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Oscars 2015 nominations: Here are some of the nominees that came from books

Oscar nominees like 'American Sniper' and 'The Theory of Everything' were inspired by the written word.

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Liam Daniel/Focus Features
'The Theory of Everything' stars Felicity Jones (l.) and Eddie Redmayne (r.).
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

This year, many of the movies nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences drew their inspiration from the printed page.

Of the movies nominated for Best Picture, several are based on the written word. “American Sniper” is a film version of the book of the same name, while the movie “The Theory of Everything” came from Jane Hawking’s book “Traveling to Infinity”. The film “The Imitation Game” was based on the Alan Turing biography “Alan Turing: The Enigma” by Andrew Hodges. 

The film “Inherent Vice,” which was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, came from the novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon. Best Actress nominee Julianne Moore received her nod for the movie “Still Alice,” based on the book of the same name by Lisa Genova, while Rosamund Pike, another Best Actress nominee, starred in the movie “Gone Girl,” based on the book of the same name by Gillian Flynn. Reese Witherspoon’s nomination for the same award came for the movie “Wild,” which was based on the book by Cheryl Strayed. Best Supporting Actress nominee Laura Dern was also nominated for “Wild.” 

Actress Meryl Streep received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for “Into the Woods,” which is based on the Stephen Sondheim musical of the same name, which in turn is based on multiple fairy tales. 

For the Best Animated Feature category, the film “Big Hero 6” was adapted from a comic, while “How to Train Your Dragon 2” was based on Cressida Cowell’s series. “The Boxtrolls” is a film adaptation of Alan Snow’s book “Here Be Monsters!” 

The film “Unbroken,” which was based on the book of the same name by Laura Hillenbrand, was nominated for cinematography and sound editing and sound mixing. Meanwhile, the film “Maleficent,” taken from the “Sleeping Beauty” fairy tale, was nominated for costume design. 

“Guardians of the Galaxy,” which was based on comics, was nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling as well as Best Visual Effects (comic-based movies “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past” joined it in the Best Visual Effects category). “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” was nominated for sound editing.

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