"Anna Karenina," "Lincoln," "Les Miserables" and "Django Unchained" are among the films nominated for the top honors in the Art Directors Guild's 2012 Excellence in Production Design Awards, the ADG announced on Wednesday night.
Other nominees include "Argo" in the Period Film category, "Cloud Atlas," "Life of Pi," "The Hobbit," "Prometheus" and "The Dark Knight Rises" in the Fantasy Film category, and "Flight," "Skyfall," "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," "The Impossible" and "Zero Dark Thirty" in the Contemporary Film category.
Significant omissions include the meticulously designed "Moonrise Kingdom," the detailed period recreations of "The Master" and the purposefully chaotic junkiness of "Beasts of the Southern Wild."
One notable nomination went to "Django Unchained" production designer J. Michael Riva, who was in New Orleans working on the Quentin Tarantino film at the time of his death in June.
The ADG separates its movie awards into Period Film, Fantasy Film and Contemporary Film categories. The division allows it to salute a broad range of films, from likely Oscar nominees to real longshots.
Typically, Oscar voters make most of their picks from the ADG's period category – although last year, even with 15 ADG nominees to choose from, two of the Academy's five nominees hadn't been recognized by the guild.
In the television categories, the ADG recognized awards regulars "Modern Family," "Homeland," "Mad Men" and "Game Change," as well as newer shows like "Girls," "Newsroom" and "The New Normal."
The Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety or Unscripted Series category produced the strangest bedfellows of all, with episodes of the series "2 Broke Girls" and "How I Met Your Mother" going up against the Mick Jagger episode of "Saturday Night Live," "The Voice" and the Democratic National Convention.
The Art Directors Guild Awards will take place on Saturday, Feb. 2 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. At that ceremony, veteran production designer Herman Zimmerman will receive the ADG’s Lifetime Achievement Award, while Preston Ames, Richard MacDonald and Edward S. Stephenson will be inducted into the guild's hall of fame. The production designers behind the James Bond franchise, Sir Ken Adam, Allan Cameron, Dennis Gassner and Peter Lamont, will receive an award for Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery.
The nominees:
NOMINEES FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A FEATURE FILM IN 2012:
Period Film
ANNA KARENINA
Production Designer: Sarah Greenwood
ARGO
Production Designer: Sharon Seymour
DJANGO UNCHAINED
Production Designer: J. Michael Riva
LES MISERABLES
Production Designer: Eve Stewart
LINCOLN
Production Designer: Rick Carter
Fantasy Film
CLOUD ATLAS
Production Designers: Uli Hanisch, Hugh Bateup
LIFE OF PI
Production Designer: David Gropman
PROMETHEUS
Production Designer: Arthur Max
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
Production Designers: Nathan Crowley, Kevin Kavanaugh
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
Production Designer: Dan Hannah
Contemporary Film
FLIGHT
Production Designer: Nelson Coates
SKYFALL
Production Designer: Dennis Gassner
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
Production Designer: Alan MacDonald
THE IMPOSSIBLE
Production Designer: Eugenio Caballero
ZERO DARK THIRTY
Production Designer: Jeremy Hindle
NOMINEES FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCTION DESIGN IN TELEVISION FOR 2012:
One-Hour Single Camera Television Series
BOARDWALK EMPIRE
Episode: Resolution
Production Designer: Bill Groom
DOWNTON ABBEY
Episode: Christmas Special
Production Designer: Donal Woods
GAME OF THRONES
Episode: The Ghost of Harrenhal
Production Designer: Gemma Jackson
HOMELAND
Episode: The Choice
Production Designer: John D. Kretschmer
NEWSROOM
Episode: We Just Decided To
Production Designer: Richard Hoover
Television Movie or Mini-Series
AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM
Episode: I Am Anne Frank, Part 2
Production Designer: Mark Worthington
GAME CHANGE
Production Designer: Michael Corenblith
HATFIELDS and MCCOYS
Production Designer: Derek R. Hill
HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN
Production Designer: Geoffrey Kirkland
MOCKINGBIRD LANE
Production Designer: Michael Wylie
Episode of a Half Hour Single-Camera Television Series
COMMUNITY
Episode: Pillows and Blankets
Production Designer: Denise Pizzini
GIRLS
Episode: Pilot
Production Designer: Judy Becker
MODERN FAMILY
Episode: Mistery Date
Production Designer: Richard Berg
PARKS & RECREATION
Episode: Soda Tax
Production Designer: Ian Phillips
THE NEW NORMAL
Episode: Sofa’s Choice
Production Designer: Tony Fanning
Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety, or Unscripted Series
2 BROKE GIRLS
Episode: And The Silent Partner
Production Designer: Glenda Rovello
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
Production Designer: Bruce Rodgers
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
Episode: The Magicians Code Part 1
Production Designer: Stephan Olson
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
Episode: Mick Jagger Host
Production Designer: Keith Raywood
THE VOICE
Production Designer: Anton Goss, James Pearse Connelly
Awards, Music, or Game Shows
84th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS
Production Designer: John Myhre
GRAMMY NOMINATION CONCERT LIVE
Episode: Countdown
Production Designer: Matthew Russell
SUPER BOWL XLVI
Episode: Halftime Show Starring Madonna
Production Designer: Bruce Rodgers
THE 64th ANNUAL PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS
Production Designer: Steve Bass
THE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS
Production Designer: Joe Stewart
Commercials and Music Videos
BUDWEISER
Episode: The Return of the King
Production Designer: Jason Hamilton
MACY’S
Episode: Dream
Production Designer: Carlos A. Menendez
NIKE
Episode: Fast is Faster
Production Designer: Tino Schaedler
NIKE+
Episode: Game On World
Production Designer: James Chinlund
X-BOX
Episode: Halo 4 Commissioning
Production Designer: Christopher Glass
