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The 2025 Oscar nominations were announced at the end of January and there are a fair amount of adaptations on the list: 7 of 10 of the Best Picture nominations are adaptations. I was particularly thrilled to see that three of the adaptations—Sing Sing, Nickel Boys, and Conclave—are for fans of the thriller and crime genre, so I thought I’d give some thoughts on the nominations along with how you can watch the films and a little about the source material.
Make It Make Sense
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
I’m always confused when a film is nominated for Best Picture and Writing but not Directing. If the writing is award-worthy and the overall film is award-worthy, how is the person who brought it all together not? That’s all to say: I’m super confused that Nickel Boys is nominated for Best Picture and Writing (Adapted Screenplay) but not Directing? (Ditto for Conclave.)
As of this writing, Nickel Boys is still in theaters. When it hits streaming, it is assumed to go to MGM+/Prime.
If you’ve yet to read Colson Whitehead’s novel The Nickel Boys, which won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, now is a great time to finally get around to it. It’s based on the reform school in Florida, Dozier School, and the horrors that occurred there. Bonus: the audiobook is narrated by JD Jackson, who is always fantastic!
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I’m Really Happy To See Sing Sing On The List
Sing Sing Follies (A Maximum-Security Comedy) And Other True Stories by John H. Richardson
Sing Sing doesn’t have as many nominations as one would want. But Colman Domingo is nominated for Actor in a Leading Role and along with his performances, I always look forward to him on the red carpet.
Sing Sing is also competing against four other films— including Nickel Boys—for Writing (Adapted Screenplay). The screenplay is by Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar, Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, and John “Divine G†Whitfield.
“Like a Bird†(Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada) is also nominated for Music (Original Song).
You can still read the 2005 Esquire article the film is based on, The SING SING Follies by John H. Richardson.
As of this writing, Sing Sing is available on VOD through many platforms like AppleTV and Prime.
Conclave Has The Most Noms?
Conclave by Robert Harris
I don’t say that as a knock on Conclave as a film. My thought is more of an “in comparison†because the combined nominations for Sing Sing and Nickel Boys total five vs. Conclave’s eight, which feels a little off in the maths.
Conclave is nominated for Best Picture (Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Michael A. Jackman, Producers).
Ralph Fiennes is up for Actor in a Leading Role and Isabella Rossellini is nominated for Actress in a Supporting Role.
Peter Straughan, who wrote the screenplay, is nominated for Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
Lisy Christl is up for Costume Design (against Wicked, so good luck); Nick Emerson for Film Editing; Volker Bertelmann for Music (Original Score); and Suzie Davies and Cynthia Sleiter for Production Design.
You can stream Conclave on Peacock.
And if you’ve already read the book and watched the film and enjoy playing “what was different,†you can check out Conclave: The Biggest Changes Between Movie Starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci and the Book.
All Men (Whomp Whomp)
The adaptations of The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl, and A Simple Favor were box office successes, but that apparently wasn’t enough to adapt more crime novels by women for theatrical release. And there haven’t even been enough by white women yet for the gatekeepers to let in women of color. There are so many fantastic books being overlooked, and everyone, including audiences, is worse off because of it. This extends beyond just the crime genre because all the adaptations up for Oscar nominations this year are adapted/based on men’s work.
The L.A. Fires
This year’s Oscars will take place on the heels of the devastation caused by fires in Los Angeles, California, so the event will reflect that as the Grammys did. Conan O’Brien will be hosting the Oscars for the first time on March 2nd and has been open about the difficulty of hosting an elaborate celebration event during the current moment: “…my job right now with my writers is to create possibilities. We’re going to have to get very close to the actual air date to figure out what works, what doesn’t work.†If you’re looking for on-the-ground organizations to donate to, here’s a CBS News list. If you want to directly help displaced families, here is a GoFundMe list.
Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’ previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2025 releases, and mysteries from 2024 and 2023. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations! Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Goodreads, Litsy, and Substack.
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