The Art Directors Guild has announced its traditional fifteen-film slate from which it’s likely all five Oscar-nominated films come. Argo seems like the odd-man out of the Period films, a film that in recent years might have even been nominated for Contemporary. The rest of the Period list seem like good bets with one film from the Fantasy group to join them, which could be The Hobbit or Life of Pi. I’ve been predicting The Hobbit for some time, but I wonder if it might not be Life of Pi instead. The familiarity of The Hobbit might not make it through, even though all three The Lord of the Rings films made it. But which Period film would be dropped for both Life of Pi and The Hobbit? My guess would be Les Mis or Django, but Les Mis fits that period nitch that, like Anna Karenina, the Academy loves.

The Nominations

Best Period Art Direction

Anna Karenina
Argo
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Lincoln

Best Fantasy Art Direction

Cloud Atlas
Life of Pi
Prometheus
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Best Contemporary Art Direction

Flight
Skyfall
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
The Impossible
Zero Dark Thirty

Art Directors Guild Data

Year Founded: 1937
First Awards: 1996 (17)