The 23rd annual Art Directors Guild Awards took place on Saturday (Feb. 2). These kudos have a stellar record at previewing the winner of the Best Production Design race at the Academy Awards. Over the first 22 years of these prizes, the eventual Oscar champ has always numbered among the ADG nominees in the various genre categories. Fifteen of the Academy Award winners first prevailed with the guild, including the last five in a row.
The current Oscar frontrunner for this award, “The Favourite,” won at the ADG in the period category over, among others, two of its Oscar rivals: “First Man” and “Roma.” That race was rounded out by “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.” One of the other two Academy Awards contenders — “Black Panther” — won the ADG fantasy film prize. The fifth Oscar nominee, “Mary Poppins Returns,” contended in that race. The contemporary award went to “Crazy Rich Asians.”
Period Film
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Jess Gonchor
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” Aaron Haye
X – “The Favourite,” Fiona Crombie
“First Man,” Nathan Crowley
“Roma,” Eugenio Caballero
Fantasy Film
X – “Black Panther,” Hannah Beachler
“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” Stuart Craig
“The House With a Clock in Its Walls,” Jon Hutman
“Mary Poppins Returns,” John Myhre
“Ready Player One,” Adam Stockhausen
Contemporary Film
“A Quiet Place,” Jeffrey Beecroft
“A Star Is Born,” Karen Murphy
X – “Crazy Rich Asians,” Nelson Coates
“Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” Peter Wenham
“Welcome to Marwen,” Stefan Dechant
Last year’s Oscar winner — “The Shape of Water” — first won Best Period Design from the guild. Among the other contenders for this guild prize were two other Oscar nominees: “Darkest Hour” and “Dunkirk.” Another Oscar nominee, “Blade Runner 2049,” won the fantasy design prize with the fifth, “Beauty and the Beast,” also contending in that category.
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In 2017, “La La Land” first won Best Contemporary Design from the ADG before prevailing at the Oscars. One of its Oscar rivals, “Passengers” took the fantasy film prize over, among others, the Oscar-nominated “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and “Arrival.” The fifth Oscar nominee, “Hail, Caesar!,” lost the period film race to “Hidden Figures.”
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Be sure to make your Oscar predictions in that category as well as the 23 others. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until just before winners are announced on Feb. 24. And join in the fierce debate over the 2019 Oscars taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our film forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
