The wonderful world of Adam Stockhausen

by Cláudio Alves

Over the past decade, Adam Stockhausen has become one of Hollywood's most formidable production designers. Working his way up as an art director, the first movies he got to design weren't the most prestigious fair. Indeed, Wes Craven's late-career horrors didn't give him much opportunity to show off. That all changed when Wes Anderson, Steve McQueen, and Steven Spielberg all started to go to him as their preferred designer, relying on Stockhausen to create whole worlds from scratch, whether within a realistic milieu or total fantasy. Back in 2014, Grand Budapest Hotel earned him an Oscar, and Stockhausen is back on the hunt for more gold. Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch just arrived in American theaters, and the new West Side Story is on the horizon. Could he even nab an elusive double nomination?

Here are some highlights from Adam Stockhausen's filmography as production designer, from Anderson's whimsy to Spielberg's glitz…

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Almost There: Ralph Fiennes in "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

by Cláudio Alves

With Netflix's The Dig arriving friday, let's talk about the remarkable Ralph Fiennes. Oscar-wise, the British actor hit it big quickly, earning a nomination for his third feature, Best Picture champion Schindler's List. For a handful of years, it seemed like he'd become an awards season perennial, but things turned out differently. While he conquered another Oscar nomination for 1996's The English Patient, he's won little buzz since. That doesn't reflect a decrease in the quality of his work nor a turn to less prestigious fare. Oddly, even when he gets great reviews in titles beloved by AMPAS, an acting nomination remains elusive. This was never more evident than in 2014 when Fiennes delivered a tour-de-force in one of the most nominated movies of the year, The Grand Budapest Hotel…

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Milena Canonero's Oscar glory

by Cláudio Alves

Since we're celebrating 1981 this week, let's shine a spotlight on the Best Costume Design champion of that Oscar year. The filmmaker in question is one of the best currently working on her field. Milena Canonero's vast filmography includes repeated collaborations with many great auteurs like Francis Ford and Sofia Coppola, Wes Anderson, and Stanley Kubrick just to name a few. With nine nominations and four Academy Awards to her name, she's not only talented but also one of AMPAS' favorite craftswomen, having earned recognition for a variety of projects that range from strict historical recreation to lunatic explosions of avant-garde style.

Her work in Hugh Hudson's Best Picture-winning Chariots of Fire is on the more conventional end of this is one artist whose Oscar history aptly reflects her range, mastery, and good taste. In fact, not one of her nominations is undeserved and her victories are very nearly as unimpeachable. If you don't believe such conclusions, just take a look at Milena Canonero's Oscar-nominated feats of costume design…

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Two Serious Questions About Birthday Boy Ralph Fiennes

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Curio: Bad Dads in New York

Alexa here. Each year for the past 5 years, San Francisco-based Spoke Art has held a Wes Anderson-themed art show titled Bad Dads. I would be remiss not to mention that this year marks the first time the show will be held in New York.  The gallery described the move as a natural one:

Although Anderson's films take us everywhere from a fictional pre-war Europe to the far reaches of India and even out to sea, New York City is home to one of Anderson’s first real successes, The Royal Tenenbaums. His palpable connection to New York is only made stronger by the fact that he resides there as well, and as the exhibition enters its sixth consecutive year, it only makes sense to host it in such an exciting and diverse city.

More info on getting tickets and a preview of some of the work that will be on display after the jump

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