Oscar Predictions: Who will compete for Costume Design and Cinematography?

by Nathaniel R

"Cyrano" with Peter Dinklage was a hit Off Broadway. Will this musical version transfer well to the screen?

By now you've gotten a sense from the predictions for most of the craft categories which films we think Oscar voters might be fond of come January when they're voting on nominations. Now let's talk more in depth about two of our favourite races to keep eagle eyes on each year: Costumes and Cinematography.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Of Oscar's four favourite living costume designers --  Sandy Powell (15 nominations and 3 wins), Colleen Atwood (12/4), Jenny Beavan (10/2), Milena Canonero (9/4), and Jenny Beavan (10/2) -- only Colleen Atwood is sitting out this cinematic year...

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Cruella's best looks: A "complete" ranking

by Cláudio Alves

If there were any doubts that Jenny Beavan is a costume design goddess, Disney's latest live-action remake/villain origin story proves it beyond any reasonable doubt. Unencumbered by the financial restraints inherent to independent cinema, Beavan serves up an orgiastic ecstasy of excess and punk rock fashion pastiche. According to interviews, she conceived 47 different costumes for Emma Stone's redeemed villainess, making Cruella the most-dressed movie of the year. It's also a good contender for the title of best-dressed. It's fair to say that an Oscar nomination is all but guaranteed. However, since the 94th Academy Awards are still nearly ten months away, let's focus on other matters.

Specifically, let's delve deep into the matter of Emma Stone's outlandish outfits and decide which are her grandest, most devilishly glamorous looks…

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The Best Costumes of 1987

by Cláudio Alves

Before we say goodbye to 1987, our final "year of the month" to coincide with the Smackdown events, we must look at one final Oscar category: the Best Costume Design race. It was a stellar line-up, dominated by films set during the first half of the 20th century, whose designs spanned from epic opulence to modest realism. The nominees were…

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The Emmas of Yore: ITV's "Emma"

by Cláudio Alves

The character of Emma Woodhouse is a tricky one to play. At least, if the actress is trying to reproduce the personality Jane Austen wrote in her famous novel. She's a daughter of privilege who has grown to believe she's much cleverer than what is true. A matchmaker by vocation, Emma is a busybody who's always interfering in other people's lives, presumptuous and terminally judgmental of all that surrounds her. She can also be a bit of a mean girl when indulged. Still, these character flaws are nothing but the folly of youth and the consequence of a provincial upbringing. Emma Woodhouse is naïve to a fault and desperately romantic. More importantly, she's not intentionally cruel or callous, just foolish.

This mix of a meddler's instinct and a daydreamer's heart is a difficult one to represent without skewing the balance of the characterization. In that regard, Kate Beckinsale might be the best Emma of them all…

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Beauty Break: April Foolish Costume Design Predictions

by Nathaniel R

Fantastic Beasts won Colleen Atwood her 4th Oscar. Will its sequel give her her 13th nomination?

The original Mary Poppins lost the Costume Design competition. Could Sandy Powell win it for the sequel?

Even if the year's Costume Design prospects weren't so tantalizing we'd be salivating because we love the artform. After a relatively weak previous season, this category has the opportunity to come roaring back for 2018 in a big way. Consider that all four of the Academy's favorite working costume designers (with 43 nominations and 13 wins between them) might be back this year...

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