One Category at a Time: Best Production Design

This feels like one of those tight categories in which literally any of the five nominees could win. The usual period dressings are conspicuously absent, precursors have been split every which way, and said precursors have not been all that informative in recent years anyway; Three Best Production Design winners of that last ten didn't have any of the ADG, BAFTA or Critics Choice Awards in hand before taking the Oscar.

My Award Nominations: Production Design

It'll be hard for the Academy's designers branch to come up with a bad nominee for Best Production Design this year, even if it doesn't match very closely with my own ballot (outlined after the cut). There's just so much good work out there.

One Category at a Time: Art Direction

As far as I see it, the category (and by association, Costume Design) come down to two films: The King's Speech and Alice in Wonderland.

One the one hand, Oscar voters often go for the most noticeable production design, as was certainly the case last with Avatar, in which case you might give an edge to Alice in Wonderland. On the other, the Academy really likes The King's Speech, and a prestige period drama is hard for voters to turn down. Still, Alice just seems like a real threat in this category where voters sometimes mistake ''most'' for ''best''. I think I'll stick with the Best Picture winner on this one, for the production design really is quite lovely and thematically appropriate, but I'll hang myself it ends up being Tim Burton's movie. Not because I'll have guessed wrong, but because that movie is seriously hideous.

Sad to say, Guy Dyas' healthy run with various critics groups including the BFCA will not avail him with AMPAS. I think his work on Inception is the most deserving, but contemporary films never win this category, and the design really is more of a contemporary entry than a fantasy outing.

Also, I wonder if next year the Academy might give this award to Deathly Hallows Part 2. This is one category where the Harry Potter series has been more than adequately recognized, and if the franchise is going to win something, it might be here. Stay tuned 'til 2012.

Congrats also to Jess Gonchar for his first nomination with True Grit. He hasn't a hope in hell of winning, due to all those exteriors. But that won't cheapen the nomination, which is richly deserved.

Will win: The King's Speech
Runner-up: Alice in Wonderland

Should win: Inception
Should have been nominated: The Illusionist

My Award nominations: Production Design and Set Decoration

With the Art Directors' Guild announcing their nominees tomorrow, today seems like a good one for me to offer up my own selections for the Best Production Design, Set Decoration, and Art Direction of 2010:

The Illusionist (Jacques Arhex, Bjarne Hansen):

True, no sets are built for this gorgeous animated gem, but the art direction still makes a lasting impression. Beautiful watercolour effect.

Inception (Guy Dyas, Larry Dias, Douglas Mowat, Brad Ricker):

Multiple dream levels designed to reflect our protagonist's id, and constructed to accommodate the many special effects. The stuff that dreams are made of.

The King's Speech (Eve Stewart, Judy Farr, David Hindle):

Visually evokes distinctions between class and character with subtlety and richness, from Lionel's cozy wallpaper to Bertie's austere matte painted walls.

Shutter Island (Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Shiavo, Robert Guerra):

The decaying edifice of the titular island's asylum for the criminally insane help put us in an uneasy state of mind. Spooky, spooky, spooky.

The Wolfman (Rick Heinrichs, John Bush, Vincent Jenkins, Andy Nicholson):

Absolutely nailed the creepy atmosphere, and serves as a nice throwback to vintage Universal monster movie lore. Gotta love that Gothic period detail!

Just missed: The Ghost Writer, Prince of Persia, Tangled