsters!; and How to Train Your Dragon 2,based on Cressida Cowell's books), one movie inspired by a Marvel Comics superhero team (Big Hero 6) and two based on folktales (Song of the Sea, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya)
