Literary adaptations had a mixed night at the Oscars, missing out on some of the night’s biggest prizes, but still taking in eight statues in total.
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction novel, led all winning films with six awards, earning prizes for sound, score, production design, cinematography, editing, and visual effects.
The Japanese film Drive My Car, directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and based on a short story from Haruki Murakami’s collection Men Without Women, won the award for international feature. It had also been nominated for best picture.
Jane Campion won the directing award for The Power of the Dog, based on Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel. The film had been seen by many as a frontrunner, earning 12 nominations, including a best picture nod. Also snubbed was Nightmare Alley, based on William Lindsay Gresham’s novel, which was up for four awards.
The award for adapted screenplay, which is often given to a film based on a book or short story, went to CODA, based on the 2014 French movie La Famille Bélier. CODA, which also won best picture, beat out literary adaptations including Dune, Drive My Car, The Power of the Dog, and The Lost Daughter, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s film version of Elena Ferrante’s novel.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
