'Up in the Air,' 'Precious' among Oscar-nominated literary adaptations

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On February 2, nominee were announced for the 82nd Academy Awards, which will be awarded March 7 in Los Angeles. Several adapted literary works, including Up in the Air and Precious, are among nominees in film and screenplay categories.

For the first time since 1944, ten films - rather than the usual five - are nominated in the Best Picture category. Among them are The Blind Side, based on a book by Michael Lewis; Up in the Air, adapted from a novel by Walter Kirn; An Education, from a memoir written by Lynn Barber and adapted by author Nick Hornby; and Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.

Up in the Air, An Education, and Precious are also nominated for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay).

A bit about the books:

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game - Michael Lewis's 2006 book examines football strategy and tells the true story of National Football League star Michael Oher. The film focuses mainly on Oher's story.

Up in the Air - Walter Kirn - author of Thumbsucker, which was made into a 2005 film - wrote this novel in 2001 about Career Transition Counselor Ryan Bingham and the countdown to his millionth frequent-flyer mile.

An Education - Journalist Lynn Barber's 2009 memoir about her career, marriage, and coming-of-age from a suburban teenager to one of England's most feared interviewers. Nick Nornby, author of High Fidelity and Fever Pitch, wrote the screenplay.

Push: A Novel - The 1996 debut novel of American author and poet Sapphire. Written in a stream-of-consciousness style, the novel tells the story of Precious Jones, a pregnant 16-years old who is helped by a school counselor to get away from her abusive home life.


For a full list of nominees, visit: http://oscar.go.com/