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In most fantasy movies, the job of the production team is to create a breathtaking new world that dazzles the viewer, but this Oscar season shows a new trend: stories in which the characters themselves are taken on a journey of discovery and adventure.

In Poor Things, a young woman named Bella is brought back to life by a mad surgeon and goes sightseeing in Europe. In The Marvels, the MCU’s new worlds are seen through the awed eyes of Captain Marvel’s protégée, Kamala Khan. And in Barbie, the Mattel superstar leaves her perfect life to sample the unknown pleasures of the real world…

‘Poor Things’ Lisbon set

Poor Things

For Yorgos Lanthimos’ screen adaptation of Poor Things, the director was interested in the premise of making a 1930s-style movie with the technology of today. This meant that production designers Shona Heath and James Price were given the...

“Dune” got a big boost in its Oscar bid for Best Production Design with a win on March 6 at the Art Directors Guild Awards. Over the first 25 years of these prizes, the eventual Oscar winner has always numbered among the Adg nominees in the various genre categories. “Dune” prevailed in the fantasy film race over “Cruella,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “The Green Knight” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”

Its closest Oscar competition, “Nightmare Alley,” won the period picture prize over two other Oscar contenders — “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story.” The fifth Oscar nominee, “The Power of the Dog,” was snubbed in that race in favor of “The French Dispatch” and “Licorice Pizza.”

“No Time to Die” won the contemporary category over “Candyman,” “Don’t Look Up,” “In the Heights” and “The Lost Daughter.”

Period Film

“The French Dispatch” – Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen

“Licorice Pizza” – Production Designer:...

“Dune” (Warner Bros.), “Nightmare Alley” (Searchlight), and “No Time to Die” (MGM/UA) were the big film winners Saturday at the 26th Art Directors Guild Awards (held at the Intercontinental Los Angeles Downtown).

Denis Villeneuve’s epic “Dune” took sci-fi honors, Guillermo del Toro’s noirish “Nightmare Alley” won for period, and Cary Fukanaga’s “No Time to Die” (which closed out Daniel Craig’s James Bond saga), earned the contemporary prize. Additionally, “Encanto,” the Oscar favorite from Disney, grabbed the animated feature award.

Meanwhile, “Squid Game” (Netflix), “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX), and Marvel’s “Loki” and “WandaVision” from Disney+ won the major TV prizes.

In terms of an Oscar predictor, the production design race now comes down to “Dune” and “Nightmare Alley.” “No Time to Die” is not in contention, but the other nominees are “West Side Story” (20th Century), “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix...

Who’d have thought the 26th annual Art Directors Guild Awards would be such a good party?

Community alum and host Yvette Nicole Brown kicked things off with great energy and a few genuinely funny jokes. There followed two genuinely engaging acceptance speeches from Ethan Tobman and François Audouy and then a genuinely emotional — and funny — introduction from Kevin Costner for his longtime collaborator, production designer Ida Ransom, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“I’m so impressed how many production designers are not freaked out by talking up here,” said a visibly nervous Costner. “It’s freaking me out.”

The guild also awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards to Donna Cline, Anne Harris and Denise & Michael Okuda.

Oscar-nominated Dune director Denis Villeneuve received the William Cameron Menzies Award, for which he credited all the production designers he has worked with, especially frequent collaborator Patrice Vermette. Vermette, it turns out, won the gong for Fantasy Feature Film.

The 26th annual Art Directors Guild Awards take place on Saturday (March 5). These kudos have a stellar record at previewing the outcome of the Best Production Design race at the Academy Awards. Over the first 25 years of these prizes, the eventual Oscar winner has always numbered among the Adg nominees in the various genre categories.

“Dune” is the clear frontrunner to win the Oscar for Best Production Design. It reaped a bid in the fantasy film genre with the Adg. The other fantasy film nominees are: “Cruella,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “The Green Knight” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”

Three of its Oscar rivals — “Nightmare Alley,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story”– contend in the period picture category. The fifth Oscar nominee, “The Power of the Dog,” was snubbed in that race in favor of “The French Dispatch” and “Licorice Pizza.”

The contemporary contenders are: “Candyman,...

On January 24 the Art Directors Guild announced the nominees for its 26th annual awards, which will be handed out on March 5. These kudos have a stellar record at previewing the Academy Awards. Over the first 25 years of these prizes, the eventual Oscar winner for Best Production Design has always numbered among the Adg nominees in the various categories.

“Dune” is the clear frontrunner to win the Oscar for Best Production Design. It reaped a bid in the fantasy film genre with the Adg. All four of its likeliest Oscar rivals — “The French Dispatch,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story”– contend in the period picture category. That race is rounded out by “Licorice Pizza.”

The other fantasy film nominees are: “Cruella,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “The Green Knight” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”

The contemporary contenders are: “Candyman,” “Don’t Look Up,” “In the Heights,” “The Lost Daughter...

The Art Directors Guild has announced nominations for the 26th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos and animation features, with nominees in the top categories including Licorice Pizza, Cruella, Dune, In The Heights, The White Lotus and Encanto.

Winners will be announced at the Adg Awards ceremony, which returns to a live-in person event at the InterContinental Hotel Los Angeles Downtown Hotel on Saturday, March 5. Today’s announcement was made by Adg President Nelson Coates, Adg, and Awards Producer Michael Allen Glover, Adg.

As previously announced, director Denis Villeneuve (Dune) will receive the William Cameron Menzies Award. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog) will receive the Cinematic Imagery Award. The Adg Awards honor excellence in Production Design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos and animated feature films.

The producer of the 2022 Adg Awards is Art Director Michael Allen Glover,...

“Nightmare Alley,” “Cruella,” “No Time to Die” and “In The Heights” are among the top films recognized for excellence in production design in the 26th annual Art Directors Guild nominations.

On Monday, the Adg announced nominations for this year’s awards show, which will return to a live ceremony on March 5 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.

“The French Dispatch,” “Licorice Pizza,” “West Side Story” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth” landed nominations in the period feature film category alongside “Nightmare Alley.” “Dune,” “Cruella,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and “The Green Knight” earned recognition in fantasy feature film.

Missing out were Oscar contenders “Spencer,” “The Power of the Dog,” “Belfast” and “Cyrano.”

As previously announced, director Denis Villeneuve (“Dune”) will receive the William Cameron Menzies award. Jane Campion “(The Power of the Dog”) will receive the cinematic imagery award.

The Adg Awards honor...

“The French Dispatch,” “Nightmare Alley,” “West Side Story,” “Dune,” “The Green Knight” and “Don’t Look Up” are among the feature-film nominees for the 26th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards, which are given out by the Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800).

Kicking off a four-day period in which 10 different Hollywood guilds and societies will announce their nominations, the Adg honorees were announced by guild president Nelson Coates and Adg Awards producer Michael Allen Glover.

In the period-film category, the Adg category that most closely matches the Oscar for Best Production Design, the nominees were “The French Dispatch,” “Licorice Pizza,” “Nightmare Alley,” “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and “West Side Story.”

In the fantasy category, nominations went to “Cruella,” “Dune,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “The Green Knight” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”

And in the contemporary category, the nominees were “Candyman,” “Don’t Look Up,” “In the Heights,” “The Lost Daughter” and “No Time to Die.

David Lynch himself can be a cagey interview subject; he's not one to explain his art. However, his collaborators sometimes offer interesting insights into what makes him tick as a filmmaker. One of those collaborators is Cara Brower, the production designer for "Twin Peaks: The Return."

It's been four years since the Showtime event series took viewers back to the world of "Twin Peaks" and perhaps scrambled their brains and sent them diving down the Reddit rabbit hole for answers. Lynch, the creative genius behind "Blue Velvet" and "Mulholland Drive", directed all...

The post David Lynch Has Twin Peaks' Red Room Memorized Right Down To The Curtain Texture [Exclusive] appeared first on /Film.

Production designer Cara Bower had a big world to create with "Candyman." There is the city of Chicago, of course, but also the art world and the mythology surrounding the titular character. Director Nia DaCosta's sequel is a fairly intimate psychological horror movie, too, so Bower had to communicate its themes in environments ranging from the realistic to the stylized. For the most part, though, Bower and DaCosta wanted to show the real Chicago, while also taking inspiration from a greatest hits list of heightened horror films.

"Candyman" isn't Bower's first entry in horror. She was the art director on "Us" and worked on "Twin...

The post Candyman Production Designer Cara Brower On Making An 'Elevated Arthouse' Slasher [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

Production designer Cara Brower had several themes to keep in mind when building the art-centric world of Nia DaCosta’s “Candyman.”

In the film, now playing in theaters, Yahya Abdul Mateen II plays artist Anthony McCoy, while his girlfriend Brianna Cartwright, played by “WandaVision” actor Teyonah Parris, is a gallery director steeped in Chicago’s art scene. Not only did Brower set out to find local Black artists in Chicago, she also wanted the sets to reflect the story of gentrification while still planting seeds of the original 1992 horror film.

Brower talked about her research, location scouting in Chicago’s Cabrini Green and delivering DaCosta’s vision.

The film goes back to the Cabrini-Green housing project, where some areas have seen new development after the original towers were torn down. What did it mean to be there?

We knew the film had to be in Chicago, and I wanted to...

“You can really make the story your own. But some of the specifics should be consistent.” So says William Burke (Colman Domingo), the aging keeper of the Candyman legend. And so say writer-director Nia DaCosta (“Little Woods”) and co-writers Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld (“The Twilight Zone”), the inventive re-creators of the “Candyman” franchise.

The filmmakers built their movie by deconstructing another one: Bernard Rose’s 1992 original, which was in turn based on Clive Barker’s short story “The Forbidden.” Though it was embraced by genre fans at the time (including a teenage Peele), Rose’s version is long overdue for a contemporary revision. It’s hard to imagine one with more searing impact than this.

The pandemic pushed the movie’s release date back a year, so the story opens in 2019 Chicago, long after the Cabrini-Green housing project of the original was razed to make way for gentrification.

Dare To Say It. Candyman. Candyman. Candyman. Candyman…

Oscar® winner Jordan Peele unleashes a fresh take on the blood-chilling urban legend: Candyman. Filmmaker Nia DaCosta directs this contemporary incarnation of the cult classic.

For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini-Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy and his partner, gallery director Brianna Cartwright, move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials.

With Anthony’s painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini-Green old-timer exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman.

If you work in television in any capacity, there are over a hundred categories in which you could be nominated for an Emmy, largely in below-the-line capacities. And what we find every year is how often, behind the scenes, the nominees still happen to be heavily male versus female — while certain fields like casting and make-up do lean heavily towards women nominees, there are still many areas where they struggle to be acknowledged.

Below are some (not all) of the shows featuring deserving women who, this year, received important recognition by the Academy for the work that happens behind the scenes, from writing to editing to production design to directing.

“Twin Peaks”

Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour Or More)

This was the only production nominated in this category that featured an all-female production team as nominees, including production designer Ruth De Jong, art director Cara Brower,...