Below are our predictions for tomorrow’s Art Directors Guild Awards.

Best Art Direction

Period Art Direction

Inglourious Basterds (Peter)
Julie & Julia
Public Enemies
A Serious Man
Sherlock Holmes (Tripp, Wesley)

Fantasy Art Direction

Avatar (Peter)
District 9 (Tripp)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
Where the Wild Things Are

Contemporary Art Direction

Angels & Demons
The Hangover
The Hurt Locker (Peter, Tripp)
The Lovely Bones (Wesley)
Up in the Air

Predictions Commentary

Wesley Lovell
Period: This category is the most closely aligned with the Academy in that of the 12 winners of this category (includes the early years when there was only one category for the ADG and those years combined period/fantasy), only 1 ADG winner was not also an Oscar nominee (2006’s Curse of the Golden Flower). So, with Sherlock Holmes the only carry-over. So, I’m leaning towards Sherlock, but Best Picture nominee Inglourious Basterds could just as easily triumph.
Fantasy: The Fantasy category has been separate for only three years now, but the same holds tree with it. All three winners were also Oscar nominees. And once again, there’s only one film that matches up: Avatar. I don’t really see why it wouldn’t win. After all, while this group loves physical sets, the design work is just as important. This, however, will test Avatar’s mettle in the face of the anti-digital revolution. If it wins, we can put that medium backlash to rest. If it loses, then this may be the start of a push towards separate recognition for digital Art Direction work, though I doubt it will come to much success.
Contemporary: Contemporary has a longer history to look at. It was broken out as a separate category in 2000, giving us 9 years to look at. Of those winners, only one of them had an Oscar nomination as well (Amelie, which, coincidentally, is still the only Contemporary Art Direction nominee in this group’s history to also receive an Oscar nomination). Four winners were Oscar-nominated for Best Picture (with Walk the Line being a borderline potential nominee for Best Picture in its year). Of the remaining three/four, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, Walk the Line & Casino Royale, two were borderline period features (Catch me and Walk the Line). Casino Royale beat out Best Picture Oscar nominees Babel, The Departed and The Queen; Walk the Line trumped Best Picture nominee Crash; The Terminal won over Million Dollar Baby; and Catch Me If You Can was victorious against The Hours (also borderline Period). So, anyone’s guess in this category is a good one. But from the winners, it almost seems they prefer a little bit of fantasy with their non-Best Picture-nominated winners. So, of these, I’m going for The Lovely Bones in a close race over Angels & Demons. Both have fantastical elements, but Bones is on the cusp of being a Period film, thus giving it a leg up over its fellows. If The Hurt Locker wins here, a steamroll of Best Picture at the Oscars is very likely.
Peter J. Patrick
Period: The period detail of all the nominees is strong, but the sets in Inglorurious Basterds, from the farmhouse to the theatre to the nightclub are unforgettable. It gets the nod.
Fantasy: The “lush iridescent forests” as described in their press release will be hard to resist.
Contemporary: A close call between the painstaking reconstruction of the streets of war-torn Iraq in The Hurt Locker and the various locations in Up in the Air. It could go either way, but I give the edge to the ingenuity used in The Hurt Locker.
Tripp Burton
Period: Sherlock Holmes has the biggest sets of this bunch, and I believe the most completely constructed sets. It should win easily here.
Fantasy: I think that the guild will overlook the mostly CGI-designed Avatar sets and instead honor the decimated shanty town of District 9. Star Trek seems just as likely a candidate.
Contemporary: This is a real tough category to figure out, and I lean towards The Lovely Bones (which to me is the most impressive of the lot). However, I think the love for this film will push it a little more…especially when you consider the dangerous locations these directors had to scout and render.