Biography
The Iceman
(2012)
Morgan Land (screenplay), Ariel Vromen (screenplay), Anthony Bruno (book), Jim Thebaut (documentary "The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer")
2 wins.
In the 1960s, Richard Kuklinski is working as a porn film lab tech until his mob bosses persuade him to change his career into that of a contract killer. For years, Kuklinski gains a reputation for cold blooded professionalism even as he raises a family who are kept in the dark about his true career. Unfortunately, mob politics ultimately forces him to secretly work independently with the psychopathic Robert 'Mr. Freezy' Pronge. As much as Kuklinski tries to keep his lives separate, circumstances and his own weaknesses threaten a terrible collision as the consequences of his choices finally catch up to him.
The Imitation Game
(2014)
Graham Moore, Andrew Hodges
Won 1 Oscar. 49 wins & 165 nominations total
It is based on the real life story of legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing. The film portrays the nail-biting race against time by Turing and his brilliant team of code-breakers at Britain's top-secret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II.
The Insider
(1999)
Marie Brenner, Eric Roth, Michael Mann
Nominated for 7 Oscars. 23 wins & 58 nominations total
Balls-out 60 Minutes (1968) Producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) sniffs a story when a former research biologist for Brown & Williamson, Jeff Wigand (Russell Crowe), won't talk to him. When the company leans hard on Wigand to honor a confidentiality agreement, he gets his back up. Trusting Bergman, and despite a crumbling marriage, he goes on camera for a Mike Wallace (Christopher Plummer) interview and risks arrest for contempt of court. Westinghouse is negotiating to buy CBS, so CBS attorneys advise CBS News to shelve the interview and avoid a lawsuit. 60 Minutes (1968) and CBS News bosses cave, Wigand is hung out to dry, Bergman is compromised, and the CEOs of Big Tobacco may get away with perjury. Will the truth come out?
The Runaways
(2010)
Floria Sigismondi (screenplay), Cherie Currie (book)
5 nominations.
A coming-of-age biographical film about the 1970s teenage all-girl rock band The Runaways. This film also explores the relationship between band members Joan Jett and Cherie Currie.
The Social Network
(2010)
Aaron Sorkin (screenplay), Ben Mezrich (book)
Won 3 Oscars. Another 157 wins & 153 nominations.
Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, but is later sued by two brothers who claimed he stole their idea, and the cofounder who was later squeezed out of the business.
The Straight Story
(1999)
John Roach, Mary Sweeney
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 18 wins & 39 nominations.
"The Straight Story" chronicles a trip made by 73-year-old Alvin Straight from Laurens, Iowa, to Mt. Zion, Wis., in 1994 while riding a lawn mower. The man undertook his strange journey to mend his relationship with his ill, estranged, 75-year-old brother Lyle.
The Wolf of Wall Street
(2013)
Terence Winter (screenplay), Jordan Belfort (book)
Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 35 wins & 151 nominations.
Jordan Belfort is a Long Island penny stockbroker who served 22 months in prison for defrauding investors in a massive 1990s securities scam that involved widespread corruption on Wall Street and in the corporate banking world, including shoe designer Steve Madden.