2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions: PRODUCTION and COSTUME DESIGN (December)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is storming through the guild nominations and it continues its hold of the top spots in both categories this month.

The Art Directors Guild, which separates its nominations into three categories (Period, Fantasy and Contemporary), nominated 1917, Ford v Ferrari (read our interview with FvF production designer François Auduoy here), The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in Period; Ad Astra, Aladdin, Avengers: Endgame, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in Fantasy; and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, John Wick 3: Parabellum, Knives Out, Parasite and Us in Contemporary. Generally, the rule of thumb is that most of Oscars’ Production Design nominations will come from Period with a sprinkle of Fantasy. It’s difficult for a Contemporary film to grab a spot here but if there is one film that can, it’s going to be Parasite. Not only was that gorgeous house built from the ground up but the entire village was. This nomination was an important step and I think it will be hard to ignore it.

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In Costume Design, I haven’t changed a single placement in my top 10. Weird. The Costume Designers Guild, like the ADG, separates its nominations into the same three categories and there we got many of the same titles: Dolemite Is My Name, Downton Abbey, Jojo Rabbit, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Rocketman in Period; Aladdin, Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in Fantasy; and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Hustlers, Knives Out, The Laundromat and Queen & Slim in Contemporary.

Also like the ADG, Period films do really well here so I expect it to dominate the Oscar lineup. While Black Panther was able to sneak in (and win) last year, it’s the exception more than the rule and outside of Aladdin or Maleficent, there doesn’t seem to be a Fantasy film contender able to break in. Despite Little Women suffering from a bit of a guild shutout, I still think it will be a top 5 contender in Costume Design.

Here are my 2020 Oscar Nomination Predictions in Production Design and Costume Design for December 18, 2019.

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Green – moves up Red – moves down Blue – new/re-entry

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Barbara Ling) – Sony/Columbia
2. 1917 (Dennis Gassner) – Universal
3. The Irishman (Bob Shaw) – Netflix
4. Jojo Rabbit (Ra Vincent) – Fox Searchlight
5. Parasite (Lee Ha-jun) – Neon

NEXT UP (alphabetical by film)

Ad Astra (Kevin Thompson) – 20th Century Fox
Downton Abbey (Donal Woods) – Focus Features
Joker – (Mark Friedberg) Warner Bros
Little Women (Jess Gonchor) – Sony/Columbia
The Two Popes (Mark Tildesley) – Netflix

OTHER CONTENDERS (alphabetical by film)

The Aeronauts (David Hindle, Christian Huband) – Amazon
Aladdin (Gemma Jackson) – Disney
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Jade Healy) – Sony/Tri-Star
Dolemite Is My Name (Clay A. Griffith) – Netflix
Ford v Ferrari (François Audouy) – 20th Century Fox
Rocketman (Peter Francis, Marcus Rowland) – Paramount
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Rick Carter, Kevin Jenkins) – Disney

COSTUME DESIGN

Green – moves up Red – moves down Blue – new/re-entry

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Arianne Phillips) – Sony/Columbia
2. Little Women (Jacqueline Durran) – Sony/Columbia
3. Downton Abbey (Anna Robbins) – Focus Features
4. Dolemite Is My Name (Ruth E. Carter) – Netflix
5. Rocketman (Julian Day) – Paramount

NEXT UP (alphabetical by film)

1917 (Jacqueline Durran and David Rossman) – Universal
The Aeronauts (Alexandra Byrne) – Amazon
The Irishman (Sandy Powell) – Netflix
Jojo Rabbit (Mayes C. Rubeo) – Fox Searchlight
The Two Popes (Luca Canfora) – Netflix

OTHER CONTENDERS (alphabetical by film)

Ad Astra (Albert Wolsky) – 20th Century Fox
Aladdin (Michael Wilkinson) – Disney
Bombshell (Colleen Atwood) – Lionsgate
Cats (Paco Delgado) – Universal
Dumbo (Colleen Atwood) – Disney
Ford v Ferrari (Daniel Orlandi) – 20th Century Fox
Harriet (Paul Tazewell) – Focus Features
Joker (Mark Bridges) – Warner Bros
The King (Jane Petrie) – Netflix
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Ellen Mirojnick) – Disney
Motherless Brooklyn (Amy Roth) – Warner Bros
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Dorothée Guiraud) – Neon