Guild predictions: Art Directors (ADG), Costume Designers (CDG) and Cinema Audio Society (CAS)

It’s going to be a busy first week of guild announcements, beginning with the Art Directors Guild on February 25. While we have the Writers Guild and Screen Actors Guild under our belt and the Producers and Directors Guilds in the near future, the building blocks of Best Picture contenders and below the line Oscar nominees begin here, at the guilds.

For most guilds, there are requirements ranging from simple submission to strict members-only in order to be nominated and in some cases, like the ADG, some of the lists of eligible films are actually quite small. Split into four categories we’re looking at Period (35), Fantasy (11), Contemporary (64) and Animated (10), each looking for five spots per section. Still, that’s barely over a hundred titles of hundreds released in 2020. The Costume Designers Guild is also split into Period, Fantasy and Contemporary categories for film. I think there will be considerable overlap between the Art Directors and Costume Designers guilds with even a chance for at least one category to match up exactly.

This is going to be where we see lots of people nominated who’ve been nominated before (some of the sound designers up for CAS awards have over a dozen nominations there) and where struggling films need to make a stand. As Will Mavity pointed out on Twitter, the sound team from News of the World has 18 CAS nominations between them. The Midnight Sky is also a CAS behemoth. Sometimes category placement is weird, like The Invisible Man in Contemporary instead of Fantasy at ADG. While the film and its visual effects are sci-fi, the environment is and production design is contemporary. Mulan is entered as Period for ADG and Sci-Fin/Fantasy for CDG, go figure. Da 5 Bloods exists in two time periods (contemporary and the Vietnam War era late 1960s) but competes in the former.

Expect to see the likes of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Mank and The Trial of the Chicago 7 all over these guilds. Promising Young Woman should show some guild strength here, if just in Contemporary categories, which are much harder to translate into Oscar nominations. While still a Best Picture top tier contender, Nomadland is a film that may suffer at most of these guilds for its pared down look, feel and sound. I think there’s a chance for it to show up in ADG (Contemporary) but there is vibrant, visceral competition in that category. I’ll be curious to see if both Emma. and The Personal History of David Copperfield will find themselves in competition with each other or only one getting in. Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984 should also provide some healthy competition for each other here.

Here are my nomination predictions for the Art Directors Guild (ADG), Costume Designers Guild (CGD) and Cinema Audio Society (CAS), with the dates of those nominations announcements.

Art Directors Guild (ADG) – February 25

Period Film

• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Mank
• Mulan
• News of the World
• The Trial of the Chicago 7

Watch out for: Emma., The Personal History of David Copperfield

Fantasy Film

• Birds of Prey
• Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
• The Midnight Sky
• Tenet
• Wonder Woman 1984

Watch out for: Gretel and Hansel, Pinocchio

Contemporary Film

• Da 5 Bloods
• The Invisible Man
• The Father
• The Prom
• Promising Young Woman

Watch out for: I’m Thinking of Ending Things, The White Tiger

Animated Film

• Onward
• Over the Moon
• A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
• Soul
• Wolfwalkers

Watch out for: The Croods: A New Age

Cinema Audio Society (CAS) – March 2

Motion Picture – Live Action

• Mank
• The Midnight Sky
• News of the World
• Tenet
• The Trial of the Chicago 7

Watch out for: Da 5 Bloods, Sound of Metal

Motion Picture – Animated

• The Croods: A New Age
• Onward
• Over the Moon
• Soul
• Wolfwalkers

Watch out for: Trolls: World Tour

Costume Designers Guild (CDG) – March 4

Excellence in Period Film

• Emma.
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Mank
• News of the World
• The Personal History of David Copperfield

Watch out for: The Trial of the Chicago 7

Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film

• Birds of Prey
• Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
• Mulan
• The Witches
• Wonder Woman 1984

Watch out for: Pinocchio, Tenet

Excellence in Contemporary Film

• Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
• The Prom
• Promising Young Woman

Watch out for: Da 5 Bloods, The White Tiger