I never thought I would be so bothered when it comes to technical awards at the Oscars, but I am already preparing myself for what I expect will be three snubs for a certain film. The Art Directors Guild has all but confirmed one of them will be Moonrise Kingdom‘s absence from the Production Design nominees by not nominating Adam Stockhausen and Gerald Sullivan‘s profoundly excellent work. I expect the same to happen at the Oscars and I’m sure Moonrise will be overlooked for Cinematography and Costumes as well, even though everything I’m describing went into what makes it such a great movie.
So what did get nominated? Well, in the Contemporary Film category you have Flight, Skyfall, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Impossible and Zero Dark Thirty. Of that group The Impossible and Zero Dark Thirty sound about right. Skyfall is a bit of a stretch, though I’m sure the Shanghai visuals helped a lot, and I still haven’t watched Marigold Hotel so I can’t comment.
The other absence most will note is that of David Crank and Jack Fisk for The Master, which wasn’t nominated by the Producers Guild yesterday. The Master would have fit in the Period Film category, along with Moonrise, where obvious nominees such as Anna Karenina, Les Miserables and Lincoln were nominated. Despite my frustration with the Moonrise snub, I’m happy to see Argo listed as a nominee as it is another one I think should be looked at closely when it comes to costumes as well as hair and makeup at the Oscars. The fifth nominee in that category is Django Unchained.
In the Fantasy Film category I guess this is about right with nominations for Cloud Atlas, Life of Pi, Prometheus, The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Of the films nominated, only two — The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Flight — weren’t among my contenders for Best Production Design. The 2013 Art Directors Guild Awards will take place on Saturday, February 2, 2013.
Longtime “Star Trek” Production Designer Herman Zimmerman (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier through Star Trek: First Contact) will be the recipient of the Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Hall of Fame inductees are Preston Ames, Richard MacDonald and Edward S. Stephenson. The Production Designers behind the James Bond franchise — Sir Ken Adam, Allan Cameron, Dennis Gassner and Peter Lamont — will be honored for Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery.
I have listed all the movie nominees below.
Movies (Period Film)
- Anna Karenina
Production Designer: Sarah Greenwood - Argo
Production Designer: Sharon Seymour - Django Unchained
Production Designer: J. Michael Riva - Les Miserables
Production Designer: Eve Stewart - Lincoln
Production Designer: Rick Carter
Movies (Fantasy Film)
- Cloud Atlas
Production Designer: Uli Hanisch, Hugh Bateup - Life of Pi
Production Designer: David Gropman - Prometheus
Production Designer: Arthur Max - The Dark Knight Rises
Production Designer: Nathan Crowley and Kevin Kavanaugh - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Production Designer: Dan Hannah
Movies (Contemporary Film)
- Flight
Production Designer: Nelson Coates - Skyfall
Production Designer: Dennis Gassner - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Production Designer: Alan MacDonald - The Impossible
Production Designer: Eugenio Caballero - Zero Dark Thirty
Production Designer: Jeremy Hindle
As a result of these nominations I have updated my Production Design predictions for the 2013 Oscars only slightly.
I’ve changed my mind and am going with Anna Karenina as my front-runner. I am, however, going to keep Life of Pi a very close second, still remembering the fact the most recent winners of the award were fantasy 3D features in Avatar, Alice in Wonderland and Hugo.
I’ve also swapped out Argo at #5 and replaced it with Zero Dark Thirty.
Prediction Production Design Nominees
- Anna Karenina
- Life of Pi
- Lincoln
- Les Miserables
- Zero Dark Thirty
You can see my full field of contenders for Best Production Design and where they rank right here.
