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Oscars 2016: read the letter that got Best Picture nominee Room made
Lenny Abrahamson went above and beyond to direct the Brie Larson drama
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Your support makes all the difference.Filmmaker Lenny Abrahamson has published the "carefully crafted" letter that landed him the gig as director of Best Picture nominee Room.
He told Indiewire back in October how, after reading Emma Donoghue's best-seller, thought, 'I have to make it. Somebody else is going to make a mess of it.'
Both the novel and film follow a mother (Brie Larson) and her five-year-old son (Jacob Tremblay) trapped in enclosed surroundings; to say anything more would be to spoil the film.
Considering Room was Hollywood hot property, Abrahamson resorted to the old-fashioned tactic of letter-writing; he had, after all, simply directed three little-seen indies at that time (the Sundance favourite Frank was yet to come).
Indiewire has since asked for the director's permission in publishing the five-page letter, and he's accepted - you can read it here.
Within the pages, you can see Abrahamson assure Donoghue he will retain the essence of her novel, warning her that other filmmakers might not be so accommodating.
"Any film version of 'Room,' which imposes an over-energized camera style, or any other self-conscious visual device, in the mistaken belief that the physical constraint of location need to be somehow compensated for, will fail because it will lose the taste of reality on which the power of the novel depends," he writes.
Room is nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actress (for Larson).
It just goes to show, if you want something hard enough, writing a lovingly-crafted letter may just help.
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