Season of adaptations

Temperatures are still in the 90s and autumn doesn’t officially begin until the 23rd, but no matter: To students and studio execs, fall begins the day after Labor Day.

The fall movie season, of course, is the one in which studios release their likeliest Oscar contenders, hoping to keep powerful performances and delicate directing in the minds of Academy members just before nominations are announced early in the calendar year.

That always means mostly big-budget epics, serious dramas and literary adaptations, but this year may see a record-breaking number of the latter.

The first is “Feast of Love,” opening on Sept. 28. Veteran director Robert Benton has adapted Charles Baxter’s novel with an ensemble cast including Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear and Radha Mitchell.

“The Kite Runner,” opening Nov. 2, would seem to have a ready-made audience: The book is currently No. 2 on the New York Times’ paperback fiction list, while Afghan-American Khaled Hosseini’s second novel is tops on the hardcover list. “No Country for Old Men,” in which the Coen brothers take on acclaimed novelist Cormac McCarthy’s bleak vision of the American West, opens a week later.

On Nov. 16, three more adaptations open. Neil Gaiman and erstwhile Quentin Tarantino collaborator Roger Avary translate the epic poem “Beowulf” to the screen for Robert Zemeckis, while Mike Newell directs “Love in the Time of Cholera,” based on the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Let’s hope “Elegy,” adapted from Philip Roth’s short novel “The Dying Animal,” treats the grand old man of American letters better than the movie version of “The Human Stain” did a few years ago.

“Atonement,” opening Dec. 7, features not just a literary pedigree (the novel was written by master Ian McEwan), but a dazzling British cast, including Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Brenda Blethyn and Vanessa Redgrave. “The Golden Compass” opens the same day; Chris Weitz directs the adaptation of the first novel in a trilogy for young adults (“His Dark Materials”) by another Brit, Philip Pullman.

British history, on the other hand, will be on full display in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” on Oct. 12, a sequel to 1998’s “Elizabeth.” Cate Blanchett returns as the Virgin Queen, while Clive Owen is brought in to play Sir Walter Raleigh.

One of the most anticipated films of the season is based on source material few in this country will have read. Ang Lee’s follow-up to “Brokeback Mountain” is a Chinese-language film based on a story by Eileen Chang. “Lust, Caution” has been rated NC-17 by the MPAA, and Mr. Lee says he will not edit his film to get an R; it opens Oct. 12.

“Sleuth” may be a remake, but it begs to be taken seriously: The Kenneth Branagh film is based not just on the 1972 film, but on the play by Anthony Shaffer, which has been adapted by Nobel Prize-winner Harold Pinter. It marks the second time, after “Alfie,” that Jude Law has taken on a film role first played by Sir Michael Caine. The latter himself returns in the remake — in Sir Laurence Olivier’s role from the 1972 version. Got that?

On Oct. 5, the Farrelly brothers take on another playwright, Neil Simon, in another remake, “The Heartbreak Kid,” which stars Ben Stiller in the role originated by Charles Grodin in 1972.

This fall also features films from a number of directors better known as actors. Sean Penn is up first on Sept. 28 with the real-life tale “Into the Wild,” based on Jon Krakauer’s best-selling book. Ben Affleck makes his feature directorial debut on Oct. 19 with “Gone Baby Gone,” based on the novel by Dennis Lehane. George Clooney’s “Leatherheads,” a romantic comedy set amidst 1920s football, opens Dec. 7.

The auteurs are also out in force this autumn. Francis Ford Coppola is back after a decade-long hiatus with “Youth Without Youth,” another adaptation (Dec. TBD).

Canadian director David Cronenberg teams up with Viggo Mortensen again for “Eastern Promises” (Sept. 14) after the successful “A History of Violence.” Wes Anderson’s “The Darjeeling Limited,” opening Oct. 5, is getting a lot of press, sadly because of the problems of its star, Owen Wilson.

Woody Allen goes to London for the third film in a row with “Cassandra’s Dream.” It opens Nov. 30 and stars Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor.

Susanne Bier already gave us one of the best films of the year with “After the Wedding.” The Danish director makes her American debut with “Things We Lost in the Fire” on Oct. 26. Then look out for Michel Gondry’s “Be Kind Rewind” (Dec. 21) and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood” (Jan. TBD). And auteur-in-the-making Noah Baumbach releases “Margot at the Wedding” on Nov. 21, while smart young writer Zach Helm (“Stranger Than Fiction”) makes his directorial debut with “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” on Nov. 16.

Hollywood is finally catching up with the headlines. Paul Haggis’ “In the Valley of Elah” opens Sept. 14 and stars Tommy Lee Jones as a man investigating the disappearance of his son following a tour of duty in Iraq. Brian De Palma offers his docudrama “Redacted,” based on the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl by U.S. soldiers, on Dec. 14. With talk of atrocities committed by U.S. soldiers stationed there, it’s certain to be controversial.

“Rendition,” a thriller about torture, is just as topical. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal and Meryl Streep and opens Oct. 12. “The Kingdom,” opening Sept. 28, deals with the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East. Robert Redford directs and stars in “Lions for Lambs,” alongside Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise. The film, about the battle in Afghanistan, opens Nov. 9. Tom Hanks is in Afghanistan for “Charlie Wilson’s War” (Dec. 25), the Mike Nichols drama based on a Texas congressman’s covert dealings in the country.

In Ridley Scott’s “American Gangsters” (Nov. 2), Russell Crowe investigates a drug lord (Denzel Washington) who smuggles heroin into Harlem by hiding it inside the coffins of American soldiers returning from Vietnam.

Musical lovers shouldn’t be disappointed this year. Tim Burton directs the Stephen Sondheim musical-opera “Sweeney Todd” (Dec. 21), starring Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter. “Across the Universe” (Sept. 14), Julie Taymor’s Beatles musical, is a mixed bag. Star Jim Sturgess is a real find, with both singing and acting chops and a face reminiscent of the young Paul McCartney. But the story and visuals don’t match the director’s ambition.

There are just a few comedies to lighten the season. Funnyman Steve Carell stars in “Dan in Real Life” on Oct. 26; busy writer-director Judd Apatow co-wrote Dec. 14’s “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” about a musician played by John C. Reilly (who showcased his musical abilities in last year’s “A Prairie Home Companion”); and Jason Reitman follows up the excellent “Thank You for Smoking” with “Juno” (Dec. TBD). Kids will be clamoring to see “Bee Movie” (Nov. 2), a DreamWorks animated film with voices from Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock.

But the most anticipated film of the season may be one we know next to nothing about. “Lost” creator J.J. Abrams has a film coming out on Jan. 8. But few details — neither the title nor the plot — have been released, just a murky trailer. That hasn’t stopped people from guessing, however; it’s the smartest promotional campaign of the season.