Oscar Predictions: Best Art Direction

Because of the busy nature of the next few weeks awards-wise, here are my current Oscar predictions, subject to minor revisions before nominations are announced on January 25th.

Last year’s nominees: Avatar, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Nine, Sherlock Holmes, The Young Victoria

Art Directors Guild nominees: Period Film (Get Low, The King's Speech, Robin Hood, Shutter Island, and True Grit), Fantasy Film (Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Happy Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, Inception, and Tron: Legacy), and Contemporary Film (Black Swan, The Fighter, 127 Hours, The Social Network, The Town).

This year’s locks: Black Swan, Inception

Very likely: True Grit, Alice in Wonderland

Possible: The King’s Speech, Shutter Island, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Burlesque

Unlikely: The Social Network, Made in Dagenham, Get Low

The rundown: I admit to being a bit unsure about this category. My selected five feel very much like the probably nominees, and beyond an HP surge, I’m not sure what would change that. Last year’s Art Directors Guild nominees only included two of the eventual Oscar nominees (“Sherlock Holmes” and “Avatar”), for the record.

Forecasted winner: Probably Inception in its domination of the tech categories.