Categories One-by-One: Production Design

[OscarGuy]

Craft would a better term for the "tech" categories: Film Editing, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, Makeup & Hairstyling, Sound, and Visual Effects. Sure other categories are "craft" as well, but Craft is a better, all-encompassing term for the grouping we usually refer to as "tech"

[criddic3]

(Unless you count costumes and makeup/hair as “technical”—are they?)
Is Crowley a big name in the industry or am I just an expert on Nolan’s guys

Yes they are counted as technical categories.

Nathan Crowley has been nominated 6 times, including Tenet. All but one (First Man) were for his work with Christopher Nolan. So the link between their work is strong. He has won 2 awards from the Art Directors Guild (one for The Dark Knight and one for the cable version of Westworld). So I would say he's well-respected within the industry after 3 decades in the business.

[MaxWilder]

The Father's fluidly edited transitions between sets that seem similar but aren't quite is one of the features of the film. But that achievement, while noteworthy, is a country mile from what normally triumphs in this category.

I’m going to look out for this specifically when I rewatch it. Thanks for the tip!

Tenet was designed by longtime Nolan collaborator Nathan Crowley, and that may be the only technical category his films haven’t won. (Unless you count costumes and makeup/hair as “technical”—are they?) Is Crowley a big name in the industry or am I just an expert on Nolan’s guys?

[Sabin]

I remember thinking in 2016 that La La Land was the beneficiary of a fairly weak crop of down-ballot contenders. It won Best Production Design in a lineup of Arrival, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Hail Caesar!, and Passengers. I remember thinking that La La Land was a pretty historically weak frontrunner in that category that benefited from even weaker competition.

Mank is probably a traditionally stronger contender for Best Production Design but it's definitely up against weaker competition.

[Mister Tee]

The nominees:

The Father
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Mank
News of the World
Tenet

Unless BAFTA throws a giant-sized curve, Mank will have dominated precursors in this category like few films have. It's won LAFC and the Broadcasters, plus, as far as I can see, all of those local groups that give such an award. Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood won many of those last year, but a few places (including BAFTA) pulled for 1917. The year before, Black Panther and The Favorite absolutely split the field; same with Blade Runner 2049 and The Shape of Water in 2017. La La Land lost about half the precursors to the un-nominated The Handmaiden (and BAFTA went with Fantastic Beasts). Mad Max: Fury Road came close to sweeping, but there were, for whatever reason, stray picks of Brooklyn. To match the precursor unanimity of Mank this year, you have to go back to The Grand Budapest Hotel. All the smart money has to go on Mank.

The only thing that makes me hesitant? Three words: black and white.

A little history. As most of you know, through 1966, AMPAS had separate categories for b&w films. But the number of such films nose-dived (in tandem with most network TV going to color), so, in 1967, the designation was eliminated. The cinematography branch would occasionally nominate a b&w effort -- starting the first year, with In Cold Blood, and continuing when major filmmakers did their show-offy b&w thing (Fosse's Lenny, Scorsese's Raging Bull, Spielberg's Schindler's List). And, in this millennium, they've actually nominated such films reasonably often. In total, 16 b&w films have received cinematography nominations since 1967.

The costume & production design branches, though, have been way less generous. Only 6 b&w films have received costume nominations, 7 production design (1 fewer in each if you discount Pleasantville, which started in b&w, but played with adding color in greater amounts throughout).

And it's even worse for wins: until Roma won two years ago, the beloved Schindler's List was the only one of those many cinematography nominees to carry home a trophy. Schindler also was the only b&w winner in production design (after a heated battle with The Age of Innocence). And The Artist is the only such film to win in costumes.

Which is to say...the other b&w winners in any of these three post-1966 craft categories have been best picture or best director winners. Which no one thinks Mank will turn out to be.

So, a trace of doubt. Except you get to the question, what else could beat it?

The Father's fluidly edited transitions between sets that seem similar but aren't quite is one of the features of the film. But that achievement, while noteworthy, is a country mile from what normally triumphs in this category.

News of the World is as close to generic Western sets as anything I've seen. A movie like There Will Be Blood was competitive for the prize because its view of the West was distinctive; News of the World could have been shot on left-over sets from an Anthony Mann film.

Tenet I guess had that giant hangar, and some fancy-looking rooms. But lots of the film took place on highways or in desert terrain. Not win-typical.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom might be the toughest rival. It's colorful and period. But, when you get right down to it, except for a few street shots, it's pretty much two drab rooms. Well-designed and authentic looking rooms, but two rooms nonetheless.

So, I guess you come back to Mank, which has the Hearst castle, and studio backlots, and fancy restaurants. It's lots of sets and, were the whole thing shot in color, it'd probably be undeniable. It might be undeniable even so.

So, bet on Mank. But be aware of the rarity you're witnessing: b&w movies just don't win these slots very often, and a movie as far down the pecking order as Mank seems the least likely to break the trend. It took 2020 to make it happen.