The beauty of Linus Sandgren's cinema

by Cláudio Alves

There's been much ado about Saltburn, Emerald Fennell's sophomore feature and follow-up to Promising Young Woman. However, most coverage tends to focus on the narrative's sudsy details, the picture's eagerness to shock and provoke. There's also a lot to lust over, of course, from Barry Keoghan's middle-class interloper to Jacob Elordi's aristocratic wet dream. And then there’s Rosamund Pike, exuding ice queen glamour on the side. Yet, judging by trailers and stills, one aspect of Saltburn's spell seems underreported – it looks gorgeous, crisp and colorful, all shiny and new, images so ripe you want to sink your teeth into them.

Though one shouldn't dismiss Fennell's contribution to this aesthetic – some would argue the poppy aesthetic of her debut was its best element – much credit must go to Linus Sandgren, cinematographer mirabilis…

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Oscar Volley: Is production design best or most this year?

Team Experience has been pairing up to discuss Oscar categories. Here's Cláudio and Mark talking Best Production Design. Totally my fault that this went up late but enjoy this digestif since we just talked Best Picture - Editor

CLÁUDIO: Since the start of our new era of an expanded Best Picture ballot, it's become harder and harder for movies not nominated for the big category to win elsewhere. Even so, it's not unusual to see one sole production succeeding against the apparent odds, nabbing a couple of prizes in categories dominated by more beloved titles. This year that could be the case for Babylon in Best Production Design. After its BAFTA victory, I'm inclined to predict the Chazelle's polarizing chronicle of Old Hollywood, but the mightiness of Best Picture nominees Avatar: The Way of Water, All Quiet on the Western Front, Elvis, and The Fabelmans looms large over the race...

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Oscar Volley: Will it be Period Perfection or Fantastical Visions as the winner of "Best Costume Design"?

Team Experience is discussing the various Oscar categories. Here's Chris James and Juan Carlos Ojano discussing Costume Design.

CARLOS: Hi, Chris! I would like to confess that I am terrified to talk about this category. For the last few years, I have just made my picks without actually articulating specific reasons. Maybe I don't have the necessary vocabulary or real-life knowledge in costuming or maybe because I'm still working on veering away from my preconceived notion of "Best" as "Most" or "Prettiest". But that fear also makes this exciting, and to do this with you - huzzah!

All right. Let's get down to business. What do we have here? Two Best Picture nominees, two Best Picture-adjacent films, and a lone nominee from a favourite designer in this category. In the expanded ballot era, a time where a lot of the categories have gone (or in some cases, defaulted) to Best Picture nominees alone, this category has demonstrated a level of independence. Out of the past thirteen winners, seven were non-Best Picture nominees (that's 54%, more than half!). So if you're predicting the winner, stats aren't necessarily helpful...

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Left off the "Cast" list! (Our annual SAG outrage)

by Nathaniel R

It's a tradition of ours at The Film Experience for a long time now to note the egregious problem that they never fix in SAG voting. Which is that you have to be famous enough to get your own title card in order to be included in your movie's "Outstanding Cast" nominations. This has led to some truly grotesque omissions over the years... especially for scene-stealers whose breakout performances weren't honored even though they definitely helped the film to that very same "Cast" nomination.

If you're curious about this rule we explain it better here. This year we're already very late with this annual article, so let's get right into the SAG Outstanding Cast nominations and complain about who ISN'T nominated despite doing great work in those ensembles...

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Costume Designers Guild Nominations: "Top Gun" soars, "The Fabelmans" flounder

by Cláudio Alves

Worry not, "Fabelmans" fans. Mark Bridges may still get an Oscar nomination.

For the past two years, all the Oscar nominees in Best Costume Design were also recognized by the Costume Designers Guild, but that's not always the case. Indeed, in 2019, they didn't nominate three of the eventual Oscar nominees, including the winner – Jacqueline Durran for Little Women. All this to say that you should take this year's nominees with a grain of salt in terms of Oscar, especially regarding two big omissions – Mark Bridges for The Fabelmans and Sandy Powell for Living. Both designers have secured Oscar nominations with no corresponding guild support in the past – he for Joker, she for Gangs of New York, Mrs. Henderson Presents, and The Irishman. In any case, their lack of recognition proves that the industry may not be as into their films as previously anticipated. We shall see.

After the jump, the complete list of nominees and some further comments… 

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