Below are the nominees for the 2009 Art Directors Guild.
The Nominations
Period Art Direction
A Serious Man
Inglourious Basterds
Julie & Julia
Public Enemies
Sherlock Holmes
Fantasy Art Direction
Avatar
District 9
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
Where the Wild Things Are
Contemporary Art Direction
Angels & Demons
The Hangover
The Hurt Locker
The Lovely Bones
Up in the Air
Predictions Comparison
Out of the films we universally agreed on, only Nine failed to earn a nomination, signaling dire trouble for the once vaunted film. The ones that failed to catch our attention included Julie & Julia (probably because we couldn’t figure out where to put it, contemporary or period), District 9 (though Wesley gets points for picking the film, just thinking it would appear in contemporary instead of fantasy), Angels & Demons, The Hangover and The Lovely Bones (points to Peter for picking the film and not realizing the ADG has weird requirements for what’s period and what’s contemporary…Milk, which takes place roughly around the time of Lovely Bones, was recognized in Period just last year).
Wes Huizar – 8 / 15 (the only person to predict Public Enemies and Harry Potter)
Tripp Burton – 7 / 15
Peter Patrick – 7 / 15 (the only person to predict A Serious Man)
Wesley Lovell – 6 / 15
…I’ve been racking my brain for the distinction here with The Lovely Bones and Milk, as to why one was nominated for Period and one for Contemporary, and I really have no clue. I was thinking that maybe it’s because Milk not only took place within the ’70s, but its events were also directly connected to the period itself? The Lovely Bones could have been set in the 1990s and the story could have worked the same… correct? I don’t know. I’m clutching at straws, here.
Milk was clearly and authentically set in the 1970s.
I haven’t seen The Lovely Bone but whereas the novel was set in the 1970s the film could be non-specific as to date and time allowing the designs to reflect a contemporary look. I still think fantasy would be a better fit, though.
Why The Lovely Bones was allowed in Contemporary doesn’t make sense (like I said, Milk is set during the same period and was nominated in Period Art Direction). But, I’m sure the reason Julie & Julia was included in period was because having period work within a split-period film might have been an unfair advantage over entirely-contemporary work in movies like Hurt Locker, Up in the Air, Angels & Demons and The Hangover.
I’m surprised Nine was ignored, too, but the period nominations make sense. I had thought the luxuriously appointed houses of Bright Star would make it over Sherlock Holmes because the art direction and set design was more more authentic, but apparently not
I thought The Lovely Bones would qualify more in fantasy since the fantasy sequences have the most original designs but apparently this category is for the “most” designs and decorations as opposed to the best. I guess it could have qualified in both fantasy and contemporary categories.
Come to think of it, Julie & Julia probably could have qualified in two categories as well, period and contemporary.
I thought Nine was going to be one of those movies like Memoirs of a Geisha. Get bad reviews overall, but get a lot of recognition for technical things like music, art direction, costume design, etc., but not get attention with major awards.
I think Nine will still show up at the ASC, Dion Beebe did do a wonderful job with the film, but Art Direction I had thought was a slam dunk, too…but the Art Directors didn’t agree.
Yeah, I think if Nine’s heart was faintly beating before, someone just ripped it out and stepped on it. Not even getting a nomination from the Art Directors Guild… That’s harsh.
Below are the nominees for the 2009 Art Directors Guild.
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