Dear Amigos,
Last night, everyone had their faces glued to the screens, watching one of the most awaited nights of 2024: The Academy Awards. Regarding the filmmaking universe, our biggest curiosity lies in the art direction craft and everything related to it. The results of this year couldn’t be more exciting (and also what we were hoping for).
Even though “Oppenheimer” took the most acclaimed award of the year, “Best Picture,” “Poor Things” stole the spotlight by winning four Oscars, three of which are related to the exquisite realization of this visual jewel. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, written by Tony McNamara, and starring Emma Stone (who also won Best Actress), accompanied by talented actors Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, among others.
“Poor Things” also won Best Production Design, awarded to James Price, Best Costume Design by Holly Waddington, and, the cherry on top, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, created by artists Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier, and Josh Weston. The Set Decoration was done by Zsuzsa Mihalek, complementing the exquisite vision brought to life by Shona Heath.
The success of “Poor Things” at the Oscars is a testament to the outstanding talent and dedication of the entire team involved in its creation. It’s truly a celebration of cinematic excellence and artistic mastery.
You can have a sneak peek at what the surreal behind-the-scenes of this masterpiece looked like in the following video:
The timeless art direction takes us to both the past and the future simultaneously. The Art Nouveau and Victorian flair, combined with a weird, nonexistent technological and surreal universe, present us with a unique perspective of this non-existent era. Most of the sets you saw in the movie were reconstructed from scratch in Budapest. They employed “old-school techniques” that have been erased by CGI, such as using physical miniatures and painted backdrops.
It’s an impressive work by impressive professionals. Congratulations to the whole team, and please keep doing magic. This victory is a testament to your talent and dedication, and also a love letter to good old filmmaking. Movies have changed, but you brought back the magic to the set.
Below, you’ll find the nominations for “Poor Things.” You can check them all using the following link:
- Best Actress: Emma Stone in “Poor Things”
- Best Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration by Zsuzsa Mihalek for “Poor Things”
- Best Costume Design: Holly Waddington for “Poor Things”
- Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier, and Josh Weston for “Poor Things”
Amigos, if you haven’t watched this masterpiece, do it now. You won’t regret it.
Yours truly,
If you want peek at our own red carpet for this award season (based on graphic design, obviously) check out our article:
