The Churchill craze is creeping beyond Hillsdale College’s campus.
Stories of the late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were trending earlier this week, as College President Larry Arnn’s most recent book surged on Amazon’s bestseller lists. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced the Churchill-centric film, “Darkest Hour,” was nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture, on Monday.
“The film deserves it richly, and I hope it wins,” Arnn said in an email.
Arnn was No. 11 on Amazon’s most popular authors list on Monday at 10 a.m., ahead of bestselling horror novelist Stephen King. The boost came from a sale on his latest book “Churchill’s Trial: Winston Churchill and the Salvation of Free Government” that dropped its Kindle version price from $9.99 to $1.99 on Sunday. The book ranked No. 2 on the Kindle bestseller list Monday.
“Fire sales seem to work,” Arnn said in an email after the fact.
“Churchill’s Trial,” published in 2015, examines the challenges and controversies the prime minister faced during his years in politics.
Arnn — who studied under Sir Martin Gilbert, Churchill’s official biographer, and directs Hillsdale’s efforts to preserve and publish all of Churchill’s writing through its Churchill Project — spoke with filmmakers of “Darkest Hour” unofficially and also visited the set.
In addition to Best Picture, the movie received nominations for Best Actor for Gary Oldman’s portrayal of Churchill, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, and Best Production Design.
The film explores Churchill’s early days in office as prime minister, when he faced the decision of negotiating peace with Nazi Germany or continuing Britain’s fight for freedom in May 1940.
“‘Darkest Hour’ dramatizes one of the turning points of history. The film is powerful,” Arnn said. “Also it captures the heart of how Churchill saw those events, and I think it captures that as it was in reality. Of course those who had to make decisions were doubtful and often confused. Current facts were hard to know and changing constantly, the future was as always obscure. Churchill’s part in that was vital, courageous, and turned on an ultimate judgment that was hard to make. Once he made that, he persuaded others through speech. Events like these are not easy to capture on film: Many have tried.”
Oldman and Douglas Urbanski, a producer on the film, participated in a panel on Hillsdale’s campus in December, following an early screening of the movie in the Searle Center.
