2022 Art Directors Guild Awards: ‘Dune,’ ‘Nightmare Alley,’ and ‘No Time to Die’ Win Top Film Prizes
“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.
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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), and “The Tragedy of Macbeth” (Apple TV+).
However, “Dune” is the world building standout from production designer Patrice Vermette and set decorator Zsuzsanna Sipos. They oversaw an assortment of large-scale sets at Origo Studios in Budapest. There’s the castle of the Atreides family on the ocean planet Caladan, distinguished by its Norwegian vibe with mottled hues. The interiors of the desert planet Arrakis have an Egyptian influence with stark browns, ochres, and arid reds. The Goth-looking planet, Giedi Prime, contains dark, cavernous interiors, where they also built the steam bath of the large, imposing Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsg?rd). Additionally, Vermette, art director David Doran, and concept artist George Hull created the ornithopters: enormous winged flying vehicles that resemble dragonflies.
Kerry Hayes
With “Nightmare Alley,” del Toro went noir for the first time, reworking the macabre cautionary tale of ruthless grifter Bradley Cooper. Production designer Tamara Deverell and set decorator Shane Vieau put together a working carnival with custom-dyed fabric treatment and authentic signage. The highlight was the funhouse, which del Torro described as the living hell that haunted his childhood dreams. By contrast, the Art Deco of high society Chicago is imbued with the facade of elegance in the hotel and nightclub, while the stylish office of psychiatrist Cate Blanchett is infused with fine Rorschach detail in the woodwork that hints of entrapment.
Directors Villeneuve and Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”) received the William Cameron Menzies Award and Cinematic Imagery Award, respectively, and set designer/art director Ann Harris (“Schindler’s List”) was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Campion, whose “The Power of the Dog” didn’t make the ADG cut, spoke out via Zoom against the Academy’s decision to pre-record production design and seven other craft and short categories for presentation in edited form during the Oscar broadcast on March 27. “I would definitely have included design in the main body of the awards because the designer is one of the very first people I bring onto a team,” said Campion, who also admitted she had COVID.
Here’s the complete nominees list, updated live throughout the evening starting at 10:15pm ET/7:15pm PR, with the winners listed in bold.
PERIOD FEATURE FILM
“The French Dispatch,” Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen
“Licorice Pizza,” Production Designer: Florencia Martin
“Nightmare Alley,” Production Designer: Tamara Deverell (winner)
“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Production Designer: Stefan Dechant
“West Side Story,” Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen
FANTASY FEATURE FILM
“Cruella,” Production Designer: Fiona Crombie
“Dune,” Production Designer: Patrice Vermette (winner)
“Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” Production Designer: Fran?ois Audouy
“The Green Knight,” Production Designer: Jade Healy
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Production Designer: Sue Chan
CONTEMPORARY FEATURE FILM
“Candyman,” Production Designer: Cara Brower
“Don’t Look Up,” Production Designer: Clayton Hartley
“In the Heights,” Production Designer: Nelson Coates
“The Lost Daughter,” Production Designer: Inbal Weinberg
“No Time to Die,” Production Designer: Mark Tildesley (winner)
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Encanto,” Production Designers: Ian Gooding, Lorelay Bové (winner)
“Luca,” Production Designer: Daniela Strijleva
“The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” Production Designer: Lindsey Olivares
“Raya and the Last Dragon,” Production Designers: Paul Felix, Mingjue Helen Chen, Cory Loftis
“Sing 2,” Art Director: Olivier Adam
ONE-HOUR PERIOD OR FANTASY SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
“Foundation”: “The Emperor’s Peace,” Production Designer: Rory Cheyne
“The Great”: “Dickhead,” “Seven Days,” “Wedding,” Production Designer: Francesca di Mottola
“Loki”: “Glorious Purpose,” Production Designer: Kasra Farahani (winner)
“Lost In Space”: “Three Little Birds,” Production Designer: Alec Hammond
“The Witcher”: “A Grain of Truth,” Production Designer: Andrew Laws
ONE-HOUR CONTEMPORARY SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
“The Handmaid’s Tale”: “Chicago,” Production Designer: Elisabeth Williams
“The Morning Show”: “My Least Favorite Year,” “It’s Like the Flu,” “A Private Person,” Production Designer: Nelson Coates
“Squid Game”: “Gganbu,” Production Designer: Chae Kyoung-sun (winner)
“Succession”: “The Disruption,” “Too Much Birthday,” Production Designer: Stephen Carter
“Yellowstone”: “No Kindness for the Coward,” Production Designer: Cary White
TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
“Halston,” Production Designer: Mark Ricker
“Mare of Easttown,” Production Designer: Keith P. Cunningham
“The Underground Railroad,” Production Designer: Mark Friedberg
“WandaVision,” Production Designer: Mark Worthington (winner)
“The White Lotus,” Production Designer: Laura Fox
HALF HOUR SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
“Hacks”: “Primm,” Production Designer: Jon Carlos
“Only Murders in the Building”: “True Crime,” Production Designer: Curt Beech
“Schmigadoon!”: “Schmigadoon!,” Production Designer: Bo Welch
“Ted Lasso”: “Carol of the Bells,” “Man City,” “Beard After Hours,” Production Designer: Paul Cripps
“What We Do in the Shadows”: “The Prisoner,” “The Cloak of Duplication,” “The Siren,” Production Designer: Kate Bunch
MULTI-CAMERA SERIES
“Bob ?? Abishola”: “Bowango,” Production Designer: Francoise Cherry-Cohen
“Call Your Mother”: “Pilot,” Production Designer: Glenda Rovello
“The Conners” – Season 3: “A Stomach Ache, a Heartbreak and a Grave Mistake,” “An Old Dog, New Tricks and a Ticket to Ride,” Production Designer: John Shaffner
“Family Reunion”: “Remember When M’Dear Changed History?,” Production Designer: Aiyana Trotter (winner)
“Punky Brewster”: “Put a Ring on It,” Production Designer: Kristan Andrews
COMMERCIALS ** TIE **
Anhauser-Busch Super Bowl LV”: “Let’s Grab a Beer”
Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt
Apple: “Introducing iPhone 13 Pro”
Production Designer: Dylan Kahn
Apple: “Saving Simon” Shot on iPhone 13 Pro
Production Designer: Chelsea Oliver
Apple Music: “Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever”
Production Designer: Fran?ois Audouy (winner)
Gucci: “Aria”
Production Designer: Jeremy Reed
Neom: “Made to Change”
Production Designer: Fran?ois Audouy
MUSIC VIDEOS
Coldplay “Higher Power,” Production Designer: Patrick Tatopoulos
Coldplay X BTS: “My Universe,” Production Designer: Fran?ois Audouy
Ed Sheeran: “Shivers,” Production Designer: Fran?ois Audouy
P!nk: “All I Know So Far,” Production Designer: Fran?ois Audouy
Taylor Swift: “All Too Well,” Production Designer: Ethan Tobman (winner)
VARIETY, REALITY OR COMPETITION SERIES
“A Black Lady Sketch Show”: “If I’m Paying These Chili’s Prices, You Cannot Taste My Steak!,” Production Designers: Cindy Chao, Michele Yu
“Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses”: “Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff,” Production Designer: John Janavs (winner)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race”: “Condragulations,” “Bossy Rossy Rubot,” “Gettin’ Lucky,” Production Designer: James McGowan
“Saturday Night Live”: “Host: Dan Levy + Music: Phoebe Bridgers,” “Host: Maya Rudolph + Music: Jack Harlow,” “Host: Kim Kardashian West + Music: Halsey,” Production Designers: Keith Raywood, Eugene Lee, Akira Yoshimura, N. Joseph De Tullio
“Waffles + Mochi”: “Tomato,” Production Designers: Cindy Chao, Michele Yu
VARIETY SPECIAL
American Express – “Unstaged (with SZA),” Production Designer: Carlos Laszlo
“Jim Gaffigan: Comedy Monster,” Production Designer: James Kronzer
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: “Facts of Life – Kids Can Be Cruel (320) &; “Diff’rent Strokes – Willis’ Privacy (115),” Production Designer: Stephan Olson (winner)
“Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3,” Supervising Art Director: Steve Morden
“Yearly Departed,” Production Designer: Frida Oliva
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