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Now that the Olympics are over, it’s time to start preparing for the next big event – the Academy Awards are this Sunday! And this year, there’s a Scranton connection.
West Scranton native Jay Parini is the author of The Last Station, a novel about the last year of Tolstoy’s life – and the film adaptation of the novel has received two Oscar nominations. Helen Mirren (who plays Sofya Tolstoy) and Christopher Plummer (Leo Tolstoy) are up for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actress, respectively. The Last Station was also nominated for five awards (including Best Feature) at Friday’s Film Independent Spirit Awards. For more details about the film and Parini’s work, see this article from the February 5 Scranton Times-Tribune.
This Spring, Mr. Parini will be making a special appearance on campus to discuss his book and the film at one of our Schemel Forum “Insights” luncheons. The luncheon will be held Friday, April 9 from 12pm-1:30pm in Room 509 Brennan Hall. Registration fees are $20 per person or $30 per couple for the luncheon – and Schemel Forum members get in free. To register, please contact Kym Fetsko at fetskok2 (at) scranton (dot) edu.