The guild winners keep coming and our predictions here are for what the Art Directors Guild might do in the Production Design categories that influence the Oscars.

ART DIRECTORS GUILD AWARDS

Best Period Art Direction

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (RU:Tripp)
Mank (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, Thomas)
Mulan (RU:Thomas)
News of the World (RU:Wesley)
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (RU:Peter)

Wesley Lovell: None of the nominees here are terribly challenging to create, so it ultimately comes down to which has the most. Mank certainly has a lot, including William Randolph Hearst’s opulent estate and surrounding grounds, but so does Mulan. Ma Rainey’s takes place essentially in two rooms in a large, empty studio. That might not be enough for these voters, so that would make a win here proof of its popularity. News of the World has a lot of exteriors and that might not be a big sell for this group, but I think its distant setting might be enough for an upset.
Peter J. Patrick: Mank has the busiest art direction. Both that film and The Trial of the Chicago 7 are true to peridos most members will know having either lived through the 1930s and/or 1960s or are familiar with the films of those eras. I think it’s between them.
Tripp Burton: The sprawling black-and-white movie studio of Mank has been picking up a lot of precursors and is probably the front-runner this season, but don’t discount the smaller, but impressive, run down music studio of Ma Rainey here.
Thomas LaTourette: It feels like Mank should be the easy winner here.

Best Fantasy Art Direction

Birds of Prey (RU:Wesley, RU:Thomas)
The Midnight Sky (Tripp)
Pinocchio (Wesley, Peter)
Tenet (Thomas, RU:Peter, RU:Tripp)
Wonder Woman 1984

Wesley Lovell: In fantasy, it’s important to have a lot of sets and designs. The future is seldom a fertile ground for such winners, nor is the recent past. his probably comes down to a battle between Pinocchio, Birds of Prey, and Tenet with Pinocchio having the most obvious designs, which may well be all that matters.
Peter J. Patrick: Pinocchio has the most startling art direction and set design and could well win this. Tenet, which also has a startling but believable look within its concept is also a strong contender.
Tripp Burton: Tenet is the only Oscar nominee in this category, but there are flashier nominations here that could prevail over it. I’m guessing that VES winner The Midnight Sky might be a favorite of the tech guilds, and could win here.
Thomas LaTourette: The Oscar-nominated Tenet should win here.

Best Contemporary Art Direction

Da 5 Bloods (Thomas, RU:Tripp)
I’m Thinking of Ending Things (RU:Wesley)
Palm Springs
The Prom (RU:Peter, RU:Thomas)
Promising Young Woman (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)

Wesley Lovell: Contemporary is always the hardest category of these to predict since it requires a lot of scenes with obvious production design to make the selection seem clear-cut. That really doesn’t exist in this group, so I went with popularity for the win, namely Promising Young Woman with the off-kilter I’m Thinking of Ending Things as a solid potential runner-up. Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if any of these won.
Peter J. Patrick: I don’t know what they’re looking for in this category, but I’m going to go with Promising Young Woman with its eye-catching set design with The Prom a very distant runner-up.
Tripp Burton: I thought for a while that Promising Young Woman might sneak out an Oscar nomination for its detailed production design, but it should win here easily.
Thomas LaTourette: By having settings all over Vietnam, Da 5 Bloods will probably win here as they got to have the most distinctive sets.

Best Animation Art Direction

The Croods: A New Age
Onward
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, Thomas)
Wolfwalkers (RU:Wesley, RU:Peter, RU:Tripp, RU:Thomas)

Wesley Lovell: This seems like a Soul kind of year. That film swept the Visual Effects Society awards and may well do so here, but be wary Shaun the Sheep is a stop-motion film, which requires more traditional art direction, which might just be enough. Then again the Irish animated film Wolfwalkers is also pretty popular.
Peter J. Patrick: Soul is likely an easy winner here, with Wolfwalkers poised to upset.
Tripp Burton: Soul has been an a roll all season, and with the two distinct and lovely worlds of the film, it should be a shoo-in here.
Thomas LaTourette: Soul had a lot of imaginative settings, so I think it will win.