Oscar History
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Oscar Takeaways
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Best Costume Design

 Janet Patterson
BRIGHT STAR
 Consolate Boyle
CHERI
Odile Dicks-Mireaux
AN EDUCATION
Anna B Sheppard
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Modeile Bickel
THE WHITE RIBBON
 Fanny's own designs are distinctive. There's also noticeable differences between utilarian basics and dressier fare. Everything is gorgeous. And that triple pleated mushroom collar!
 The Belle Epoque lends itself to excessive design, the characters also demand it. Boyle understands the collective vanity both warranted and overworked. And that black hat! [gasp]
Jenny is adorable as a schoolgirl but in her off hour ensembles she's aging it up and working for sophistication. Helen and David's fashionable looks and lavish lifestyle thrill Jenny (and us)
Sheppard is aces with this time period as her filmography reveals but what's special here is the stylized modern flourishes: that red dress with veil and Brigitte's tailored movie starpower.
It's hard to costume B&W films. Who knows what color these severe ensembles are other than that scarlet letter white ribbon. A full range of socio-economics status is also on display.
 
Gold: BRIGHT STAR Silver: CHERI Bronze: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Finalists: Monika Jacobs for THE LAST STATION | Uncredited for FANTASTIC MR FOX | Sandy Powell for THE YOUNG VICTORIA

Semi-Finalists: April Napier for JULIA | Joseph Ausili TAKING WOODSTOCK | Monique Prudhomme for THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS | Colleen Atwood for NINE

 

Cinematography

 Anthony Dod Mantle
ANTICHRIST
Greg Fraser
BRIGHT STAR
Robert Richardson
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Dion Beebe
NINE
Lance Acord
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
 Whatever you make of the content, it's visually hypnotic whether out of focus, black and white, or saturated with unnerving color.
 He maximizes Janet Patterson's beautiful production / costume design with expressive light. You can frame almost any, well, frame.
 QT's films were always verbally dazzling. Lately, with Richardson's help, the visuals are nearly as compelling.
Beebe outdoes his own Chicago here, with color and shadow. He accentuates all the gorgeousity of the stage (and the women).
 He paints so expressively with light and often with a dreamy haze. What does Oscar have against him anyway.
 
Gold: BRIGHT STAR Silver: ANTICHRIST Bronze: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Finalists: Christian Berger for THE WHITE RIBBON | Barry Ackroyd for THE HURT LOCKER | Mauro Fiore for AVATAR

Semi-Finalists: Sean Bobbit for HUNGER | Rodrigo Prieto for BROKEN EMBRACES | Eduardo Grau for A SINGLE MAN | Adriano Goldman for SIN NOMBRE

 

 

Art Direction | Production Design

 Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair
AVATAR
Henry Selick, Philip Brotherton, Bo Henry and Tom Proost
CORALINE
Nelson Lowry and Francesca Maxwell
FANTASTIC MR FOX
David Wasco
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Tony Noble and Hideki Arachi
MOON
 Pandora is brilliantly imagined. The color palette should be gaudy but it's somehow beautiful.
So intricately designed and twice over too: Coraline's world and the other skewed world.
So charming and quaint, a diorama storybook comes to life with great wit.
The dairy farm, the theater, the basement bar; we sure enjoyed and remember our time there.
The influences show but it's more than simple homage. It's lived in and quite miraculous given the budget.
 

Gold: AVATAR Silver: FANTASTIC MR FOX Bronze: CORALINE

Finalists: Janet Patterson for BRIGHT STAR | K.K. Barrett for WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE | Stuart Craig for HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE

Semi-Finalists: Jess Gonchor for A SERIOUS MAN | Ricky Nierva for UP

 

Film Editing

 Alan Edward Bell
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
James Cameron, John Refua & Stephen Rivkin
AVATAR
Bob Murawski & Chris Innis
THE HURT LOCKER
Sally Menke
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Dana E Glauberman
UP IN THE AIR
 Engages playfully with the lively structure and star turns, with comedic instincts of his own
Cameron's peerless action storytelling relies heavily on sharp disciplined editing. Great pacing throughout.
 tick-tick-tick. The bomb squad scenario comes with tension ready; the editors wind it even tighter.
 Menke is QT's MVP: she amps up tension, increases laughs, and exploits the best in his famed performances.
The cutting is so slickly polished and sharp it gleams like an aluminum wing, slicing through the clouds.
 

Gold: THE HURT LOCKER Silver: AVATAR Bronze: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Finalists: John Gilroy for DUPLICITY | Roderick Jaynes for A SERIOUS MAN | Joe Walker for HUNGER | Julian Clarke for DISTRICT 9

Semi-Finalists: Alexandre de Francheschi for BRIGHT STAR | Bob Murawski for DRAG ME TO HELL | Nicholas Gaster for MOON

 

Visual Effects

 AVATAR DISTRICT 9
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
 n/a  n/a
 We've had 3D and CGI forever now but the execution is so splendid it feels miraculously new. The dragon taming sequence alone...
 Filmmakers have been mixing the real and the animated (by hand or computer) for decades. It's done marvelously here belying its budget.
A beautifully expressive full toolbox of tricks. Nothing feels mechanical or impersonal (as overuse of CGI often does).
n/a
 n/a
 

Gold: AVATAR Silver: DISTRICT 9 Bronze: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Finalists: STAR TREK | TERMINATOR: SALVATION

Semi-Finalists: CORALINE | WATCHMEN

 

Makeup, Makeup Effects & Hairstyling

 DISTRICT 9
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
 THE ROAD
 n/a  n/a
 Such excellent body horrors. Cronenberg himself would be proud.
Two glamorous undercover girls, period coiffures, and Nazi scarring.
All those grim ashen faces and obvious nutritional deficiencies.
n/a
 n/a
 

Gold: DISTRICT 9 Silver: THE ROAD Bronze: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Finalists: The recreation of iconic characters for STAR TREK | The cinematic divas of NINE

Semi-Finalists: Bobby Sands wastes away in HUNGER | Beautiful period work that's not too beautiful for characters of limited means in BRIGHT STAR | THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS may be operating on a low budget (the show not the movie) but that's what DIY inspiration is for.

 

 

Animated Film

 CORALINE
FANTASTIC MR FOX
UP
 n/a  n/a
 Inventive, magical, spooky and beautifully crafted.
A perfect match of filmmaker and form. Hilarious, too.
Start with a brilliant concept and you're already sky high.
n/a
 n/a
 

Gold: CORALINE Silver: UP Bronze: FANTASTIC MR FOX

Finalists: I hadn't seen as much animation as I'd hoped to in 2009 but MARY & MAX is also one of a kind special.