"Conclave" author Robert Harris isn't planning to stay up and watch the Oscars.

The British writer will be in a different time zone. Plus, Harris would rather wait to see how the movie, which is up for eight Academy Awards including best picture, does Sunday night.

"These things are a bit of a strain anyway, and I don't want to sit up all night and hear them say and the winner is... 'Anora' at four in the morning," he said, laughing. "I hope that 'Conclave' wins and it's certainly in with a chance. It's not the favorite, but it's probably started to creep up to become a second favorite. So who knows."

Sitting in his study — a converted church office at his home in southeast England — Harris writes in the morning and tinkers in the afternoon, surrounded by books. He's in the early stages of a new novel.

These days it's his 2016 papal thriller that everyone wants to talk about.

"I've always written about politics and power. It greatly interests me what it does to people, the kind of people who seek it and so on," explains Harris. "This is in many ways the ultimate election, for God's representative on Earth, the spiritual leader of one and a third billion people. It doesn't get much bigger than that, quite frankly."

Inspired by the conclave of 2005, which elected Pope Benedict XVI, the novel was adapted into a screenplay by Peter Straughan, and brought to life by director Edward Berger, starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini.

Harris talked about Fiennes' portrayal of inner turmoil on screen, visiting a fake Sistine Chapel set and that twist.

Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q: How have you felt about all the love that the film has had during the... Read More