Oscar Volley: Best Makeup... or is it "Best Prosthetics"?

Team Experience will be discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Nathaniel and Elisa to discuss Makeup... 

Colin Farrell and... Colin Farrell?

NATHANIEL: Elisa, let's start with a question: Do you think this category should be split into two: Best Makeup Effects AND Best Makeup and Hairstyling? As it stands now, the latter never gets a fair shake. If you do incredible things with glamour and character design but don't offer anything in the prosthetic department, chances are slim to none that you'll be nominated!

For example I think it's pretty clear that Elvis, The Batman, and The Whale will be competitive primarily because they each bury one key character in prosthetics until they're almost unrecognizable. But why? It always feels a bit like showing off. Why hire a famous actor to play a role if you don't actually want their famous face? This bugs me most in the case of The Batman but it might be because I relish looking at Colin Farrell's face... and if you're going to deny me that, don't promise me Colin 'Feckin' Farrell...

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April Foolish Oscar Predix Pt 3 - Visual Categories

by Nathaniel R

Will ELVIS get the usual Catherine Martin nominations for a Bazmark production?

The April Foolish predictions continue with the visual categories which means the rest of the week is the highest profile of categories: Actors, Directors, and Pictures. Obviously this is too early for confidence -- especially in below the line categories since many films haven't released a single image yet. Much will change including which films get released but we'd hold up our year in advance prediction records against anyones.  At this point the only thing anyone has to go on is a) previous work from the craftsmen involved, b) whether the film might have a "Most" boost (contemporary set pictures generally struggle in the visual categories even when they're brilliant), c) hunches aka crystal ball projections as to how the film involved might fare overall. Regarding the latter, it's commonly understood that Best Picture heat will help you in every category even though each should be judged on its own merits.

Check out the charts, won'cha? Two items of discussion we wanted to underline follow after the jump...

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ICYMI: Makeup and Hairstylists Guild Winners

by Nathaniel R

Mike Marino, who assisted Rick Baker for years, working on prosthetics for Coming 2 America

The Make-Up and Hair Stylists Guild held their awards this past Saturday so you might have already heard who won. The big winner was Amazon's Coming 2 America which won three prizes: Contemporary Makeup, Contemporary Hairstyling, and (most surprisingly given the competition) Special Effects Makeup. This does not necessarily mean it's going to win the Oscar as it has formidable competition from Cruella and Dune and the voting body is different. The winners are after the jump...

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Yes No Maybe So: Baz Luhrmann's 'ELVIS'

by Nathaniel R

Baz Luhrmann's career began explosively with two of the most endearing, unusual, and entertaining films of the 1990s (Strictly Ballroom and Romeo + Juliet). His promise as a Great Showman was realized with his masterpiece Moulin Rouge! (2001) which was only his third feature. Unfortunately in the 21 years since that very modern movie musical revitalized its genre, he mostly vanished from movie screens. He's made only two features since, the disjointed epic Australia (2008) and a box office hit adaptation of The Great Gatsby (2013). Nearly a full decade later we finally have a sixth feature. His latest, which was untitled long enough that its official title Elvis is hysterically anti-climactic, is a biopic of the rock n roll superstar. The movie hits theaters on June 24th, so let's break the trailer down with our Yes No Maybe So™ system...

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Oscar Volleys: What do voters want in Best Makeup and Hairstyling?

Continuing our Oscar Volley series at The Film Experience. This morning Glenn Dunks and Ben Miller on Makeup and Hair.

Ben Miller: Alright Glenn, let's get into one of the more fun craft categories, Best Makeup and Hairstyling. This category has sometimes gravitated towards being the MOST makeup, as opposed to the best.  Some presumed frontrunners include Dune, Cruella, and The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Do you have a personal preference and what do you look for in a potential nominee?

Glenn Dunks: I really like the make up and hairstyling category in theory. They are one of the most individual branches, often choosing lousy movies or those otherwise outside of the Oscar conversation strictly because they appreciate the technical work on display. I have to respect that...

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