Best Production Design

Our weeklong analysis of the Oscars marches on. Yesterday, we looked at seven below-the-line categories; today, we’re looking at five more technical categories—but, like, the cool ones. (I promise, the sexy stuff is coming soon.) Let’s get to it.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

NOMINEES
All Quiet on the Western Front—James Friend
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths—Darius Khondji
Elvis—Mandy Walker
Empire of Light—Roger Deakins
Tár – Florian Hoffmeister

WILL WIN
Some of the Academy’s omissions in this category are downright flummoxing. But it’s notable that three of the five nominees exhibit more subtle technique than usual, especially when voters in recent years have favored boisterous showmanship. That means this is likely a race between the two more aggressive contenders: All Quiet on the Western Front and Elvis. The latter is certainly flashier, but the former is more intense and disturbing with its grotesque war imagery. I’ll go with All Quiet. Read More

Quick trivia question: Which movie received the second-most nominations at this year’s Oscars (following The Power of the Dog’s twelve)? It wasn’t the emerging Best Picture threat CODA, or the technical marvel West Side Story, or the big-hearted crowd-pleaser Belfast. It was Dune, Denis Villeneuve’s mammoth sci-fi adventure about spice, dreams, and colonialism. In addition to raking in cash (its $108 million domestic haul far surpassed any other Best Picture contender), Dune racked up 10 total Oscar nods, with the Academy clearly admiring its bold visual style and maximalist craft. It’s an impressive showing that recalls Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, which also scored 10 nominations in 2013 and won a whopping seven trophies (the third-most of any movie this century, behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Slumdog Millionaire), though it failed to win the big prize, falling to 12 Years a Slave.

Dune isn’t winning Best Picture either, but could it match Gravity’s overall tally? In yesterday’s piece, I analyzed eight miscellaneous categories, and while Dune is nominated in three of those, I’m predicting it to fare poorly (winning Sound, but losing both Costume Design and Makeup/Hairstyling). Thus, to keep pace with Cuarón’s smash hit, Dune virtually needs to sweep the following five fields, each of which encompasses a high-profile area of technical filmmaking (and which I’ve historically dubbed The Big Techies). What are its chances? Let’s find out. Read More

We’re running through the 20 feature categories at this year’s Oscars. Yesterday, we analyzed seven categories that receive a relatively low profile. Today, we’re moving on to five additional below-the-line fields that are somewhat more significant. I mean, they’re significant in my eyes; you might care more about Best Costume Design than Best Film Editing, but this isn’t your website.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

NOMINEES
Judas and the Black Messiah—Sean Bobbitt
Mank—Erik Messerschmidt
News of the World—Dariusz Wolski
Nomadland—Joshua James Richards
The Trial of the Chicago 7—Phedon Papamichael Read More

Yesterday, we analyzed some of the less sexy categories at this year’s Oscars. Today, the sexiness has arrived; we’re moving on to five below-the-line fields that I’ve arbitrarily labeled “the big techies”. Get excited, film editing enthusiasts!

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

NOMINEES
The Irishman—Rodrigo Prieto
Joker—Lawrence Sher
The Lighthouse—Jarin Blaschke
1917—Roger Deakins
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood—Robert Richardson

WILL WIN
The Oscars work in mysterious ways. For a solid decade—beginning with his double-nomination in 2007, for No Country for Old Men and The Assassination of Jesse James—Roger Deakins was deemed to be the greatest living cinematographer never to have won an Academy Award. Two years ago, after 13 straight nominations without a win, Deakins finally got off the schneid for his breathtaking lensing of Blade Runner 2049. This year, he’s winning again for 1917. This will not be close. Read More