The Production Design category is one of the most interesting categories this year as three of the nominees are also nominated for Best Costume Design.

The category used be known as Art Direction but was changed to production design in order to also include the set decorators in the nominees.

The winner of the award will join previous winners Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn ("The Great Gatsby"), Rick Carter, Jim Erickson ("Lincoln"), Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo ("Hugo") and Robert Stromberg and Karen O'Hara ("Alice in Wonderland").

Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock-"The Grand Budapest Hotel"

This is Stockhausen's second nomination at the Academy Awards as Production Design. He was nominated last year for the Best Picture winner "12 Years a Slave." Meanwhile, Pinnock is nominated in the category for her work as Set Decorator. Pinnock is also nominated for "Into the Woods" and received her fifth nomination. She has also been nominated for "Life of Pi," "the Golden Compass," and "Gosford Park." For the creation of the hotel, Stockhausen and his team worked within a huge department store that was found in Europe.

The team took over the mall and created set within the space they were given. To create the look, the production team traveled all over Europe to find the inspiration for the look of the hotel. "The Grand Budapest Hotel" has been leading the way in this category especially after winning the Art Directors Guild and the Critics' Choice. It is likely Stockhausen and Pinnock will take home their first Academy Award.

Maria Djurkovic and Tatiana Macdonald-"The Imitation Game"

This is the first nomination for production designer Djurkovic and Macdonald. The two have previously worked on "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," and "The Invisible Woman." Both films were notably snubbed at the Academy Awards even though they received a tremendous amount of acclaim. For their work on "The Imitation Game," Djurkovic notes that the biggest challenges of the film was to create the World War 2 environment that did not look like something most people had already seen in other films. The production designer also noted that her color palette came from a lot of research she did and things she discovered along the way. While "The Imitation Game" is receiving a lot of buzz and most pundits believe it could surprise at the Oscars, the film's loss at the Art Directors Guild and the lack of a win at the Critics' Choice will definitely hurt any chances of a win in this category.

Nathan Crowley and Gary Fettis-"Interstellar"

This is the third nomination for Crowley at the Academy Awards. He was previously nominated for his work on "The Dark Knight" and "The Prestige." Set Decorator Fettis managed his third nomination after being nominated for "Changeling" and "the Godfather Part III." For "Interstellar," Crowley noted that the production build a number of ships to create real spaces for the actors. He also said that building the sets allowed the production to experiment and to discover new qualities. He added that production build a 52-foot ranger and brought it to Iceland where they shot the water sequences. "Interstellar" has not received the praise most pundits expected at the beginning of the year and that may hurt its chances. Additionally, the Academy has not rewarded a science fiction film in this category in years. While films like "Life of Pi," "Inception" and "Gravity" have been nominated in this category, all have failed to win. Don't expect the "Interstellar" team to pull off a victory.

Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock-"Into the Woods"

This is the fifth nomination for Production Designer Gassner, who won for his work on "Bugsy" back in 1991. He was also nominated for his work on "Barton Fink," "Road to Perdition" and "The Golden Compass. Pinncok is also nominated for "The Grand Budapest Hotel" this year. Gassner stated that in order to obtain the look of the film he looked at Angel Oaks which is in Georgia and tried to recreate the look of it when they shot in London. He added that most of the locations were found in England and that they tried to use as many real locations before creating visual effects. "Into the Woods" is also nominated for Best Costume Design, but the film was not popular among the Academy. The movie was expected to crossover to the Best Picture category, but it did not receive the praise most expected. Unless the movie is able to pull off a surprise victory in the Best Costume Design category, Gassner and Pinnock will likely go home empty handed.

Suzie Davis and Charlotte Watts-"Mr. Turner"

This is the first nomination for production designer Davis and set decorator Watts. Davis has previously worked on "The Children" while Watts has worked on "Bright Star" and "The Portrait of a Lady." Davis stated that one of the hardest things to do was work without a script. Since Leigh drew the film from the rehearsal process, Davis decided to draw upon Turner's artwork and that is what inspired the design of the film. She added that the colors used in the film were inspired by the artists paintings and her favorite set was working on the summer exhibit at the Royal Academy because it required the creation of 250 paintings on a limited budget. "Mr. Turner" is nominated for Best Costume Design and other below the line categories. However, the movie itself has not done well during awards season. As result, it is unlikely the film will win this category.

Predictions

Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock will take home the Academy Award for their work on "The Grand Budapest Hotel."

Related