With a race as volatile as this one, anything could win. Even our contributors can’t seem to unite on a single film. The closest is The Danish Girl, the only film to pick up first place and runner-up votes from everyone. Yet, with no more than two of us agreeing on any one production, it seems like this might be one of the most fascinating and compelling races of the year.

With Best Picture (and Best Production Design) Oscar nominees in all three categories, we aren’t likely to get clarification for Oscar purposes, but if some of those Best Production Design nominees lose to non-nominated films, you might quietly mark through those on your prediction cards as Oscar isn’t likely to honor them.

ART DIRECTORS GUILD AWARDS

Best Period Art Direction

Bridge of Spies (Peter, Thomas, RU:Tripp)
Crimson Peak (RU:Wesley)
The Danish Girl (Wesley, Tripp, RU:Peter, RU:Thomas)
The Revenant
Trumbo

Wesley Lovell: This is probably the most difficult category to predict this season with five similar, but distinct productions, each heavy on the style. I’m discarding The Revenant even though it has an Oscar nomination, the other selections are more vibrant and obvious, which gives htem an advantage. I’m going to lean towards The Danish Girl winning simply because it is set in the period most often rewarded in this category. Bridge of Spies could win for its recreation of Wall-era Berlin, but I suspect that the creepy opulence of Crimson Peak might be too good to pass up.
Tripp Burton: This is a tough category to figure out. The Revenant is the most regarded film on this list, but this award tends to reward big interiors. Bridge of Spies is the other Best Picture nominee in the bunch, but the more immediately impressive sets of The Danish Girl or Crimson Peak could sway voters in the way that Anna Karenina or The Great Gatsby did. My gut says The Danish Girl, whose Eve Stewart won this a few years ago for The King’s Speech.
Thomas LaTourette: Both Bridge of Spies and The Danish Girl are Oscar nominated, so I think they stand the better chance of winning here. The Revenant is also, but a scarcity of sets makes it seem less likely to win. Both of the aforementioned films have lots of different types of sets, but I will give the edge to Bridge.

Best Fantasy Art Direction

Cinderella (Peter, Thomas)
Jurassic World (RU:Peter)
Mad Max: Fury Road (Wesley, Tripp, RU:Thomas)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (RU:Wesley, RU:Tripp)
Tomorrowland

Wesley Lovell: The dystopian hellscape of Mad Max: Fury Road seems like the most distinctive and original in the bunch. Jurassic Park and Star Wars: The Force Awakens while creative look the most derivative, as does Cinderella, which borrows heavily from prior Disney fantasy productions. Tomorrowland could be a surprise, but the film seems like an afterthought. Mad Max just feels right for a selection here, simply because of its massive, distinctive and inventive designs, but I could also see something like Star Wars winning for nostalgia’s sake.
Tripp Burton: Mad Max is the only film on this list with a corresponding Oscar nomination, and it certainly has some of the most original production design of the year. If it has anything going against it, it is that it is a lot of desert and not a lot of interior: the elegant Cinderella or the heavily interior Star Wars could sneak by, but I doubt it.
Thomas LaTourette: It feels like there has been somewhat of a bias against outer space movies here, so it seems likely that Cinderella or Mad Max may stand a better chance of winning. I am unsure of how it will go, but I will stick with those two as the top contenders.

Best Contemporary Art Direction

Ex Machina (Peter, RU:Tripp)
Joy (RU:Wesley)
The Martian (Wesley, Tripp, RU:Peter, RU:Thomas)
Sicario
Spectre (Thomas)

Wesley Lovell: For contemporary production design, it’s hard to go with the “prettiest” as that’s seldom the biggest factor. Typically, the film with the most distinctive or expansive sets stands to gain traction here. The Martian has the bonus of creating an environment not normally seen in real life or in the movies, which might give it the edge. I’m putting Joy down for runner-up because of all those fascinating interiors, including the leaking-floor bedroom and the lazy-Susan QVC set.
Tripp Burton: This category is usually a crap shoot, but we have a film on this list that also got an Oscar nomination. It is fairly safe to say that The Martian, with its Mars landscapes but also its NASA interiors, should win this easily. If not, it is because the gorgeously sterile house of Ex Machina was too hard to avoid.
Thomas LaTourette: Two of the three previous James Bond films have won this award, so I am guessing that this one might too. It does have quite the range of sets, so it would not surprise me if it wins. I would think the sleek house of Ex Machina or the barren landscape of The Martian might come in second, but this is a difficult category to guess. I will guess The Martian which also had an Oscar nomination the more likely candidate to upset Spectre.