Wouldn't this make The Devil Wears Prada and not Dreamgirls the real competitor to Marie Antoinette? Prada has very bright colors and rich people's clothes, it's just that it's contemporary.Mister Tee wrote:In another era, its distance from the best picture race might be a handicap, but, after that 2006-2008 streak -- Marie Antoinette beating Dreamgirls, Elizabeth: the Golden Age topping Atonement, The Duchess over Benjamin Button -- it became clear that voters are looking for Very Bright Colors and, preferably, rich people's clothes, and it doesn't much matter what movie they're in.
Categories One-by-One: Costume Design
Re: Categories One-by-One: Costume Design
Re: Categories One-by-One: Costume Design
They will lose to The Great Gatsby.Mister Tee wrote
The real question is, how are some of these same films going to fare in the much tougher production design slot?
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Mister Tee
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Re: Categories One-by-One: Costume Design
I haven't watched The Grandmaster yet (it's on the pay-per-view; I'll catch up with it prior to Oscar night) and I can't see The Invisible Woman, since it's already disappeared from my neighborhood. But I didn't figure either film had the slightest chance, anyway.
I think BJ is right that 12 Years a Slave -- which had perfectly solid but properly unflashy costumes -- could only win this category were it to turn into a juggernaut, unexpectedly sweeping everything in its path. It's funny you mention The English Patient, because in that year I bet against Ann Roth's costumes despite thinking the film was going to have a 6-9 win evening, simply because I thought there was too much khaki and not enough finery. (I'd bet on Emma) If 12 Years a Slave wins this category the way English Patient did, I'd say watch out for Steve McQueen to upset Cuaron.
American Hustle is worth considering, for the glorious tackiness on display, but, as has been said, for a film set in such a recent decade to win would shatter recent precedent. It's funny how we think about "period" costumes/settings. I remember when The Godfather came out, everyone was marveling at the period re-creation -- and that was a film set a mere 27 years earlier. Can you imagine thinking of a 1987-set film that way? By that standard, Hustle ought to be in the running. But of course it's not the recent standard: I believe the only film in the last 30+ years to win costumes for a period past the 1930s was Priscilla, Queen of the Desert -- and that was a crazy-ass fashion show that really can't be compared to anything else. Voters are way further back in the past.
So, we're probably looking at a Gatsby win, for its sheer sumptuous quality. In another era, its distance from the best picture race might be a handicap, but, after that 2006-2008 streak -- Marie Antoinette beating Dreamgirls, Elizabeth: the Golden Age topping Atonement, The Duchess over Benjamin Button -- it became clear that voters are looking for Very Bright Colors and, preferably, rich people's clothes, and it doesn't much matter what movie they're in. All of these qualities, of course, Gatsby has in abundance.
The real question is, how are some of these same films going to fare in the much tougher production design slot?
I think BJ is right that 12 Years a Slave -- which had perfectly solid but properly unflashy costumes -- could only win this category were it to turn into a juggernaut, unexpectedly sweeping everything in its path. It's funny you mention The English Patient, because in that year I bet against Ann Roth's costumes despite thinking the film was going to have a 6-9 win evening, simply because I thought there was too much khaki and not enough finery. (I'd bet on Emma) If 12 Years a Slave wins this category the way English Patient did, I'd say watch out for Steve McQueen to upset Cuaron.
American Hustle is worth considering, for the glorious tackiness on display, but, as has been said, for a film set in such a recent decade to win would shatter recent precedent. It's funny how we think about "period" costumes/settings. I remember when The Godfather came out, everyone was marveling at the period re-creation -- and that was a film set a mere 27 years earlier. Can you imagine thinking of a 1987-set film that way? By that standard, Hustle ought to be in the running. But of course it's not the recent standard: I believe the only film in the last 30+ years to win costumes for a period past the 1930s was Priscilla, Queen of the Desert -- and that was a crazy-ass fashion show that really can't be compared to anything else. Voters are way further back in the past.
So, we're probably looking at a Gatsby win, for its sheer sumptuous quality. In another era, its distance from the best picture race might be a handicap, but, after that 2006-2008 streak -- Marie Antoinette beating Dreamgirls, Elizabeth: the Golden Age topping Atonement, The Duchess over Benjamin Button -- it became clear that voters are looking for Very Bright Colors and, preferably, rich people's clothes, and it doesn't much matter what movie they're in. All of these qualities, of course, Gatsby has in abundance.
The real question is, how are some of these same films going to fare in the much tougher production design slot?
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Re: Categories One-by-One: Costume Design
The smart money is on The Great Gatsby but I wouldn't rule out 12 Years a Slave as an upset winner.
Re: Categories One-by-One: Costume Design
I'd love to bet against The Great Gatsby, but why? There are two rules to this category: 1) the most costume designing wins (which counts out 12 Years a Slave, featuring intentionally drab wear), and 2) it cannot be remotely contemporary. That's American Hustle out of it.
"How's the despair?"
Re: Categories One-by-One: Costume Design
Patricia Norris is nominated for 12 Years a Slave. She has been previoulsy nominated 5 times but never won. At the age of 83 they might consider her as overdue.
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Categories One-by-One: Costume Design
A pretty good lineup in this category. I don't think any of the nominees are undeserving, and there's nothing I think was outrageously excluded either.
I'd probably rank The Grandmaster as the least likely to take the prize. This is not to knock the clothes in any way -- as usual with Wong Kar-Wai's movies, there are a lot of stylish outfits, and the setting gives the costumer an opportunity to show off the sort of period refinery that voters often enjoy. But I have to say that I view this nomination as basically an add-on to the Cinematography citation -- The Grandmaster is a beautiful-looking movie overall, but it's not quite the costume-specific fashion show that typically wins here. And there were often cases where the stylishness of the photography (tight close-ups, shadows, bodies obfuscated by sets) doesn't exactly give the clothes the kind of showcase you need to garner this trophy.
The Invisible Woman fits into a very typical vein of Costume Design nominee: the Masterpiece Theatre-style period drama. The more generic entries in this genre can have significant drawbacks -- they're often stuffy (check!), blandly filmed (check!), narratively uninteresting (check!), and just plain boring (ding! ding! ding!). But...they often have fairly intricate costuming, and The Invisible Woman is no exception, with lots of detailed dresses, natty suits, and even some more outlandishly designed theatrical wear. However, the movie overall is just so drab, and even the clothes aren't such a beautiful wow (a la Marie Antoinette) that they'd be likely to bring the film a prize on its only nomination.
12 Years a Slave strikes me as the kind of movie that could win this award if the film were a big Oscar sweeper. There's certainly meritorious work on display, especially in the early scenes, when the film gives us a glimpse of well-off city life in the North. But once the movie takes us to the plantations, there's not a ton of visual dazzle to the clothes; of the major characters, only Sarah Paulson's gowns catch the eye in any way. If I felt like the movie were headed for an English Patient-style sweep, I might be more likely to bet on it here. But even if the movie does end up holding on to Best Picture, I doubt it dominates the Oscars, and I think the costumes might just be too subdued to prevail in that context.
The clothes in American Hustle are a real hoot, aren't they? The movie features one outrageous outfit after another, and the costumes serve the movie in so many ways -- they recreate the period, but in a manner that emphasizes the tackiness and garishness of all of the characters. The ridiculousness of some of the outfits make the major players look like movie stars playing dress-up, but isn't that the point? To show people trying so hard to be people they aren't, even their clothes don't fit? And the fact that the outfits are just a little bit over the top fits perfectly with the tone of caricature that pervades the movie. I'd say the movie stands about as good a shot as any contemporary-ish movie has in recent years at copping the prize. But...I still think the fact that it's contemporary-ish will work against it. At this point, the '70's have to qualify as "period" costumes, but it's not exactly one of the periods voters have showered with trophies in recent years.
The Great Gatsby strikes me as the most likely candidate to take the prize. No, it doesn't have the across-the-board support the Best Picture nominees do. But what it does have is scene after scene of colorful, wildly designed, supremely stylish Jazz Era clothes. You'd have to imagine the work on the lead characters would put the movie in obvious contention. But then there are those party scenes, filled to the brim with extras decked out in all of kinds of eye-catching hats, jewelery, and accessories. Good chunks of the movie feel like a celebration of costume design, and though Gatsby wasn't a dominant Oscar player, it's not exactly under the radar either (the box office was surprisingly solid), and I think at the very least it will have enough juice to pick up this prize, which would be the second in this category for Mrs. Baz Luhrmann.
I'd probably rank The Grandmaster as the least likely to take the prize. This is not to knock the clothes in any way -- as usual with Wong Kar-Wai's movies, there are a lot of stylish outfits, and the setting gives the costumer an opportunity to show off the sort of period refinery that voters often enjoy. But I have to say that I view this nomination as basically an add-on to the Cinematography citation -- The Grandmaster is a beautiful-looking movie overall, but it's not quite the costume-specific fashion show that typically wins here. And there were often cases where the stylishness of the photography (tight close-ups, shadows, bodies obfuscated by sets) doesn't exactly give the clothes the kind of showcase you need to garner this trophy.
The Invisible Woman fits into a very typical vein of Costume Design nominee: the Masterpiece Theatre-style period drama. The more generic entries in this genre can have significant drawbacks -- they're often stuffy (check!), blandly filmed (check!), narratively uninteresting (check!), and just plain boring (ding! ding! ding!). But...they often have fairly intricate costuming, and The Invisible Woman is no exception, with lots of detailed dresses, natty suits, and even some more outlandishly designed theatrical wear. However, the movie overall is just so drab, and even the clothes aren't such a beautiful wow (a la Marie Antoinette) that they'd be likely to bring the film a prize on its only nomination.
12 Years a Slave strikes me as the kind of movie that could win this award if the film were a big Oscar sweeper. There's certainly meritorious work on display, especially in the early scenes, when the film gives us a glimpse of well-off city life in the North. But once the movie takes us to the plantations, there's not a ton of visual dazzle to the clothes; of the major characters, only Sarah Paulson's gowns catch the eye in any way. If I felt like the movie were headed for an English Patient-style sweep, I might be more likely to bet on it here. But even if the movie does end up holding on to Best Picture, I doubt it dominates the Oscars, and I think the costumes might just be too subdued to prevail in that context.
The clothes in American Hustle are a real hoot, aren't they? The movie features one outrageous outfit after another, and the costumes serve the movie in so many ways -- they recreate the period, but in a manner that emphasizes the tackiness and garishness of all of the characters. The ridiculousness of some of the outfits make the major players look like movie stars playing dress-up, but isn't that the point? To show people trying so hard to be people they aren't, even their clothes don't fit? And the fact that the outfits are just a little bit over the top fits perfectly with the tone of caricature that pervades the movie. I'd say the movie stands about as good a shot as any contemporary-ish movie has in recent years at copping the prize. But...I still think the fact that it's contemporary-ish will work against it. At this point, the '70's have to qualify as "period" costumes, but it's not exactly one of the periods voters have showered with trophies in recent years.
The Great Gatsby strikes me as the most likely candidate to take the prize. No, it doesn't have the across-the-board support the Best Picture nominees do. But what it does have is scene after scene of colorful, wildly designed, supremely stylish Jazz Era clothes. You'd have to imagine the work on the lead characters would put the movie in obvious contention. But then there are those party scenes, filled to the brim with extras decked out in all of kinds of eye-catching hats, jewelery, and accessories. Good chunks of the movie feel like a celebration of costume design, and though Gatsby wasn't a dominant Oscar player, it's not exactly under the radar either (the box office was surprisingly solid), and I think at the very least it will have enough juice to pick up this prize, which would be the second in this category for Mrs. Baz Luhrmann.