In Contention

Tag: Kasia Walicka-Maimone

  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Costume Design — Volume II

    Diane Kruger in Inglourious BasterdsSince I last analyzed the costume design category in July, a number of the contenders are still waiting to be seen, though several have opened and we’ve seen glimpses from others. While the number of movers and shakers hasn’t been enormous, there has still been enough movement – and more insight gained – to warrant another look.

    One thing I do not think has changed since the summer is the category’s most likely nominee.  While I’m doubtful that she will win, I’m quite confident that Janet Patterson will earn her third nomination for Jane Campion’s “Bright Star.” While the film did not catch fire to quite the extent I was expecting, I’m nevertheless confident the threads will remain in this branch’s mind until the end of the year.

    In July, I was torn about whether Colleen Atwood could emerge as a double nominee this year. But “Public Enemies,” despite featuring fine period work, seems to have become a distant memory. Even so, I’d be very surprised if she failed to get nominated for Rob Marshall’s “Nine.”

    The great Sandy Powell, on the other hand, has had her three potential nominees reduced to one. With “The Tempest” and “Shutter Island” moved to 2010, it’s only “The Young Victoria” that is keeping her in the race. Powell is a giant in the field. But is the film at all memorable?

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  • ‘Amelia’ threads and ‘Wild Things’ designs

    Costume design sketch from AmeliaIt looks like the LA Times is boning up on its coverage of the craft fields this Oscar season, as a pair of pieces landed over the weekend spotlighting below-the-line players on a pair of the year’s awards hopefuls.

    The first, a look at the fashion sense of Amelia Earhart as conveyed in the costumes of Mira Nair’s “Amelia,” includes perspective from Nair on costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone’s work and the legendary pilot’s uniform innovations:

    She created whatever suited her…And sold it as well. But more than anything, it came from comfort into style versus style for its own sake. She had this thing about scarves and color — rather than complete color, dashes of color. When she got the president’s medal, she wore a teal velvet skirt and ivory satin blouse with real orchids on the lapel.

    The next piece is a look at the unlikely assumption of creature design duties for artist Sonny Gerasimowicz in Spike Jonze’s “Where the Wild Things Are.”

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Costume Design — Volume I

    (from left) Ben Wishaw and Abbie Cornish in Bright StarMovie stars are often given much attention for the fashion that they sport off-screen. Seldom does the on-screen attire garner as much publicity.

    Nevertheless, the Academy Award for Best Costume Design recognizes those talented men and women who design the threads actors wear on screen. Not only does this work add to the elegance and authenticity of the film, but it can also express the character and the period, mood and setting of the piece.

    For the last three years, this category has chosen films which have highlighted the extravagant attire of the upper class from centuries ago. Period films almost always triumph in this field and, in fact, garner the vast majority of nominations, though a spot or two is usually reserved every year for a fantasy effort.

    This is also a category which tends to reward designers who have been around a long time, with most nominees every year having been in the race before, although a spot or two is almost always reserved for a newcomer as well. And unlike many other crafts categories, the costume branch does not seem averse to nominating a film which scores in few if any other places.

    The most likely nominee this year, if not the most likely winner (sight unseen, of course), might be Janet Patterson for “Bright Star.” This Jane Campion effort was very well received at Cannes in May and the crafts look exquisite. Patterson, who landed two of her three previous nominations for Campion collaborations (“The Piano” and “Portrait of a Lady”), looks likely to return to the race after 12 years. I’d be surprised if she failed to be nominated.

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