http://www.variety.com/blog/890000489/post/1880019988.htmlFriday, January 11, 2008
The Art Directors Guild announces...This is a guild that nominates 15 films in three categories, so it's a little difficult to judge how they may or may not translate in the actual Art Direction category (beyond knowing that contemporary films are almost always left out of the mix). But it is certainly beneficial to see which films have clear insustry support.
The usual suspects are here: "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood." No "Juno" or "Into the Wild," but neither film showcases this craft. However, with that in mind, "The Bourne Ultimatum" continues a stealthy trek through the guild precursor circuit by showing up in the contemporary category today.
"Atonement" gets its first guild mentions since the ASC mention at the beginning of the week (and what a long week it must have seemed to the Focus camp in that regard). "American Gangster" also found its first industry love since two SAG nominations last month.
Finally, it has to be encouraging for Miramax to have "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" surprisingly pop up in the contemporary field. As it continues to make a case for a Best Picture nomination, these guild citations only fuel the cause.
Here are the nominees:
PERIOD FILM:
"American Gangster" (Arthur Max)
"Atonement" (Sarah Greenwood)
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Guy Hendrix Dyas)
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (Dante Ferretti)"There Will Be Blood" (Jack Fisk)
FANTASY FILM:
"The Golden Compass" (Dennis Gassner)
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (Stuart Craig)
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (Rick Heinrichs)"Ratatouille" (Harley Jessup)
"300" (James Bissell)
CONTEMPORARY FILM:
"The Bourne Ultimatum" (Peter Wenham)
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Michel Eric and Laurent Ott)
"The Kite Runner" (Carlos Conti)
"Michael Clayton" (Kevin Thompson)
"No Country for Old Men" (Jess Gonchor)