Making The Book Film Connection On Eve of 74th Golden Globes

by Rana Asfour

The beginning of a new year means many things to different people. But to film buffs - a few friends' names come to mind - it signifies the beginning of the awards season. This Sunday (tomorrow) brings with it the 74th Golden Globes which honors the year's best in film and television productions.

Here are the film nominations I'll be looking out for naturally because they're all based on books that have had their own resounding success!

LION

Best picture, Drama - Best Original Score (starring: Dev Patel up for best supporting actor / Nicole Kidman up for best supporting actress)

Based on the non-fiction book 'A Long Way Home' by Saroo Brierley
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What it's about:
Five year old Saroo gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home.

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Hacksaw Ridge

Best picture (starring: Andrew Garfield up for best performance by an actor in a motion picture - Drama)

Inspired by the book 'Redemption at Hacksaw Ridge' by Booton Herndon

What it's about:
The extraordinary true story of conscientious objector Desmond T. Doss who saved 75 men in Okinawa, during the bloodiest battle of WWII, without firing a single shot. Believing that the war was just but killing was nevertheless wrong, he was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the front lines without a weapon. As an army medic Doss single-handedly evacuated the wounded near enemy lines - braving enemy fire and putting his own life on the line. He was the first conscientious objector to ever win the Congressional Medal of Honor.

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Arrival

Best picture & Best original score (starring Amy Adams up for best performance by an actress in a motion picture - Drama)

Based on the 1998 short story 'Stories of your Life' by Ted Chiang which includes the story 'Story of Your Life' which the film is based on.

What it's about:
Linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams) leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touch down in 12 locations around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. Hoping to unravel the mystery, she takes a chance that could threaten her life and quite possibly all of mankind.

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Nocturnal Animals

Best Screenplay (starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson up for best supporting actor / Amy Adams / Jake Gyllenhaal )

Based on the 1993 novel 'Tony & Susan' by Austin Wright

What it's about:
An art gallery owner is haunted by her ex-husband's novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a veiled threat and a symbolic revenge tale.

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Elle

Best Motion Picture -Foreign Film (starring Isabelle Huppert)

Based on the novel 'Oh...' by Philippe Djian

What it's about:
The successful CEO (Isabelle Huppert) of a video game company tries to learn the identity of the man who raped her.