Comical Oscars!

In response to a comment made in my Oscar post, let's chat about Comic Book Inspired Movies (CBIM) that were nominated in the major categories (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress.) There have been innumerable Comic Book Adaptations (CBA) of Oscar winners, but how about pure CBIM? Not so many... (Photos courtesy of the GCD







You'd think the #1 CBA all-time winner has to be The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King with 11 Academy Awards, though none of them in Acting noms. But surprisingly, I can't find any adaptations of it in Comic Book form, only the Hobbit! (I really have to dig up my LOTR stuff from Korea someday...)







Let's check out some other CBAs then, shall we. 2001: A Space Odyssey was nominated for Best Director, Kubrick and spawned an awe-inspiring series of comics by King Kirby. But Stanley didn't win, it only got a nod for Best Visual Effects (deservedly so!)




Lucas and Spielberg were noms as directors but lost out to Annie Hall! Spielberg also got nada for the great Comic series, Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T though there were no Extra Terrestrial adaptations that I'm aware of.

Akira Kurosawa was nominated for Ran but didn't win. No true comic book, but I do have some pictures from an adaptation back in this post

Now, let's take a peek back at Acting winners in the CBA category.

Hmmm. There was Frederic March who won for Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde back in 1931, but it was never an ongoing series (but inspired an awesome Thor villain, Mr. Hyde!)







After that, there isn't a single Horror/SciFi Acting nomination until Janet Leigh in Psycho! (Btw, Hitchcock was also nominated as Director.) There was a 3-issue adaptation, but no real ongoing series. Arguably this movie inspired an eponymous B&W Series of magazines by Skywald. (ASIDE: I'm watching it on tv right now!)






3 Acting, Director and Best Picture noms in 1973's The Exorcist, but no true CBAs! (You can't count Howard the Duck!)








In addition to the aforementioned Director nods, in 1977 we finally get some acting chops. Supporting Actor Alec Guinness in a little-seen movie called Star Wars and Supporting Actress Melinda Dillon in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The former one inspired several long-running series, but the other one merely had a colourful one-shot.



Jeff Bridges was nominated for Starman but it never had a CBA though there have been lots of series by that name! This particular pictured series would make an awesome movie!








Ralph Richardson was nominated in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan but unsurprisingly, no Tarzan portrayal has ever been nominated! LOTS of comic adaptations though!





Hey cool! Supporter Don Ameche won in Cocoon! But no CBAs!
Unless this counts...








Well, well, well. Sigourney Weaver was nominated as Ripley in Aliens. There were some excellent CBAs of this scifi series from Dark Horse! But of course she didn't win...Damn You Marlee Maitlan!






The envelope please. What Joe Pesci! Al Pacino didn't win as Big Boy Caprice in Dick Tracy! A travesty!























Unfortunately there was never a CBA of any of the works of 94's Ed Wood (as far as I know) for Martin Landau made an excellent Bela Lugosi! Nor was there a comic adaptation of 95's 12 Monkeys for Brad Pitt's nomination. No CBA (or win) for Magneto (Ian McKellan) in Gods and Monsters portraying Frankenstein director James Whale. Nor for Willem Defoe as Nosferatu/Max Schreck in 2000's Shadow of the Vampire.

Next up, we have a pair of CBIMs. In 2002, Paul Newman was nominated for Graphic Novel Road to Perdition but lost out for the umpteenth time.










Nor did another Graphic Novel, A History of Violence net William Hurt another Oscar for his 8-minute role as Richie Cusack!










Thus we have finally culminated in an acting win both a CBA and CBIM for Heath Ledger as the Joker! We shall have to wait and see if the Watchmen garners more awards or if we ever get a true Best Picture Winner!