With 1/5 odds from our 30 movie Experts, “La La Land” is predicted to win Best Production Design at Sunday’s Academy Awards. After taking this prize at the Critics’ Choice Awards and winning the contemporary category at the Art Directors Guild Awards, “La La Land” is the safe choice to prevail at the 2017 Oscars airing live Sunday on ABC, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. These are the first career Oscar nominations for art director David Wasco and set decorator Sandy Reynolds-Wasco.
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Twenty-seven of our 30 Experts are predicting a “La La Land” victory for Best Production Design: Thelma Adams (Gold Derby), Matt Atchity (Rotten Tomatoes), Erik Davis (Fandango), Eric Deggans (NPR), Edward Douglas (Weekend Warrior), Joyce Eng (TV Guide), Bonnie Fuller (Hollywood Life), Pete Hammond (Deadline Hollywood), Michael Hogan (Vanity Fair), Matthew Jacobs (HuffPo), Dave Karger (IMDb), Tariq Khan (Fox News), Scott Mantz (Access Hollywood), Jack Mathews (Gold Derby), Michael Musto (Out.com), Tom O’Neil (Gold Derby), Kevin Polowy (Yahoo), Christopher Rosen (Entertainment Weekly), Keith Simanton (IMDb), Nicole Sperling (Entertainment Weekly), Anne Thompson (IndieWire), Peter Travers (Rolling Stone), Brian Truitt (USA Today), Adnan Virk (ESPN), Jeffrey Wells (Hollywood Elsewhere), Glenn Whipp (LA Times) and Susan Wloszczyna (RogerEbert.com).
In second place is “Arrival” with 11/1 odds, based on the support of two experts: Tim Gray (Variety) and Sasha Stone (Awards Daily). Art director Patrice Vermette was previously nominated at the Oscars for “The Young Victoria” (2009), while set decorator Paul Hotte is a first-time contender.
Oscar Best Picture Gallery: History of Every Academy Award-Winning Movie
The remaining expert, Paul Sheehan (Gold Derby), goes rogue in predicting an upset victory for BAFTA champ “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” resulting in 18/1 odds. The art director Stuart Craig is a three-time Oscar winner for “Gandhi” (1982), “Dangerous Liaisons” (1988) and “The English Patient” (1996), while set decorator Anna Pinnock previously prevailed for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (2014).
In fourth place with 66/1 odds is “Hail Caesar!” While the film’s art director Jess Gonchor was previously nominated for “True Grit” (2010), set decorator Nancy Haigh is actually already an Oscar winner for “Bugsy” (1991).
Rounding out the nominees at 100/1 odds is “Passengers,” which won at the ADG Awards for Best Fantasy Film. Art director Guy Hendrix Dyas is a past Oscar contender for “Inception” (2010), while set decorator Gene Serdena is a prior nominee for “Her” (2013).
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According to our overall combined odds featuring the predictions of all Experts, Editors, Top 24 Users (those who did the best at their winner picks last year), All-Star Top 24 (who got the highest scores when you combine the last two years’ Oscars) and All Users, the rankings are nearly the same. The favored pick of more than 3,100 people is “La La Land” with 1/5 odds over “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” in second place with 11/1 odds. “Arrival” follows with 18/1 odds, and then “Hail Caesar!” at 66/1 and “Passengers” at 80/1.
Last year’s Oscar champ for Best Production Design was “Mad Max: Fury Road.” What will join it in the Oscar winner’s circle this year?
Predict the Oscar winners now; change them till February 26
Be sure to make your Oscar predictions. Weigh in now with your picks so that Hollywood insiders can see how their films are faring in our Oscar odds. You can keep changing your predictions right up until just before winners are announced on February 26 at 5:00 pm PT/8:00 pm ET. And join in the fierce debate over the 2017 Oscars taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our forums.
