Oftentimes, behind an Academy Award-winning film is a magnificent — and, occasionally, better than the film itself — novel that inspired it Here is a lengthy list of some novels-turned-movies that received Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nominations (or, in some cases, wins), including the 2013 nominees:
- American Hero (1993) by Larry Beinhart –> Wag the Dog (1997) — directed by Barry Levinson
- Atonement (2001) by Ian McEwan –> Atonement (2007) — directed by Joe Wright
- Between a Rock and a Hard Place (2004) by Aron Ralston –> 127 Hours (2010) — directed by Danny Boyle
- Capote (1988) by Gerald Clarke –> Capote (2005) — directed by Bennett Miller
- The Children of Men (1992) by P.D. James –> Children of Men (2006) — directed by Alfonso Cuarón
- The Descendants (2007) by Kaui Hart Hemmings –> The Descendants (2011) — directed by Alexander Payne
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (1997) by Jean-Dominique Bauby –> The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) — directed by Julian Schnabel
- The Hours (1998) by Michael Cunningham –> The Hours (2002) — directed by Stephen Daldry
- The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007) by Brian Selznick –> Hugo (2011) — directed by Martin Scorcese
- Life of Pi (2001) by Yann Martel –> Life of Pi (2012) — directed by Ang Lee
- Little Children (2004) by Tom Perrotta –> Little Children (2006) — directed by Todd Field
- Moneyball (2003) by Michael Lewis –> Moneyball (2011) — directed by Bennett Miller
- The Motorcycle Diaries (1993) by Che Guevara –> The Motorcycle Diaries (2003) — directed by Walter Salle4
- Mystic River (2001) by Dennis Lehane –> Mystic River (2003) — directed by Clint Eastwood
- No Country for Old Men (2005) by Cormac McCarthy –> No Country for Old Men (2007) — directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
- Notes on a Scandal (2003) by Zoë Heller –> Notes on a Scandal (2006) — directed by Richard Eyre
- The Orchid Thief (1998) by Susan Orlean –> Adaptation (2001) — directed by Spike Jonze
- Push (1996) by Sapphire –> Precious (2009) — directed by Lee Daniels
- Q & A (2005) by Vikas Swraup –> Slumdog Millionaire
(2007) — directed by Danny Boyle - The Reader (1995) by Bernhard Schlink –> The Reader (2008) — directed by Stephen Daldry
- Schindler’s Ark (1982) by Thomas Keneally –> Schindler’s List (1992) — directed by Steven Spielberg
- The Sheep-Pig (1983) by Dick King-Smith –> Babe (1995) — directed by Chris Noonan
- Sideways (2004) by Rex Pickett –> Sideways (2004) — directed by Alexander Payne
- Silver Linings Playbook (2008) by Matthew Quick –> Silver Linings Playbook (2012) — directed by David O’Russell
- True Grit (1968) by Charles Portis — True Grit (2010) — directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
- Up in the Air (2001) by Walter Kirn –> Up in the Air (2009) — directed by Jason Reitman
- Winter’s Bone (2006) by Daniel Woodrell –> Winter’s Bone (2010) — directed by Debra Granik
- Wiseguys (1986) by Nicholas Pileggi –> Goodfellas (1990) — directed by Martin Scorcese