The Makeup Artists & Hair Stylists Guild disagrees with the Academy

by Cláudio Alves

Is GOLDA a bigger contender than predicted?

Not every Hollywood guild is in perpetual agreement with AMPAS. However, for most of them, the disagreement is unnoticeable until Oscar nomination morning. Not so with the Makeup Artists & Hair Stylists Guild, MUAHS for short, whose choices significantly differ from the 15-wide Academy shortlist. Despite having five categories with five nominees each, the guild managed to "snub" over half of AMPAS' selection. The only titles to appear in both lists are Maestro, Poor Things, Oppenheimer, and Golda, while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is one of the MUAHS nomination leaders after getting surprisingly shut out of the Oscar shortlist. 

Discover the full list of film nominations after the jump…

BEST CONTEMPORARY MAKEUP

• CANDY CANE LANE, Tym Shutchai Buacharern, Michele Lewis, Jennifer Zide-Essex & Yvettra Grantham
• GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, Jane Galli
• HAUNTED MANSION, Kimberley Jones, Dionne Wynn, Bridgit Crider & Carla VanNessa Wallace
• NYAD, Felicity Bowring, Ann Maree Hurley, Julie Hewett & Mahar Lessner
• SALTBURN, Siân Miller & Laura Allen

I'm forever confused by this guild's categorization. Why is Guardians of the Galaxy eligible here and in the Period/Character Makeup category? One guesses it's because each prize is meant for different work, but it's hard to grasp what even classifies as contemporary makeup in such a story. Is it just Pratt's mug? In other news, get ready to see Saltburn do well with guilds despite its contentious reception.

BEST PERIOD AND/OR CHARACTER MAKEUP

• BARBIE, Ivana Primorac, Victoria Down & Maha Mimo
• GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, Alexei Dmitriew, Nicole Sortillon, Amos Samantha Ward & LuAndra Whitehurst
• MAESTRO, Siann Grigg, Jackie Risotto, Elisa Tallerico & Nicky Pattison-Illum
• OPPENHEIMER, Luisa Abel, Jason Hamer, Kerrin Jackson & Jamie Loree-Hess
• POOR THINGS, Nadia Stacey

Doesn't Barbie's makeup fall better into contemporary classification than Marvel's sci-fi extravaganza? Again, these categorizations confound, even when the nominees are rather unimpeachable. Guess Maestro is going to take it all.

BEST SPECIAL MAKEUP EFFECTS 

• GOLDA, Karen Thomas & Eva Susanna Johnson Theodosiou
• GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, Alexei Dmitriew, Lindsay MacGowen, Shane Mahan & Scott Stoddard
• MAESTRO, Kazu Hiro, Sian Grigg, Duncan Jarman & Mike Mekash
• POOR THINGS, Nadia Stacey & Mark Coulier
• REBEL MOON: PART ONE – A CHILD OF FIRE, Ozzy Alvarez, Justin Raleigh, Kelsey Berk & Jonathan Shroyer 

Both Kazu Hiro and Mark Coulier are titans in the industry, having each won two Oscars. Coulier has also taken a MUAHS award for his work on Matteo Garrone's Pinocchio, while the Japanese artist already has four trophies. If things go according to predictions, he'll add a fifth MUAHS prize to his bounty. In other news, the possibility of Helen Mirren crashing the party at SAG seems likelier with every day that passes. As ever, expect the unexpected.

BEST CONTEMPORARY HAIR STYLING

• CANDY CANE LANE, Yvette Shelton, Shian Banks, Stacey Morris & Maisha Oliver
• JOY RIDE, Jeannie Chow & Kim Lee
• NYAD, Daniel Curet, Vanessa Columbo, Enzo Angileri & Darlene Brumfeld
• PAIN HUSTLERS, Michelle Johnson & Dennis Bailey
• SALTBURN, Siân Miller & Laura Allen

Joy Ride is such a fun nominee, not to mention a deserving one. With no Oscar frontrunners in sight, what should be the beneficiary of the guild's love? Maybe this is Nyad's chance to shine with its salt and sun-fried locks, or perhaps the mid-00s glamour of Saltburn. Pain Hustlers and Candy Cane Lane are other showy streaming possibilities.

BEST PERIOD AND/OR CHARACTER HAIR STYLING 

• BARBIE, Ivana Primorac, Marie Larkin & Clare Corsick
• CHEVALIER, Roo Maurice & Francesco Pegoretti
• THE COLOR PURPLE, Lawrence Davis, Andrea Mona Bowman & Tym Wallace
• GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, Cassandra Lyn Russek, Stephanie Fenner, Peter Tothpal & Connie Criswell
• MAESTRO, Kay Georgiou, Lori McCoy-Bell, Jameson Eaton & Amanda Duffy-Evans 

The Color Purple unseen, this seems like a solid lineup. There's Barbie's blonde wigs, ever-changing to best fit a given outfit, and Chevalier's take on late-18th-century French styles. The latter is notable for including natural hairstyles for its Black characters. Guardians of the Galaxy is a strong achievement all around, while Maestro shows good work with period particularities and subtle aging. Notice, for example, how Carey Mulligan's hairline thins out over the years as Felicia enters middle age.

The MUAHS guild also announced nominations for TV, commercials, music videos, and stage work. Overall, they represent eighteen additional categories. You can find that information here. Some interesting tidbits include nominations for The Boulet Brothers' Halfway to Halloween TV Special and the 95th Academy Awards ceremony. 

What do you make of these nominations? Did any singular choice spark your attention?

Comments

[Mr Ripley79]

I know this will be seen as some sort of heresy but I enjoyed Golda and it's make up more than I did Oppenheimer and Barbie,I am no big Mirren fan but she was very good but the Academy gave up on nominating her after The Last Station.

Saltburn plays better at home and maybe Pike and Keoghan have a better chance than most think as Best Actor has at least 1 spot up for grabs and Supp Actress 2 spots.

Foster seems less and less likely everyday and that saddens me as she's my supporting actress winner this year.

[charlea]

My only takeaway is that I have now heard of a movie called Candy Cane Lane.

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