Art Directors Guild Nominees

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bettestreep2008
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Post by bettestreep2008 »

I was dumfounded by the omission of "Australia" - they must have really HATED the film.

I find it strange cos despite the negative reviews for the story, acting and length of the film - Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume and Brandon Walters have been highly praised by many critics!

The cinematographers guild also snubbed Mandy Walker - and her work on this film was BRILLIANT.

I am dreading a sweep of awards for the much longer and much worser Curious Case at this years telecast!

Fingers crossed Slumdog wins instead!
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Post by barrybrooks8 »

Sad for Brideshead Revisited, and even The Fall. I hated the movie, but the sets and costumes were at least interesting and elaborate.
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Post by Mister Tee »

rain Bard wrote:
The Original BJ wrote:Synecdoche, New York would have been a really worthy Contemporary nominee.

It lies in a vague space between categories, Contemporary and Fantasy. Wonder if it slipped through the cracks, or just wasn't that well-liked by the guild members?
Both, probably.
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Post by OscarGuy »

Even with the advantage of 15 nominees annually (only for the last two years), the ADG has a surprisingly sparse track record.

Oddly enough, after expanding to 15 (splitting off Period and Fantasy categories), the guild has been perfect putting all five eventual Oscar nominees within their ranks. Only one other time have they managed a perfect match and that was back in '98 when they only had five total nominees ('96 through '99 were each five-nominee years).

During their years with 10 nominees, they picked 3 or 4 of the eventual nominees in an even 3/3 split of those 6 years. From the five years, they have one 2, one 3, one 4 and one 5 (as mentioned above).

If going only by their 15-nod years, you could say the five eventual Oscar nominees are in this nominations list. However, with only two years to go by, it's hardly a sufficient trend. Though, a third year might make that a significant consideration.

Here's the breakdown of where the Oscar nominees came from (in years with multiple categories):

Period Fantasy Contemporary
2007 4 1 (Compass) 0
2006 3 2 (Pan/PotC) 0
Period/Fantasy Contemporary
2005 3 0
2004 4 0
2003 4 0
2002 4 0
2001 2 1 (Amelie)
2000 3 0

So, it's clear that, with the exception of Amelie, Contemporary categories don't yield Oscar nominations. And at least 3 nominees will come from the period list and 1 or 2 from the Fantasy list.

Start by tossing out Frost/Nixon from the Period list. It doesn't have enough differing scenes to really register with the Academy's heavy-handed Art Directors. Milk or Doubt could easily be replaced as well.

From Fantasy, expect WALL-E and Iron Man to be the first victims. Dark Knight will likely be the third, if only due to the fact that it's mostly modern. All of the Fantasy films that carried over were grandiose spectacles of Art Direction.

Spiderwick could be a possibility, but Crystal Skull, set in the 1940s and featuring some fantastical places that otherwise don't exist could be just what the Art Directors want. The only thing standing in the way is the fact that only Raiders in the Indy series has been nominated in Art Direction.

Spiderwick, however, follows in the mold of A Series of Unfortunate Events and Golden Compass as films steeped heavily in fantasy roots and directly devoted to children.

Those hurt most by these announcements: The Fall, Australia, Che, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, The Duchess, The Other Boleyn Girl, City of Ember (directed by a likely ADG member) and Brideshead Revisited.

Matter of fact, with the exception of Changeling, there isn't a single Victorian/Edwardian/Elizabethan or early-American nominee in this bunch. That may be a staple of the Costume Design category, but it's also been true, in the past, of the Art Directors.
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Post by rain Bard »

The Original BJ wrote:Synecdoche, New York would have been a really worthy Contemporary nominee.
It lies in a vague space between categories, Contemporary and Fantasy. Wonder if it slipped through the cracks, or just wasn't that well-liked by the guild members?
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Post by The Original BJ »

Yay WALL-E! The art direction in that movie (and The Incredibles and Ratatouille) is wonderful!

They must have really disliked Australia (well, who wouldn't?), excluding the flashiness of that film for pretty drab stuff like Doubt and Frost/Nixon.

Synecdoche, New York would have been a really worthy Contemporary nominee.
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Post by OscarGuy »

Now don't everyone get their hopes up over the inclusion of WALL-E. Ratatouille and The Incredibles were also nominated by this Guild.
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Post by OscarGuy »

Period Films:

Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Milk

Fantasy Films:

The Dark Knight
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
The Spiderwick Chronicles
WALL-E

Contemporary Films:

Burn After Reading
Gran Torino
Quantum of Solace
Slumdog Millionaire
The Wrestler




Edited By OscarGuy on 1231524056
Wesley Lovell
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