Oscar Predictions: Best Costume Design

Last year’s nominees: Alice in Wonderland, I Am Love, The King’s Speech, The Tempest, True Grit

Costume Designers Guild nominees:
Period Film: The Artist, Jane Eyre, The Help, Hugo, W.E.
Fantasy Film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Red Riding Hood, Thor, X-Men: First Class
Contemporary Film: Bridesmaids, The Descendants, Drive, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Melancholia

This year’s locks: The Artist, Hugo, The Help

Very likely: Jane Eyre

Possible: Anonymous, My Week with Marilyn, War Horse, W.E., Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Midnight in Paris, A Dangerous Method, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Unlikely: Albert Nobbs,

The rundown: The wide breakdown of fifteen nominees from the CDG has to be narrowed down to five, and I suspect that the final choices are going to come mostly from the period film category, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise. It would be cool if any of the five contemporary film honorees made the cut, but I don’t see that happening. I think that “W.E.” is not going to be an Oscar movie, though it’s possible that it will, and I’ll predict “Anonymous” to take a spot here, especially after “I Am Love” and “The Tempest” broke through unexpectedly last year. No “Pirates of the Caribbean” film has ever been recognized here, and it’s rare that sci-fi and fantasy films are mentioned either. I’d expect some surprises here, and hopefully some interesting choices.

One possible crazy scenario: “Bridesmaids” goes for the gold.

Forecasted winner: “The Artist”