The Confusing Art Directors Guild Nominations. Is "Crimson Peak" Period? Where is "Carol"?
Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 2:37PM Coco here, ready to talk about the Art Directors Guild and their wacky nominations.
Usually we reserve the term category fraud for when lead performances are nominated in less competitive supporting categories, but the Art Directors Guild suggests we expand the definition. The Guild divides its film categories into period, fantasy, and contemporary, which makes senses. But this year's nominations suggest the division between the three categories are rather arbitrary. (The Film Experience is on the record saying that categories only matter if you follow the rules, so maybe the ADG should read this piece by our beloved Nathaniel.)
Anyway, here are the nominations:
Production Design (Period Film)
Bridge of Spies - Adam Stockhausen
Crimson Peak - Thomas Sanders
The Danish Girl - Eve Stewart
The Revenant - Jack Fisk
Trumbo - Mark Rickner
Thomas Sanders's gothic sets are gorgeous, but Crimson Peak is a movie about ghosts. The production design is not historically accurate either unless gigantic bleeding houses used to actually exist in the real world. How is this not in "fantasy"?
The question one everyone's mind has to be "Where is Carol?" Judy Becker's designs are not only richly detailed, but they're integral in a film that's all about its precise visuals. It's worth remembering, though painful: Todd Haynes previous 50s masterpiece, Far From Heaven, did not get an Art Direction nomination from this guild or from the Oscars (!!!).
Meanwhile, Trumbo continues its inexplicable love affair with awards voters.
Production Design (Fantasy Film)
Cinderella - Dante Ferretti
Jurassic World - Edward Verreaux
Mad Max: Fury Road - Colin Gibson
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Rick Carter, Darren Gilford
Tomorrowland - Scott Chambliss
Not much to complain about here, these are all fantasy nominees. Although "fantasy" seems to be synonymous with "based on another property" this year. All five of these nominees had to base their designs on pre-existing movies or theme park attractions. That's not meant as a diss (it all requires skill), but as an observation on the state of fantasy and science fiction cinema these days.
Production Design (Contemporary)
Ex Machina - Mark Digby
Joy - Judy Becker
The Martian - Arthur Max
Sicario - Patrice Vermette
Spectre - Dennis Gassner
What does "contemporary" mean? In the case of Joy, the sixties through the nineties In the case of The Martian and Ex Machina, the future? I don't know about you, but I haven't encountered many sexy robots in my daily life. And last time I checked, humanity still hadn't gone to Mars. Honestly, I'm just worried for the confusion these nomination will bring to the people who though The Martian was based on true events. Or maybe the ADG thinks the same?
Also where is Room? Nathaniel will NOT be pleased given his conversations about how brilliant its production design is.
What do you make of these nominations?
Do they make any sense to you at all?
Reader Comments (34)
Carol and Room also were snubbed for Producers Guild Nominations. They both may still have a shot at a Oscar nomination for Best Picture but they aren't winning without a PGA nomination.
With this and PGA, an important day in the Oscar race for Sicario and...Ex Machina.
man i gotta see TRUMBO to see what all the hypes about
It's sad that Carol is crashing out at each of the guilds. One movie always does though and it seems like the most obvious choice. In the year of the good blockbuster it's pretty much a standard, safe Oscar-porn choice for people.
But maybe it's because of the fanboys/fangirls who hype it up and call it a masterpiece and then criticize people who don't see it that way.
I really loved Carol and thought it was so romantic but it also has a large elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. How does a movie take place in 1950s New York City and not feature a single person of color? They can drive the cars and do the background work but they aren't worthy of even a single line of dialogue or even one time when you show their face and not their distended hands, eh, Todd Haynes?
Now after the Golden Globes and Art Directors Guild, we know that The Marian was a Contemporary Comedy all along. Who knew?
I meant Martian, of course.
And Carol's omission here and by the Producers Guild is quite ominous. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
DAVID: I know it's not a widely held opinion around here but I liked Trumbo very much
I am going to watch Sicario and ExMachina tonight...
Was Brooklyn expected to be in Period design at all because that's another miss I just don't get. That movie was so insanely gorgeous.
I still can't wrap my head around Room, Carol, and Brooklyn all struggling beyond their seemingly locked Best Actress nominations, especially since they all boast such achievements everywhere else, especially their production designs (though how all three aren't fighting for Adapted Screenplay also feels weird to me). And with Trumbo coming from behind seemingly everywhere, which also feels like the safe, inoffensive nominee, as do all the Best Actor vehicles.
the Guilds continuing to not give a damn about Todd Haynes movies.
I think they may think of him as a Douglas Sirk type of movie... weepy women's genre???
I don't even like Brooklyn much, but I have to say the omission of that movie, Carol, and Room (not to mention Suffragette) from all the guild awards so far just confirm every reductive perception there is of Hollywood as being run and dominated by men who just don't take "women's pictures" seriously. It's just sad in a year where there have been so many strong women-centered films (and no, Mad Max doesn't count).
My bad, I see that Brooklyn got in with the PGA. So there's that, at least. But still sad for Room and Carol.
Carol will be the Inside Llewyn Davis of this year's Oscars
I expect Carol to be snubbed for everything but Best Actress and MAYBE Best Supporting Actress. Perhaps they'll surprise with a screenplay nom. The Academy only seems to appreciate Haynes' use of top-notch actresses and that's about it. Can't believe Brooklyn is nowhere to be found here, of all guilds. Not really surprised they missed Room, considering it's a more subtle accomplishment.
What is their deal with Carol? It was such a beautiful movie to see, so detailed and precise. How not to nominate it? But then again, they also snubbed Far from Heaven which was, I think, even better.
Room is not an omission. It was going to have a hard time getting recognition and the "category fraud" obviously didn't help.
Sufraggette has really disappeared by now, hasn't it ?
I need to see Sicario. It has been showing up all over the place and I would be surprised if it ended up having no nods on Oscar morning.
Yeah, based on the PGA noms?
Carol and Room have just crashed. What does this do to the big 8 categories?
Picture, 8 Nominees:
1. Spotlight
2. The Martian
3. Mad Max: Fury Road
4. The Big Short
5. Bridge of Spies
6. Inside Out
7. Straight Outta Compton
8. The Revenant
Director:
1. Ridley Scott, The Martian
2. Thomas McCarthy, Spotlight
3. George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
4. Adam McKay, The Big Short
5. Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, The Revenant
Actor:
1. Leo DiCaprio, The Revenant
2. Matt Damon, The Martian
3. Steve Carell, The Big Short
4. Jason Mitchell, Straight Outta Compton
5. Michael B. Jordan, Creed
Actress:
1. Saorise Ronan, Brooklyn
2. Cate Blanchett, Carol
3. Brie Larson, Room
4. Lily Tomlin, Grandma
5. Amy Poehler, Inside Out (Yes, I know Disney isn't pushing this. But after this crash, if you're only going off the Globes and the SAG's, only four performances seem plausible now, so why not go out on a limb for the 5th nominee getting handed to a long awaited landmark?)
(Alts: Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years, Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road.)
Supporting Actor:
1. Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
2. Christian Bale, The Big Short
3-5. Three of: Idris Elba, Michael Shannon, Jacob Tremblay, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Paul Dano, Tom Hardy.
Supporting Actress:
1. Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
2. Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina (The instinct would be to say not, but it got a PGA nom, so it's looking probable.)
3. Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
4. Julie Walters, Brooklyn
5. Kristen Stewart, The Clouds of Sils Maria, Jane Fonda, Youth or Rooney Mara, Carol
Original Screenplay:
1. Inside Out
2. Spotlight
3. Bridge of Spies
4. Straight Outta Compton
5. Ex Machina
Adapted Screenplay:
1. Steve Jobs
2. The Martian
3. The Big Short
4. Brooklyn
5. Creed, Anomalisa or Carol.
^^Every time—three in all, I think—two black actors were nominated for Best Actor the same year, there was a superstar and/or super-Oscar bait involved. If this year's crop were to produce two black nominees, one of them would be Will Smith (who was one half of the two previously nominated duos).
Paul Outlaw: One of the two I mentioned was for a MUSICIAN BIOPIC. If that's not "super Oscar-bait", I don't know what is.
Come on now, not those musicians, not that biopic. N.W.A. ain't Ray Charles, PGA nod notwithstanding. And Jason Mitchell would have to have pocketed a few major critics prizes and nominations for this to be realistic.
Paul Outlaw: But this year is kind of broken right now. Surprises will be happening en masse.
Can't argue with that. See my comment under the PGA nominations post.
" Crimson Peak" was a great looking film...the problem with "Carol" is that it's a very cold film- if you compare it to " Brokeback Mountain" the gay cowboys were a lot more sympathetic not too mention that Heath/Jake had a magical chemistry.
What would be a bigger surprise right now than CAROL just swanning back in and getting eight Oscar nominations? LOL at people suddenly thinking it'll only get one nomination.
Typical though that all the lady films are getting swamped out for crap like The Big Short.
^^^This.
Oops, I was only agreeing with your first paragraph, Glenn. ;-)
Glenn: I disagree on The Big Short being bad (I think it's a B+), but a B+ movie about men probably shouldn't be trumping Room or Carol. Also: I was only predicting the big 8, where I do think Carol and Room are looking like only 1 or 2 nominee films at this point. Total, I'd actually lean on Room getting anywhere from 1-3 nominations (MAYBE picking up Supporting Actor and a Production Design tech on top of the still secure Lead Actress bid), but Carol getting 4 or 5 nominations. (3 techs (cinematography, score and costume design), 1 or 2 big 8. 13 years, 2 well made films later and, judging on the amount of Big 8 nominations this is probable to get, the Academy has not budged a bleeping inch on the overall value of Todd Haynes.)
(I'm Not There is better than Carol or Far From Heaven and more Oscar poison than either of them. And Carol may not do better than Far From Heaven come nomination morning. I'm a pessimist in this regard.)
Paul - it's so weird to disagree with you so vehemently on a favorite filmmaker but I am certain in my feeling that I'm Not There is his worst film ;)
Everyone -- i didn't want to believe that things were as anti-woman in Hollywood as everyone else has been saying (i know my Oscar history and it wasn't always this terrible) -- but this is looking dire. Guilds just don't care about women's stories. So it's up to the actors branch which is the only branch outside of possibly costume design which is 50% women. Unfortunately the actors branch sometimes has just bizarre taste. i.e. they like the loud I'M ACTING performances which Carol and Brooklyn do not have.
Nathaniel, what can I say? The mid-century actressy dramas all speak to me (obviously), but I'm more engaged on *every* level by (in order of preference) I'm Not There, Velvet Goldmine, Safe and Poison.
Nat: Yeah, except saying "what's the worst Todd Haynes MOVIE" is like saying "what's the worst book in the A Dance to the Music of Time novel cycle." I'd still give I'm Not There an A-.
Todd Haynes has made some great and interesting movies " Poison", "Safe", "Far From Heaven"
I'm so sick of the Oscars being such a big Boys club, I was angry at the SAG award nominations and now these... it just sucks. I wonder if BAFTA will do better?
@Volvagia: that's easy. The worst book in The Music of Time is the first one, which I'm just re-reading now. (It was the only one I was missing, I found it at a used book store for $1!). Powell just gets better as he goes along, until you are breathless in the Winter cycle, and exhausted and exhilarated at the end.
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