The beginning of each year brings Oscars buzz. Next Sunday, we’ll be able to see which films win the Academy’s highest praise. We wanted to spend a moment to review some of our favorite books that became big screen Oscar smashes.
Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio joining forces again produced movie magic this year as The Wolf of Wall Street has multiple Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Jordan Belfort first published the book in 2007 based on his debaucherous time on Wall Street.
Based on No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (first published in 2005), this film won an Oscar for Best Picture in 2007. Starring Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin.
Based on The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje (first published in 1992), this film won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1996.
With beauty and intelligence, Ondaatje’s Booker Prize-winning novel traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an Italian villa at the end of World War II. The film adaptation stars Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche and Willem Dafoe.
Based on Dances with Wolves by Michael Blake (first published in 1988), this film won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1990.
Ordered to hold an abandoned army post, John Dunbar found himself alone, beyond the edge of civilization. Thievery and survival soon forced him to begin a dangerous adventure that changed his life forever. Starring Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell and Graham Greene.
Based on Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne (first published as series in 1872), this film won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1956.
Starring David Niven, Finlay Currie, Shirley MacLaine and Frank Sinatra.
Based on Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (first published in 1938), this film won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1940.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, and George Sanders; Rebecca is a true classic of suspense.