Best Make-Up & Hairstyling: Freaks, Schnozz, or Old Lady?
Friday, February 13, 2015 at 11:00AM 
They use to disqualify movies from this Oscar if they used too much computer enhancement (see The Hours) and always wanted their makeup effects practical (like American Werewolf in London). But nowadays computer enhancements seem to be a non-issue (see several recent winners and one of this year's nominees Guardians of the Galaxy). There are four indisputable truths about this relatively young category and this Oscar branch and they are like so:
• They love old age makeup
• They worship werewolves and love fantastically weird creatures, but hate zombies
• Hairstyling was recently added to the official category name but usually the wig heavy movies lose to films that are more prosthetically-focused
• There should be five nominees like every other category since literally every live-action film employs makeup and hair. Not every film requires visual effects or original songs or even original scores and those categories all have 5 nominees.
Foxcatcher - Bill Corso & Dennis Liddiard
Grand Budapest Hotel - Frances Hannon & Mark Coulier
Guardians of the Galaxy - Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou & David White
Corso and Coulier previously won Oscars (for Lemony Snicket and The Iron Lady respectively) but the other four nominated artists are Oscarless. All three nominated films have a lot going for them but Foxcatcher would be a longshot since the recreation of existing people's looks via wig, hair and prosthetic enhancements generally has to settle for a nomination. But will they go with Guardians or Grand Budapest? It's tough to say. Guardians is well-loved -- I even talked to a voter who had it at #1 on his Best Picture ballot during the nomination round -- and very showy what with its rainbow of skin colors (blue, green, red you name it) and sci-fi hairdos and scarring. It wouldn't surprise me to see it win. But Grand Budapest Hotel has just about everything they love in this category: old age prosthetics, elaborate hair, memorable hideousness. And who can forget Tilda Swinton's glaucoma-plagued eyes, silver wigs, and old lady liver spots?
Will Win: Grand Budapest Hotel
Could Win: Guardians of the Galaxy
Should Win: Grand Budapest Hotel
My ballot for this category (Hint: I'm thinking of renaming it "The Tilda Swinton Styling" Award)
Reader Comments (7)
Please let it be Grand Budapest Hotel, they created such a complete world with so many actors, I loved what they did with Swinton. I think GBH has a strong chance, and I'm surprised at support for Guardians - there was so much CGI there.
GBH created so many original looks. Freakish but not unrealistic, just heightened. All the craft categories in this film outdid themselves. Revelori's hair alone, and how it spoke of his predicaments is worth the award.
What would be the fourth and fifth nominee this year? Birdman is almost certainly the fourth, but what would the fifth be? Fury, The Immigrant and The Homesman wound up not really being on the radar at all and Selma, Mr. Turner and A Most Violent Year are probably a bit too subtle for #1 votes in this category. I see three serious possibilities: A symbolic single for Only Lovers Left Alive or Snowpiercer or a second nod for Inherent Vice and its loudly "70s" hairstyling.
My ballot:
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Foxcatcher
Fury
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Grand Budapest Hotel
I have to imagine the fourth nominee would be "The Theory of Everything," considering it was on the bake-off list and many expected it to be nominated.
I'm glad they specifically added "hair" to the name. I remember in 1998 I was upset that Elizabeth won the award over Saving Private Ryan (I think I've got that right). I thought they were rewarding pretty over gruesome (but realistic). Then I read that hair was part of it though never mentioned by anyone, and I felt better about it since Cate did have amazing wigs in that one.
I don't see how GBH can lose this, unless people really don't think that Guardians has much CGI and how can they think that? I mean I appreciate as much as anyone the contouring on Chris Pratt's abs, but come on.
I think there might actually be enough love in the Academy for Guardians of the Galaxy that it wins. There is a lot of CGI, yes, but there is also a hell of a lot of body paint and little prosthetic pieces all over the place.