Production Design

One of the most fascinating awards of the night is that for production design. Without the incredible work done by the set and production designers on any given film, it would be very difficult for any motion picture to succeed as a form of escapism. It is this escapism that heavily factors in to who has won this award in the past, as it is very difficult for contemporary films to win the award. The only film with a contemporary setting in the past several decades to take home the award is Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” in 2017.

The members of the Academy usually hand this award to films within the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre such as: “Black Panther” or “Mad Max: Fury Road”, or films with a period setting, such as: “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” or “The Great Gatsby”. This will see films that have fantastic production design but with a contemporary setting get snubbed. This will make it very difficult for films like “John Wick: Chapter 4” or “Past Lives” to get a nomination here.

The clear frontrunner for this awards season is Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie”. The film’s extraordinary and intricate production design transports its audience to Barbieland with the use of life size models of Barbie products from throughout the decades. Whilst “Barbie” does have a contemporary setting, it does have a fantastical element with its depiction of Barbieland, where most of the film takes place.

There are a handful of historical or fantastical movies that could challenge “Barbie” to the coveted award. “Oppenheimer” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” will likely be the most nominated movies on nomination morning, and both have a period setting. The biggest competition “Barbie” faces is that from Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two”. The sci-fi epic is sure to get nominated for a bunch of technical nominations in January 2024, plus, the first film in the franchise walked away with the award for Production Design back in 2022 for its breath-taking worldbuilding of the fictional planet of Arrakis.

Here are my predictions as of 31st July 2023:

Strong Contenders

1. Barbie
2. Dune: Part Two
3. Oppenheimer
4. Killers of the Flower Moon
5. Poor Things

Possible Contenders

1. The Zone of Interest
2. The Colour Purple
3. Asteroid City
4. El Conde
5. Wonka

Outsiders

1. Napoleon
2. Maestro
3. John Wick: Chapter 4
4. Lee
5. Rebel Moon