Five days before the announcement of the nominees for the 79th Annual Academy Awards, the guilds have given us our clearest indications of what we can expect.

Since my last columns, the British Academy of Film and Television were joined by the chorus of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), the Art Directors Guild (ADG), the Costume Designers Guild (CDG), the American Cinema Editors (ACE) and the Cinema Audio Society (CAS) in declaring lists of nominations. These guilds are, more than any other precursor event, the most important “clue” we prognosticators get.

Some titles pretty much performed as expected and remain in contention in the categories in which we suspected they’d assert themselves. “Children of Men,” for instance, continues to have a great grip on art direction and cinematography nods…and little beyond that.

“The Departed” is still likely an “editing only” piece from a tech vantage point. Best Sound Mixing and Cinematography remain in the realm of possibility, though each was slighted by the respective guilds. (Today’s ADG nod is likely irrelevant.)

Another likely Best Picture nominee, “The Queen,” remains an editing possibility. But despite the ADG and CDG nods in the contemporary category, I don’t see those translating to Oscar. Consolata Boyle’s threads might be considered a decent longshot.

And “Dreamgirls” unsurprisingly scored guild nods from practically everywhere. Only The ASC snub results in a cinematography nomination appearing more questionable, if still very possible. The film is set to go in Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing.

Other titles, however, had their prospects considerably boosted by the guilds.

BROUGHT TO THE FOREFRONT

“Babel” – Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film is not only coming off a Globe win and a nomination from each of the major four guilds…it received a nod from every tech guild except the cinematographers. What does this mean? The industry clearly loves “Babel!” A nomination for Best Film Editing seems assured, while Best Original Score, Best Sound Mixing and, yes, Best Cinematography (lenser Rodrigo Prieto was BAFTA-nominated after all) seem to be very much in contention. Not bad for a contemporary ensemble drama.

“Casino Royale” – Martin Cambell’s latest James Bond installment managed the impossible, becoming a critical darling and raking in the largest worldwide box office take in the franchise’s history. It further shook up the scene by grabbing an improbable three guild nominations – from the art directors (ADG), costume designers (CDG) and, most tellingly, the editors (ACE). The Nine BAFTA nods were not altogether unexpected but are still further indication of support for the film. Nominations in the editing and sound categories seem very possible. And in a weak year for art direction, a 30-year vet like Peter Lamont can’t be ruled out.

“Little Miss Sunshine”/”The Devil Wears Prada” – These well-reviewed, financially successful comedies were doing fine before the guilds came along. Then they started scoring all over the place. An editing or song nomination for “Little Miss Sunshine” is a possibility with a costume
design citation for “The Devil Wears Prada” almost appearing likely.

FINDING SOME HELP

“Curse of the Golden Flower” – Yimou Zhang’s visual spectacle may have underwhelmed the critical consensus, but the film has already one-upped his “House of Flying Daggers” by scoring guild nominations – for both art direction and costume design. Expect at least the latter, and maybe even the former, to follow come Oscar morning.

“The Good Shepherd” – This wasn’t a massive shaker at the guilds, but it had widely been given up for dead after being perceived as a significant disappointment. After citations from both the ASC and the ADG, Robert De Niro and Eric Roth’s epic spy drama could definitely show up with a craft nod or two. Set decorator Gretchen Rau also sadly passed away shortly after winning the Oscar last year for “Memoirs of a Geisha.”

“The Illusionst” – The Yari Film Group’s plan seems to have worked. Now with two guild nominations behind it (ASC and CDG) in addition to a Critics’ Choise win for Philip Glass’s score, I doubt this film will get shut out. It’s admittedly not locked anywhere, though between Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction (which is a difficult category to predict), Best Costume Design and Best Original Score, I think we’re at least looking at a nod or two.

“Pan’s Labyrinth” – So the ADG was always coming but the CDG has to be considered somewhat of a surprise. When one also considers the BAFTA love, this film is likely headed towards a healthy dosage of craft nominations.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” – ADG, CDG, CAS and ACE. All admittedly achieved by the original. But for a sequel widely viewed as inferior, this is a very impressive tally nevertheless. When one also considers the five BAFTA nominations, Jack Sparrow’s latest adventure could easily be headed towards a nice tally of nominations.

“United 93” – The support from the guilds for Paul Greengrass’s critically acclaimed 9/11 entry was not overwhelming, with only the writers and editors going for it. But not much could have been expected beyond that. I feel Best Film Editing is quite assured, with Best Sound Mixing being a potential surprise.

HARDER TO READ

“Apocalypto – The ASC nod for Dean Semler was a great help and probably established the film as second in the cinematography race (after Emmanuel Lubezki’s lensing of “Children of Men”). But no CAS nod for Kevin O’Connell and Greg P. Russell is very strange indeed. They’ve only once been Oscar nominated after guild snubs, after all ("Con Air").

“Blood Diamond” – Edward Zwick’s critically poo-pooed diamond smuggling drama has just been chugging along. Along with NBR and BFCA top ten mentions, it has two SAG nods, as well as a CAS citation. I’d be surprised if the film was shut out come Oscar morning. But its support has been so inconsistent that WHERE it will show is a matter of great debate. There are clearly no locks.

HURTING

On the other end of the spectrum, we have those titles whose chances were undoubtedly hurt, maybe even irreparably.

“Flags of Our Fathers”/“Letters from Iwo Jima” – Here’s the shocker. No nomination for Joel Cox for a couple of war films? No nomination for Tom Stern for a double bill filled with many memorable images? No nomination for Deborah Hopper for blending American and Japanese every day and military uniforms? This isn’t mentioning the PGA, DGA, SAG and WGA snubs. No nominations AT ALL for “Letters,” a film that won the LAFCA and NBR. We’re simply left with a final ADG tip of the hat for Henry Bumstead (for “Flags”), a CAS nod and some scattered Visual Effects Society mentions. Oscar nods will likely come in the sound categories and could come calling for Bumstead one last time. But will any other branch follow suit?

“Marie Antoinette” – The CDG nod was as locked as these nods get. But nothing else? Big trouble on the horizon, I reckon, especially for the art direction, which seemed a lock and is now very vulnerable.

“World Trade Center”/”The Good German” – These may have been considered dead. Now, with no guild love, they can be confirmed as such. The ADG snub for “World Trade Center” is particularly mind-reeling. I still feel Oliver Stone’s film has a shot at Best Sound or Best Sound Editing, and Thomas Newman could get a Best Original Score mention for Steven Soderbergh’s effort. But really…anything else would be quite surprising, and even those categories are in no way assured.

Next Thursday, the nominees will have been announced. Reactions to what the tech branches saw as the year’s best at that time.