OVP: Best Art Direction (2005)
The Nominees Were...
Jim Bissell & Jan Pascale, Good Night, and Good Luck
Stuart Craig & Stephanie McMillan, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Grant Major, Dan Hennah, & Simon Bright, King Kong
John Myhre & Gretchen Rau, Memoirs of a Geisha
Sarah Greenwood & Katie Spencer, Pride & Prejudice
My Thoughts: And we're finishing up the visual categories today with a retreat into Best Art Direction (I'm aware we took a little detour getting this one out-should be our only pitstop though as we continue forward with 2005). What's worth noting immediately upon looking at this lineup is how different this race is from Best Costume Design. Generally you can bank on at least three, usually four films overlapping between the two fields, but here we welcome a trio of new contenders, and in the case of one, a film getting its sole nomination.
The only nomination for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came here, one of five nominations (to date) that Stuart Craig has nabbed for Rowling's wizarding world. All of the Harry Potter films tend to look enchanting-there's a reason that people not only want to go on rides at Harry Potter worlds, they also want to see this world come to life in a way that is so mesmerizing on the big screen. My favorite part of Goblet of Fire is the icy Christmas look of the Yule Ball, which is littered with bright white and muted silver to make all of the costumes & characters pop onscreen. While other scenes in the series are more iconic (Diagon Alley, obviously, as well as the first look at Hogwarts), this might be the single most beautiful set design of the series, and certainly one that adds a magic to the rest of the movie.
Not to be outdone, we have the truly remarkable look of King Kong. With remakes, you can have a reliance on the aesthetic of the original film, but with some 70 years separating these two films that's not really a problem. Instead, we get two truly immersive worlds (and one impressive looking ship) for us to borrow from. Details are there aplenty, and while the sophisticate in me wants to brag about the Manhattan design of the 1930's covered in heavy New York snow across Central Park & Time Square, it's the island that deserves kudos here. We see through both visual effects and meticulous detail, a world lost on Skull Island, with expansive walls, caverns, and persistently fire-damaged homes. This kind of world-building is taken for granted in an era where everything is a sequel, but it's rarely done this well (I recently re-watched this film for the first time in a decade, and this was the film element that most stuck out to me).
Pride & Prejudice was one of the two films that were nominated for both Costume & Art Direction, as you might have imagined; this is exactly the genre of movie that normally would get cited in both of these fields. The movie is immaculate, and beautiful, and I have nothing really wrong to say about it (it's a 4-star achievement). What keeps me from bragging about it too hard is A) this is a really, really good lineup (the best we're going to see in 2005) and B) it doesn't have enough distinction in my opinion. The opulence is grand, but there aren't enough touches that differentiate this specific element from every other Austen interpretation we've seen before us. This is splitting hairs, but when it comes to giving an Oscar above such a rich field, details matter, and I don't feel enough newness in this lineup (even if it's divine).
Memoirs of a Geisha was the other film that was in both fields, and while it also stays within the wheelhouse of the expected, this isn't a story we know by heart cinematically, and so it feels more alive. The frequent use of red and muted earth tones in the okiya is a terrific counter to the few fresh, outside scenes-it shows the sort of false beauty of the place, and of its claustrophobia. The location scout who found the blooming gardens for the outside scenes probably also deserved a portion of this nomination as well, as they're flawless. Combined with Colleen Atwood's costume work, we get a perfect, cohesive world that fits our expectations, but also the film, perfectly.
The final nomination might be the most unusual compared to these films, which are such default nominations you can't imagine the race without these flicks. Good Night, and Good Luck, though, also has great beauty in the way it's handling its set design. Offices and TV sets in films will too often look like no one works there, but this feels clean, glamorous, but occupied, with the occasional papers on the desk or the open filing cabinet. The motif of Good Night is weird in the best way possible (I can't wait to get to the OVP screenplay discussion on this picture and it's bizarre jazzy backdrop), and part of why it works is that the sets always feel alien, real but just a little too elegant (as if you're meant to know you're watching a movie).
The only nomination for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came here, one of five nominations (to date) that Stuart Craig has nabbed for Rowling's wizarding world. All of the Harry Potter films tend to look enchanting-there's a reason that people not only want to go on rides at Harry Potter worlds, they also want to see this world come to life in a way that is so mesmerizing on the big screen. My favorite part of Goblet of Fire is the icy Christmas look of the Yule Ball, which is littered with bright white and muted silver to make all of the costumes & characters pop onscreen. While other scenes in the series are more iconic (Diagon Alley, obviously, as well as the first look at Hogwarts), this might be the single most beautiful set design of the series, and certainly one that adds a magic to the rest of the movie.
Not to be outdone, we have the truly remarkable look of King Kong. With remakes, you can have a reliance on the aesthetic of the original film, but with some 70 years separating these two films that's not really a problem. Instead, we get two truly immersive worlds (and one impressive looking ship) for us to borrow from. Details are there aplenty, and while the sophisticate in me wants to brag about the Manhattan design of the 1930's covered in heavy New York snow across Central Park & Time Square, it's the island that deserves kudos here. We see through both visual effects and meticulous detail, a world lost on Skull Island, with expansive walls, caverns, and persistently fire-damaged homes. This kind of world-building is taken for granted in an era where everything is a sequel, but it's rarely done this well (I recently re-watched this film for the first time in a decade, and this was the film element that most stuck out to me).
Pride & Prejudice was one of the two films that were nominated for both Costume & Art Direction, as you might have imagined; this is exactly the genre of movie that normally would get cited in both of these fields. The movie is immaculate, and beautiful, and I have nothing really wrong to say about it (it's a 4-star achievement). What keeps me from bragging about it too hard is A) this is a really, really good lineup (the best we're going to see in 2005) and B) it doesn't have enough distinction in my opinion. The opulence is grand, but there aren't enough touches that differentiate this specific element from every other Austen interpretation we've seen before us. This is splitting hairs, but when it comes to giving an Oscar above such a rich field, details matter, and I don't feel enough newness in this lineup (even if it's divine).
Memoirs of a Geisha was the other film that was in both fields, and while it also stays within the wheelhouse of the expected, this isn't a story we know by heart cinematically, and so it feels more alive. The frequent use of red and muted earth tones in the okiya is a terrific counter to the few fresh, outside scenes-it shows the sort of false beauty of the place, and of its claustrophobia. The location scout who found the blooming gardens for the outside scenes probably also deserved a portion of this nomination as well, as they're flawless. Combined with Colleen Atwood's costume work, we get a perfect, cohesive world that fits our expectations, but also the film, perfectly.
The final nomination might be the most unusual compared to these films, which are such default nominations you can't imagine the race without these flicks. Good Night, and Good Luck, though, also has great beauty in the way it's handling its set design. Offices and TV sets in films will too often look like no one works there, but this feels clean, glamorous, but occupied, with the occasional papers on the desk or the open filing cabinet. The motif of Good Night is weird in the best way possible (I can't wait to get to the OVP screenplay discussion on this picture and it's bizarre jazzy backdrop), and part of why it works is that the sets always feel alien, real but just a little too elegant (as if you're meant to know you're watching a movie).
Other Precursor Contenders: We're now going far enough back with the Art Directors Guild that they only have two categories, not three: Contemporary and Period/Fantasy film (the latter would soon be split into separate fields). Since we know none of the Contemporary films were nominated, let's start there. Walk the Line (which is a ludicrous classification as a "contemporary" film since the film takes place in the 1940's through the late 1960's) bested Jarhead, Crash, Syriana, and The Constant Gardener for that lineup. Period/Fantasy went with Memoirs of a Geisha over Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Batman Begins, King Kong, and Good Night, and Good Luck (which takes place after some of the scenes in "contemporary" Walk the Line). BAFTA selected Harry Potter as its winner, with Oscar-blessed King Kong & Memoirs of a Geisha losing alongside Batman Begins & Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In terms of sixth place, Charlie seems to fit the most boxes-ADG, BAFTA, and it was cited for Costume, so I'll guess it was the near miss here.
Films I Would Have Nominated: Batman Begins, Howl's Moving Castle, Brokeback Mountain, and The New World are all strong achievements from this year, but I'm going to do something I've done maybe 3-4 times throughout this entire project-I'm going to cosign with Oscar completely. This is the lineup I would have picked as well-nicely done AMPAS.
Oscar’s Choice: While BAFTA gave Oscar an opening, they didn't take it-Memoirs of a Geisha won here, probably in a landslide.
My Choice: While I agree with Oscar on the nominees, I'd pick a different winner. This goes to King Kong, something I probably wouldn't have said until I re-watched the film & was reminded of how immersive the film is with its sets, followed by Harry Potter, Memoirs, Good Night, and Prejudice.
Those are my thoughts-how about yours? Are you siding with Memoirs, or does someone want to join me over in King Kong territory? Does everyone agree that this is about as good of a lineup as Oscar could have pulled together, or am I forgetting something? And why do you think that Charlie was snubbed over a less likely option (such as Good Night) with all precursors blazing? Share your thoughts below!
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