Majors / Technicals -1 / Technicals -2 / Extras / Extras 2 / Scenes 1 / Scenes 2
Best
Cinematography
the
visual storytellers are
 |
Eduardo
Serra
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING From one master to another. Painting with light just like Vermeer. |
 |
Harris
Savides
ELEPHANT (& GERRY ) Camera as curious roaming hypnotic eye. Mesmerizing in both of his duets with Van Sant this year. |
 |
Robert
Richardson
KILL BILL, Volume 1 Simply masterful use of color and composition.and It's just, sigh, breathtaking |
 |
Andrew
Lesnie
The Lord of the Rings: THE RETURN OF THE KING Robust, epic, sturdy. I've been ignoring it too long in this category. |
 |
Lance
Acord
LOST IN TRANSLATION Slighty diffuse, just like their lives. A crucial contribution to the mood of a film that's essentially a mood piece. |
| Finalists: Cold Mountain -John Seale (gorgeous in that landscape-y Oscarbait-y way) * In The Cut - Dion Beebe (beautiful light and foggy dreamlike awareness) Semi Finalists: Peter Pan -Donald McAlpine (filled with pixie dust -in a good way) * The Company - Andrew Dunn (silent precise observer) * Friday Night -Agnes Godard (always superb) * House of Sand of Fog -Roger Deakins (perhaps too literal but gorgeous all the same) * In America -Declan Quinn (dreamy and beautiful) * Hulk -Frederick Elmes (loved the vast desert and more...) | |
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OSCAR
Race
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Best
Costume Design
(I
cheated a bit here. I have a contemporary costume
category as well over here. But I couldn't live without Kill Bill
in the main competition.
However if you're a sticker for this sort of thing. I'd replace it
with Girl With a Pearl Earring)
the fashionistas are
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Daniel
Orlandi
DOWN WITH LOVE |
Kumiko
Ogawa & Catherine Mare Thomas
KILL BILL, Volume 1 |
Janet
Patterson
PETER PAN |
Penny
Rose
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: The Curse of the Black Pearl |
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I'm
guessing this job was every costumer's wet dream. It's a veritable
color orgy. "But you're not even looking through the telescope" |
White
kimonos, yellow tracksuits (with leather gear to match!), and
naughty schoolgirl dresses. There's even a shout out to Star
Trek. Hilarious, iconic, and so hot it's ready-to-wear.
Bonus Points: Elle Driver's sneakily funny white dress - look closer. Dialogue that we can pretend is about the costumes: "Thought that was pretty fuckin funny, didn't you?" -or- "VERY GOOOOD!" |
Ngila
had lots of screentime this year and as usual, she made it work
and work for the film. Armor, culturally specific costuming,
period garb, and theatrical oomph for both Samurai and
Return of the King.
Bonus Points: Ngila's third pass at Tolkien mania. An enormous task well done. What a trooper. Dialogue that we can pretend is about the designer: " Apparently, this is the only job for which I am suited." |
Patterson
(most famous for The Piano) continues to prove her versatility.
There's gorgeous period work in London with the Darlings and
imaginative but faithful takes on the famous characters of Neverland
as well.
Bonus Points: The daunting task of taking something on that's been done a hundred times. She's got balls. Dialogue that we can pretend is about the designer: "Oh, the cleverness of you" |
Contrary
to popular belief, if you remove Depp's comic genius from this
equation you still have much to recommend this film. Penny's
costumes are joyful and aid in the witty characterizations.
Bonus Points: Who knew that feathery plumed hats would look so good on Orlando Bloom --oh wait, everything looks that good on Orlando Bloom. Dialogue that we can pretend is about anyone who signed on to this film: "This is either madness or brilliance" |
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Finalist:
Matrix
Reloaded Kym
Barrett (the
only designer to get a whole ad campaign built around her work.
Congrats, Kym) *
Girl
with a Pearl Earring Die
Van Straalen *
Semi
Finalists:
Master
and Commander Wendy
Stites *
Cold
Mountain Ann
Roth (gorgeous but in a couple of cases... I'm not
so sure that's a good thing)*
Sylvia -Sandy
Powell: build a shrine to Sandy and worship it daily!
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Best
Editing
the
sharp cutters are
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Chris
Gill
28 DAYS LATER |
Geraldine
Peroni
THE COMPANY |
Sally
Menke
KILL BILL, VOL. I |
Jamie
Selkirk
The Lord of the Rings: THE RETURN OF THE KING |
Sarah
Flack
LOST IN TRANSLATION |
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For
absolute "gotcha" intensity; maintaining an award-worthy
degree of tension throughout.
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For
sheer grace, musical counterpoint, and precision. It's just
beautiful.
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For
creativity, breathing room, and cuts so great she 'collects
your fucking head.'
|
For
intense battles , graceful quiet moments, and overall technical
chutzpah
|
For
beautiful flow, this movie just works. Deliberately paced but
never dull.
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Finalists:Master
and Commander Lee
Smith *
Elephant
Gus
Van Sant *
Semi
Finalist:
Thirteen
Nancy
Richardson *
Seabiscuit
William
& Billy Goldenberg *
X2:
X-Men United Elliot
Graham & John Ottman *
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OSCAR
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Best
Art Direction / Production Design
the
well apointed films are
 |
Andrew
Laws
DOWN WITH LOVE A slice of 60s sex- comedy heaven. Candy colored, polished, and eye popping. Dream apartments that could never exist in NYC. This is the movies! |
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Ben
Van Os
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING Cramped homes, paint stained studios, and servants quarters so dank you feel cold just staring at them. |
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David
Wasco & Yohei Taneda
KILL BILL, Volume 1 From a sickly sterile hospital to the perfect facade of suburbia to The House of Blue Leaves. It's one glorious setpiece after another. |
 |
Grant
Major
The Lord of the Rings: THE RETURN OF THE KING Each film in the trilogy brings new cities, new wonders. This time its Minas Tirith and Pelenor Fields |
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William
Sandell
MASTER AND COMMANDER: The Far Side of the World So real and so lovingly rendered that you feel you're on board The Surprise with the crew. |
| Finalists: Lost in Translation -K.K. Barrett & Anne Ross. Love the particulars of that hotel & the rare sojourns to the unfamiliar outside) * Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - Brian Morris and Peter Pan -Roger Ford. In the end who can choose? Two fine and fun over-the-top pirate lovin' design jobs * Spider -Andrew Sanders. Places and rooms as vivid and haunting as nightmares * Semi Finalists: Big Fish -Dennis Gasner Gorgeous and Burton-esque but too many sets/locales/homes for me. It got exhausting. Individually though, they kind of rock * Mystic River -Henry Bumstead. Well dressed enough that the actors blend into the environs like they're lived there for their whole miserable lives. | |
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OSCAR
Race
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/
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