Literary adaptations made a strong showing in the Oscar nominations, announced Tuesday morning in Los Angeles.
The Power of the Dog, based on Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel, led the pack with 12 nominations, including nods for best picture, best director (Jane Campion), best actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), best supporting actor (Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee), best supporting actress (Kirsten Dunst), and best adapted screenplay (Campion).
It was followed closely by Dune, an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 fantasy, which earned 10 nominations, among them ones for best picture and best adapted screenplay (Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, and Eric Roth).
Drive My Car, based on a short story from Haruki Murakami’s collection Men Without Women, was nominated in four categories, including best picture and best director (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi); also earning four nods was Nightmare Alley, an adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel.
Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley drew acting nominations for The Lost Daughter, based on Elena Ferrante’s novel; Maggie Gyllenhaal earned a screenwriting nod for the film.
The winners of the 94th Academy Awards will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles on March 27.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
