by Nathaniel R
The costume design branch loves Michael O'Connor's film work. Could Ammonite bring him his fourth nomination?
Let us know ask our crystal ball about the robust possibilities in the Costume Design race at the Oscar. This contest don't feel quite as wide open as Best Supporting Actor or as Best-Picture-related-simple as Adapted Screenplay or as 'what the hell will they choose?' unusual as Visual Effects and Makeup. But it does present several interesting options for a nominated quintet.
Oscar's three favourite living costume designers (Atwood, Canonero, Powell) aren't around this year -- well, Sandy Powell is but does anyone think the Academy will watch The Glorias? -- so where will the Academy's costume branch look?
Previous winners like Ann Roth (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), Alexandra Byrne (Emma.), Mark Bridges (News of the World), and Michael O'Connor (Ammonite) are the familiar choices from 2020's movie crop.... but none of them are "default" nominees in say the way Powell or Atwood are. In short none of them will be locks before their names are read.
No, not even workhorse Roth, a total legend with six decades worth of movies under her belt, who the Academy has been arguably quite stingy with over the years; four nominations and one win for that career is really undervaluing it. In fact from that list maybe O'Connor is the surest thing since all three of his nominations (and a win) come from films that Oscar otherwise didn't really care for. In short his work needs no Best Picture coattails.
United States vs Billie Holiday
Of the designers who've never been nominated Bina Daigler (Mulan) and Trish Summerville (Mank) have the flashiest calling cards. But we're really curious about what Paolo Nieddu will bring to the table with the showbiz / FBI collision of United States vs Billie Holliday. It might be a real showcase -- it looks like one in stills -- but we haven't seen footage yet so who knows. But at this writing it's easy to picture any of those three options as a "duh!" nominee or passed over without much fuss.
On the other hand in the craft categories sometimes all you need to nab your first nomination is to be working in a Best Picture prospect so perhaps Francine Jamison-Tanchuck can rise up with the sharp-dressers of One Night in Miami, even though, like Roth's work on Ma Rainey, she's working with mainly one costume per actor since they're both based on plays that take place in a single day. Then again she's had bad luck with the Academy before. Surely she was close to a nomination way back on her first feature, Glory (1987) which Oscar voters clearly loved. Much later a big would be player Birth of a Nation (2016). Inbetween those civil war era period pieces she's mostly worked in contemporary pictures and we know how the costuming branch feels about those.
The wild cards in the mix -- for extremely different reasons -- we'd say might be for April Napier's work on First Cow (if the Academy watches it and likes the non-flashy period authenticity), Nancy Steiner's sure to be cosplayed work on Promising Young Woman (not likely but every once in a blue moon they notice soon-to-be-iconic contemporary work), or Lindy Hemmings repeat duty on Wonder Woman 1984. Hemmings has weirdly only been nominated once (she won) but always does fine work and she's clearly having fun on this franchise.
Which costume work have you loved most this year? Do you think it will be nominated?