"Mrs. Maisel," "Handmaid's Tale," "The Alienist," "GLOW," "Sesame Street" score TV honors
The Favourite (production designer Fiona Crombie), Black Panther (Hannah Beachler), Crazy Rich Asians (Nelson Coates) and Isle of Dogs (Adam Stockhausen, Paul Harrod) garnered the marquee feature film honors at the Art Directors Guild (ADG) 23rd annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on Saturday evening (2/2).
On the TV side, the award recipients included The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Bill Groom), The Handmaid’s Tale (Mark White, Elisabeth Williams), The Alienist (Mara LePere-Schloop), GLOW (Todd Fjelsted) and Sesame Street (David Gallo). Apple’s “Welcome Home” commercial (Christopher Glass) earned distinction in the short-form category.
Honors were presented during a black-tie gala at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown before an audience in excess of 950. ADG president Nelson Coates and Art Directors Council chair Mark Worthington presided over the awards ceremony emceed by actor/comedian David Alan Grier. Producer of this year’s ADG Awards was production designer Scott Moses, ADG.
Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns, Chicago) was presented with the ADG’s prestigious Cinematic Imagery Award following a filmed salute to the Oscar®-nominated and Emmy®-winning filmmaker, producer, theater director and choreographer.
Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Oscar-nominated production designer Jeannine Oppewall, sr. illustrator and production designer Ed Verreaux, scenic artist Jim Fiorito, and set designer and art director William F. Matthews. The late British production designer and set decorator Anthony Masters, an Oscar nominee for 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Benjamin Carre, best known for his work on The Phantom of the Opera and The Wizard of Oz, were inducted into the ADG Hall of Fame.
Here’s a category-by-category rundown of the competition winners:
WINNERS FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM
PERIOD FILM
THE FAVOURITE
Production Designer: FIONA CROMBIE
FANTASY FILM
BLACK PANTHER
Production Designer: HANNAH BEACHLER
CONTEMPORARY FILM
CRAZY RICH ASIANS
Production Designer: NELSON COATES
ANIMATED FILM
ISLE OF DOGS
Production Designers: ADAM STOCKHAUSEN, PAUL HARROD
WINNERS FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR TELEVISION
One-Hour Period or Fantasy Single-Camera Series
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL: “SIMONE,” “WE’RE GOING TO THE CATSKILLS!”
Production Designer: BILL GROOM
One-Hour Contemporary Single-Camera Series
THE HANDMAID’S TALE: “JUNE,” “UNWOMEN”
Production Designers: MARK WHITE, ELISABETH WILLIAMS
Television Movie or Limited Series
THE ALIENIST: “THE BOY ON THE BRIDGE”
Production Designer: MARA LePERE-SCHLOOP
Half Hour Single-Camera Series
GLOW: “VIKING FUNERAL,” “PERVERTS ARE PEOPLE, TOO,” “ROSALIE”
Production Designer: TODD FJELSTED
Multi-Camera Series
SESAME STREET: “BOOK WORMING,” “THE COUNT’S COUNTING ERROR,” “STREET FOOD”
Production Designer: DAVID GALLO
Short Format: Web Series, Music Video or Commercial
APPLE: “WELCOME HOME”
Production Designer: CHRISTOPHER GLASS
Variety, Reality or Event Special
THE OSCARS: “90TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS”
Production Designer: DEREK McLANE
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More