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In the realm of cinema and television productions, visual effects often reign supreme, which helps blend reality with digital artistry and transport audiences to fantastical worlds. However, while most Hollywood projects turn out to be entirely CGI-driven spectacles, Avatar: The Last Airbender emerged as a rare gem majorly dependent on practical effects.

A still from Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024) | Nickelodeon Productions, Netflix

Crafting the live-action version of the beloved 2005 anime property, Emmy-winning production designer Michael Wylie noted how he not just delivered a remake but also surprised fans with iconic visuals. Using old-school practical effects with finesse in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Wylie simply left keen-eyed viewers marveling in disbelief.

The Stunning Balance of Authenticity and CGI in Avatar: The Last Airbender

Adapted from the 2005 beloved animated series, the live-action rendition of Avatar: The Last Airbender loyally delved into the story of the fantasy world where four factions...

Jeffrey Aro has worked on the stunt teams of several major films and television shows in his career – including “Yellowjackets,” “Lost in Space,” “War for the Planet of the Apes,” and more. But his role as supervising stunt coordinator on the Netflix series “Avatar: The Last Airbender” might have been the most complex and trickiest of his career. Discussions about the show started months ahead of production, and the series required Aro to not just train a cast of young actors in the ways of airbending and martial arts but also adhere to what fans of the property remember from the beloved anime series that ran on Nickelodeon in the mid-2000s.

“The first layer we wanted to ensure the cast understood was breathing. So much authentic movement can be found in the breath,” Aro tells Gold Derby in an exclusive video interview. “So we just defined four different qigong inner-energy breathing techniques.

All of Hollywood is looking for ways to reinvent successful stories, but what happens when the original is near-perfect? You have to reinvent the wheel while the prototype is still flourishing in the market, and the inventors watch from afar as their blueprints fall into new hands.

Such is the case with Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” a dramatic reimagining of the beloved Nickelodeon cartoon from Michael Dante Dimartino and Bryan Konietzko. Both creators exited the live-action series in 2020, citing creative differences that have lurked in the shadows while the highly-anticipated end product makes its way to the screen. Under the guidance of showrunner Albert Kim, this is not your Gran-Gran’s “Avatar,” with mixed results.

As the title suggests, the series centers on a figure called the Avatar, one who can master all four elements in a world where water, earth, fire, and air are pillars of culture spirituality,...

Professor X's potential MCU debut in Deadpool 3 could also mark the introduction of another major Marvel mutant. As part of the McU's Phase 6, Deadpool 3 will explore the multiverse by thrusting Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman into the MCU proper after their previous appearances as Wade Wilson, a.k.a. Deadpool, and Logan Howlett, a.k.a. Wolverine, in Fox's X-Men franchise. Recent comments from Patrick Stewart have also teased the return of himself as Professor X and Ian McKellen as Magneto in Deadpool 3, paving the way for some major mutant characters to be integrated into the existing MCU.

So far, Marvel Studios' introduction of mutants into the MCU has been slow, with only Kamala Khan and Namor being revealed to be pre-existing mutants. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law even teased Wolverine a few times, suggesting he already has a part to play in the MCU,...

The 25th Annual Art Director’s Guild Awards took place tonight as a reimagined virtual show, with Mank,, Tenet and Da 5 Bloods taking home top film honors.

Hosted by Curb Your Enthusiasm’s J.B. Smoove, the event celebrates outstanding production design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, animated features and music videos. For all the winners and nominees, see the list at the bottom of this post.

Ryan Murphy received Cinematic Imagery Award honoring his work reflecting the highest quality of production design. The award was presented by Matt Bomer, star of many of Murphy’s shows including Boys in the Band.

Other presenters included Jordi Molla (Jack Ryan); Nicco Annan (P-Valley); Tyra Banks; Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Aasif Mandvi (Evil); Jenna Elfman (Fear the Walking Dead) and Brian Tee (Chicago Med).

Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Emmy-winning production designer Stuart Wurtzel (Ad), set designer Martha Johnston (Sdmm...

The Art Directors Guild announced the nominations for the 25th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on Thursday, honoring the finest production design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos, and animation features.

Among the nominees for film are Oscar hopefuls “Mank,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” with TV accolades including “The Mandalorian,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” and “What We Do in the Shadows.”

Netflix was the big winner grabbing seven Adg nominations, including three period dramas; one fantasy film (George Clooney’s “The Midnight Sky”); and three contemporary films.

Also making the cut were Christopher Nolan’s time-inversion spy thriller, “Tenet” (production designed by five-time Oscar nominee Nathan Crowley), and two surprises: Emerald Fennell’s Oscar buzzy revenge black comedy, “Promising Young Woman,” which scored a contemporary Adg nomination, and Matteo Garron’s period “Pinocchio” Gothic re-imagining, which scored for period.

Also being honored is Ryan Murphy,...

The Art Directors Guild has unveiled nominations for its 25th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards, which celebrate the year’s best achievements in theatrical motion pictures, TV, commercials, music videos and animated features. Winners will be announced April 10 during a virtual ceremony.

Last year, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Avengers: Endgame and Parasite were the big film winners in the Period, Fantasy and Contemporary categories, respectively, with Hollywood going on to take the Production Design Oscar. TV winners included The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Cherrnobyl, The Big Bang Theory, Russian Doll, The Umbrella Academy and Drunk History.

As previously announced, Ryan Murphy will receive the group’s Cinematic Imagery Award. The Adg Lifetime Achievement Awards, annually presented to outstanding individuals in each of the guild’s four crafts, and will be announced shortly.

With today’s nominations out, online balloting will now be held March 11-April 7.

Here’ the list...

“Mank,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Mulan,” “News of the World” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” have been nominated in the Art Directors Guild Awards’ period-film category, the Adg category that most closely corresponds to the Academy Award for Best Production Design.

In the Adg’s fantasy-film category, which often supplies one or two Oscar nominees, the guild singled out “Birds of Prey,” “Pinocchio,” “Tenet,” “The Midnight Sky” and “Wonder Woman 1984.”

Nominees in the contemporary category, which last year included Oscar nominee “Parasite,” were “Da 5 Bloods,” “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” “Palm Springs,” “Promising Young Woman” and “The Prom.”

In the television categories, nominees included episodes of “Lovecraft Country,” “The Crown,” “The Mandalorian,” “The Flight Attendant” and “Utopia” in the one-hour categories; “Emily in Paris,” “Space Force,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” “The Neighborhood” and “Will & Grace” in the half-hour categories; and “Fargo,” “Hollywood...

“Mank, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Tenet” are among the top films recognized for excellence in production design in the 25th annual Art Directors Guild nominations.

On Thursday, the Adg announced nominations for this year’s awards show, which will be held April 10 in a virtual ceremony, breaking with tradition in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Mank,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Mulan” landed nominations in the Period Feature Film category, and “Birds of Prey,” “Pinocchio” and “Wonder Woman 1984” earned recognition in Fantasy Feature Film.

Missing out were Oscar contenders “Emma,” “The Personal History of David Copperfield” and “One Night in Miami.”

As previously announced, multiple award-winning writer-director-producer Ryan Murphy, whose film and television shows have consistently reflected the highest quality of production design, will receive the esteemed Cinematic Imagery Award.

See the full list of nominations for film and TV below.

Period Feature Film

“Mank” ( Donald Graham Burt...

Billy Porter, Christopher Meloni, Jenna Elfman, Morena Baccarin, Tony Hale and Joel McHale are among the stars who will appear in the second season of “The Twilight Zone,” CBS All Access announced Sunday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour.

Other actors include Colman Domingo, Ethan Embry, Tavi Gevinson, Abbie Hern, Gillian Jacobs, Jimmi Simpson, Daniel Sunjata and Sophia Macy, the daughter of William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman, with more to come. Each will be in one episode of the upcoming 10-episode installment. Additionally, executive producer Jordan Peele, who also narrates the anthology series, will write one episode, titled “Downtime.”

See Why ‘Twilight Zone’ production designer Michael Wylie ‘didn’t want to touch it with a 10-foot pole’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

The Season 1 cast featured Adam Scott, Sanaa Lathan, Ginnifer Goodwin, Steven Yeun, John Cho, Allison Tolman, Jacob Tremblay, Zazie Beetz, Taissa Farmiga, Rhea Seehorn and Kumail Nanjiani, who received a...

Kumail Nanjiani earned his first ever Emmy nomination this year thanks to Jordan Peele‘s rebooted “The Twilight Zone” for CBS All Access. Though Nanjiani is a comedy wunderkind, his first shot at an Emmy comes courtesy of the Best Drama Guest Actor category. While the trippy episode titled “The Comedian” is steeped in science fiction and horror, Nanjiani appropriately portrays a struggling stand-up comic who strives for fame and success.

SEE2019 Emmy nominations complete list: All the nominees for the 71st Emmy Awards

Nanjiani is an Emmy first timer, but he has plenty of history with the awards circuit thanks to his film “The Big Sick.” Nanjani starred as himself in the movie and wrote the screenplay for the romantic comedy with his wife Emily V. Gordon. The pair earned an Original Screenplay Oscar nomination and additional bids from the Critics’ Choice and Writers Guild.

In “The Comedian,” Nanjiani plays stand-up Samir Wassan.

Jordan Peele was the perfect filmmaker to bring back “The Twilight Zone,” melding his dark satire with Rod Serling’s. The result makes an uneasy bridge between past and present, where fear, paranoia, and hate continue to rip away at the fabric of American society. And this is apparent in “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet,” a re-imagining of the William Shatner-starrer, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” which slips comfortably beside Peele’s “Get Out” and “Us.”

For production designer Michael Wylie and editor Scott Turner, the challenge was to channel both Serling and Peele in this story of Ptsd-suffering journalist Justin Sanderson (Adam Scott), who discovers a strange podcast aboard Flight 1015 that predicts their crash which he inadvertently helps facilitate. “We wanted to pull in some of the flavor of the original, not only because it’s incredibly familiar to everyone but because we’re trying to create a timelessness in the show,...

Writers get writer’s block. And designers get designer’s block. So how do some of the top TV production designers overcome it when they have a gajillion sets to create?

“I don’t know, I’m having a block right now!” Mark Ricker (“Escape at Dannemora”) laughs during Gold Derby’s Meet the Btl Experts: Production Design panel, moderated by this author (watch above).

For “America’s Got Talent: The Champions” production designer Joe O’Neil, he goes back to the start to get new ideas percolating. “I always go back to the research, back to the source material and bounce ideas off of other people,” he shares. “As things iterate, you get further in the process and you have to adjust things or cut things for budget reasons or whatever. The better solution is usually the simpler solution at the end of the day.”

See ‘Escape at Dannemora...

When production designer Michael Wylie was first approached about joining Jordan Peele’s reboot of “The Twilight Zone” for CBS All Access, his immediate reply was no. “They wanted to talk to me and I didn’t want to touch it with a 10-foot pole,” Wylie shared at Gold Derby’s Meet the Btl Experts: Production Design panel, moderated by this author (watch above). “And so I said no.”

His reluctance is understandable. Rebooting an iconic franchise comes with a very different extra layer of pressure, one that Wylie admits he was afraid to tackle at first. “I knew I didn’t want to mess with doing a reboot of ‘The Twilight Zone,’” he explains. “I’ve seen a couple of the versions and the thing that’s really amazing about what they did in the ‘60s and ‘50s was that they created this world with not much. And the...

You are invited to attend our Q&A discussion with four of TV’s top production designers who now compete for Emmys. Join us on Tuesday, June 4, at 7 p.m. at the Landmark Theater at 10850 W. Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles. Admission and parking are free. TV Academy and guild members will get priority seating.

To RSVP, make your reservation here: https://goldderbyproductiondesign2019.splashthat.com/

Gold Derby senior editor Joyce Eng will moderate the Q&A with the following contenders for 2019 awards consideration:

Judy Becker represents FX Networks for “Pose”

Becker has received an Oscar nomination for “American Hustle” and an Emmy bid for “Feud: Bette and Joan” during her career. She has earned Art Directors Guild nominations for the films “The Fighter,” “American Hustle” and “Joy” plus a win for the TV series “Girls” and other nominations for “Feud: Bette and Joan” and “The Assassination of Gianni Versace.”

Joe...

[Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers from “The Twilight Zone” Season 1, Episode 3, “Replay.”]

Over and over again, black motorists in America have been victims of the racial profiling and now this act has been brought to terrifying life on “The Twilight Zone.” In the latest episode “Replay,” director Gerard McMurray takes on that real-life recurring nightmare and dramatizes it through a camcorder that literally rewinds time.

Interpreting the black experience through the lens of horror brings to mind Peele’s directorial debut “Get Out,” which McMurray acknowledge is a fair comparison.

“It’s in the same universe for sure in a lot of ways, but it’s just across the universe,” he told IndieWire. “Ours pushes the boundaries in that it’s more pointed. We replay this over and over so you can understand this stuff happens in the real world, which we see replayed and replayed over and over again. I felt we made it more personal,...

[Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers from “The Twilight Zone” Episode 1, “The Comedian,” and Episode 2, “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet.”]

CBS All Access’ reimagining of “The Twilight Zone” delivers true anthology storytelling in that each episode is a standalone plot than can be enjoyed all by itself. But for “Twilight Zone” diehards, the reboot also has fun paying homage to Rod Serling’s classic series through visual, character, or narrative references. They’re not only an entertaining way to honor the show’s roots, but each nod to the past also creates a connection to the present — as if they all exist in the same universe, or zone.

The new “Twilight Zone” also adds to the mythology with its own references within Jordan Peele’s rebooted universe, creating new connections that knit the episodes together in spirit.

“We’ll always try to integrate the world as much as possible, both with the original series and with our own series...

Apparently the TV Academy will only go so far in honoring sci-fi when it comes to the below-the-line craft nominations. While HBO’s “Westworld” and Netflix’s “Stranger Things” deservedly snagged 12 and 11 noms, respectively, FX’s “Legion” was totally shut out. That’s right: Noah Hawley’s mind-blowing Marvel superhero deconstruction didn’t get recognition for either Michael Wylie’s eye-popping production design or Dana Gonzales’s experimental cinematography. Perhaps it was too subversive for its own good.

“Westworld” Rules

With HBO’s “Game of Thrones” out of the running this season, the void was filled by the brilliant re-imagining of Michael Crichton’s adult theme park. Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy wisely took a more graphic and philosophical approach to A.I. The brutal sex and violence definitely tapped a cultural nerve.

It’s about beauty and ugliness in this collision of sci-fi and the western. Paul Cameron’s...

For FX’s “Legion,” showrunner Noah Hawley takes a deep dive into the traumatic mindscape of Marvel mutant David Haller (Dan Stevens). And when it came to his institutionalization at Clockworks in the pilot, Hawley and his team turned to Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” for visual inspiration, with its oppressive concrete architecture and narcissistic interior design (lots of white space with raw metallic ornaments).

The aesthetic proved just the right recipe for distorting reality and memory, as Haller discovers his extraordinary and dangerous psychic powers.

A Brutalist Production Design

Hawley wanted to embrace the look of the concrete buildings where they shot in Vancouver, which flaunted the Brutalism of the ’60s and ’70s. It was a tough, no-nonsense, architectural look perfectly suited to the cold brutality of “Legion’s” tyrannical society.

And production designer Michael Wylie went straight to the source that inspired Kubrick’s future dystopia in “A Clockwork Orange.

Production designer Michael Wylie stands in the middle of an apartment made from scratch on a Vancouver soundstage, a place deliberately created to avoid being pinned down by space or time. “I’ll try to explain a little bit of what we’re doing but not too much,” he told reporters. “Because I have no idea what we’re doing.”

Read More: ‘Legion’ Premiere: The 9 Moments That Make It a Masterpiece

It was a joke, just to be clear, but it spoke to the spirit of FX’s “Legion,” the newest TV show to draw upon the rich legacy of Marvel Comics – specifically, the “X-Men” universe. What was being built up in Canada by Wylie and his team, under the direction of creator Noah Hawley, bore very little resemblance to past Marvel adventures. Instead, “Legion’s” inspirations include Pink Floyd, Stanley Kubrick, Bollywood and a style of architecture actively despised...

Coming off the heels of a phenomenal series premiere, FX has released three new videos giving fans a glimpse of “Legion’s” incredible sets, as well as showcasing what is in store for the rest of the season. The clip, which you can watch below, presents fans an opportunity to see many different aspects of the behind-the-scenes process, from the cinematography to the lighting to the color scheme, as well as allowing many members of the cast and crew to gush about just how gorgeous the show’s design is.

“Just leave reality behind,” says actress Katie Aselton (“The League”). “There is nothing here which resembles that world.”

Read More: ‘Legion’ Premiere: The 9 Moments That Make It a Masterpiece

The video speaks about just how important the sets are to the show, creating a unique and immersive environment, as well as establishing symbolic imagery. Most of the credit goes to...

Another superhero TV show, you say? It's true: FX's new marquee series Legion is based on a character from the X-Men universe, and it does come stamped with the Marvel Studios imprimatur. But trust us when we say this is no ordinary capes-and-costumes saga. The latest brainchild of Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley, this surreal side trip through Fox's mutantverse is far more reminiscent of the auteurist cinema of Stanley Kubrick or David Lynch than standard comic-book blockbuster fare. Fans expecting quippy one-liners and the usual let's-destroy-a-city-block-for-the-hell-of-it set pieces might be advised to look elsewhere.

"I see the sets as characters," "Masters of Sex" production designer Michael Wylie says, and though the expression is as common in Hollywood art departments as sexual dysfunction was in midcentury St. Louis, one glance at Wylie's Emmy-nominated work on Showtime's period drama is enough to know he means it. Wylie spoke to Toh! recently about five key sets from the series, created by Michelle Ashford and starring Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan as pioneering sex researchers Bill Masters and Virginia Johnson. Read More: "Emmy Watch: 'Masters of Sex Is One of the Best Shows on Television. Will Voters Notice?" Washington University HospitalMuch of the action in the series' first season, which opens in 1956, takes place in the offices and corridors of Washington University Hospital's obstetrics department, where renowned physician Bill Masters (Sheen) embarks on a controversial, off-the-books sex study with the help of his new assistant, former nightclub.

Bond, Pi, and Anna Karenina were the big winners at the 17th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards given by the Art Directors Guild. "Skyfall" won the Contemporary category, "Life of Pi" under Fantasy, and "Anna Karenina" for the Period title.

Here's the complete list of winners/nominees; for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:

17th Annual Excellence In Production Design Awards

Period Film

(winner) Anna Karenina

Production Designer: Sarah Greenwood

Argo

Production Designer: Sharon Seymour

Django Unchained

Production Designer: J. Michael Riva

Les MISÉRABLES

Production Designer: Eve Stewart

Lincoln

Production Designer: Rick Carter

Fantasy Film

Cloud Atlas

Production Designer: Uli Hanisch, Hugh Bateup

(winner) 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

(winner) Skyfall

Production Designer: Dennis Gassner...

They're not the Oscars, but it's still good that there are awards for the people who make our television and film experiences so visually stunning. The Art Directors Guild has just announced the nominees for its 2012 awards.

The Guild honors production designers in television, film and advertising, dividing each medium into distinct categories. The result is that some productions not used to getting a lot of awards love do in fact get mentioned.

Take "Community" for example. While you'd be hard-pressed to find a TV critic who doesn't think this is one of TV's best comedies, the show gets nominated for virtually zero awards. The Art Directors Guild, however, took notice when appropriate -- the bizarre, visually interesting and incredible "Pillows and Blankets" episode (a Zap2It pick for one of the best episodes of the year) is nominated.

Of course, lots of the usual suspects make the list as...

The Art Directors Guild has announced the nominees for the 17th Annual Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design Awards. Winners will be announced on February 2nd at the Beverly Hilton.

Here's the complete list of nominees including television; for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:

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 MISÉRABLES

Production Designer: Eve Stewart

Lincoln

Production Designer: Rick Carter

Fantasy Film

Cloud Atlas

Production Designer: 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:...

The Art Directors Guild (Adg) today announced nominations in nine categories of Production Design for theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials and music videos competing in the Adg’s 17th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards Presented by BMW for 2012. The nominations were announced by Adg Council Chair John Shaffner and Awards co-producers Greg Grande and Raf Lydon. Deadline for final voting, which is done online, is January 31. The black-tie ceremony announcing winners will take place Saturday, February 2, 2013, from the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills with Paula Poundstone serving as host for the fourth consecutive year. Production Designer Herman Zimmerman will be the recipient of the Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Hall of Fame inductees are Preston Ames, Richard MacDonald, and Edward S. Stephenson. The Production Designers behind the James Bond franchise, Sir Ken Adam, Allan Cameron, Dennis Gassner, and Peter Lamont will be honored for Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery.

The Art Directors Guild (Adg) has announced the winners of its 16th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards for 2011. "Hugo" won in the Period Film category, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" received the Fantasy Film award, and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" took home the Contemporary Film trophy. Oh yeah, and the 83rd Oscars won in the Awards, Music, or Game Shows category, and Activision: Call of Duty won the Commercial or Music Videos category.

Winners of the 16th Annual Adg Awards were announced at a black-tie event at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Here is the full list of winners (highlighted) and nominees (to see winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, visit our Awards Avenue coverage right here)

Winners For Excellence In Production Design For A Feature Film In 2011

Period Film

The Artist -- Laurence Bennett

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy...

Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara in David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Dante Ferretti, Tony Walton, Stuart Craig, Alfred Junge: Art Directors Guild Awards Feature Films Period Film The Artist Production Designer: Laurence Bennett * Hugo Production Designer: Dante Ferretti The Help Production Designer: Mark Ricker Anonymous Production Designer: Sebastian Krawinkel Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy Production Designer: Maria Djurkovic Fantasy Film * Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Production Designer: Stuart Craig Captain America: The First Avenger Production Designer: Rick Heinrichs The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Unicorn Production Designer: Tbd Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Production Designer: John Myhre Cowboys & Aliens Production Designer: Scott Chambliss Contemporary Film * The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt The Descendants Production Designer: Jane Anne Stewart Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close Production Designer: K. K. Barrett Drive Production Designer: Beth Mickle Bridesmaids Production Designer:...

HollywoodNews.com: The Art Directors Guild (Adg) today announced nominations in nine categories of Production Design for theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials and music videos competing in the Adg’s 16th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards for 2011. The nominations were announced by Adg Council President Thomas A. Walsh and Awards co-producers Tom Wilkins and Greg Grande. Deadline for final voting, which is done online, is February 2. The black-tie ceremony announcing winners will take place Saturday, February 4, 2012 at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills with Paula Poundstone serving as host for the third consecutive year.

A Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Emmy Award® winning Production Designer Tony Walton. In addition, the Adg will induct the following legendary Production Designers from the past into its Hall of Fame: Robert Boyle, William Darling and Alfred Junge. This year’s Art Directors Guild Cinematic Imagery Award will...

As anyone who watched James Franco's take on Oscar hosting can tell you, Hollywood award shows can be weird, weird things. Whether it's Adrien Brody planting a kiss on Halle Berry or just Ricky Gervais insulting everyone in the audience, things can get strange very fast.

But for certain awards, they don't need all the fanfare (or malice) to entice audiences; sometimes the nominees alone are enough. The Art Directors Guild awards fall squarely into this category, with their wide-ranging nominees for excellence in production design, announced last night. Where else would "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," "Captain America," and "Anonymous" all be nominated for something?

The announcement of the winners will be made at the annual awards ceremony on Feb. 4.

Check out the list of nominees:

Period Film

The Artist, Production Designer: Laurence Bennett Hugo, Production Designer: Dante Ferretti The Help, Production Designer: Mark Ricker Anonymous, Production Designer:...

The Art Directors Guild has announced the nominees for its 16th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards, to be handed out Feb. 4 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Art Direction may not be at the top of your priority list for movies or TV, but I think it should be higher than many people hold it. Without art direction the tone of what you watch would be greatly impacted. I love being transported into a unique universe, and art direction helps make my movie and TV viewing experiences more enjoyable.

Here are the nominees:

Nominees For Excellence In Production Design For A Feature Film In 2011:

Period Film:

The Artist Production Designer: Laurence Bennett

Hugo Production Designer: Dante Ferretti

The Help Production Designer: Mark Ricker

Anonymous Production Designer: Sebastian Krawinkel

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Production Designer: Maria Djurkovic

Fantasy Film:

Harry Potter And The Deathly

Hallows Part 2 Production Designer: Stuart Craig...

Kevin McNally, Johnny Depp in Rob Marshall's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Steven Spielberg/War Horse Bypassed, Tintin In: Art Directors Guild Award Nominations Feature Films Period Film The Artist Production Designer: Laurence Bennett Hugo Production Designer: Dante Ferretti The Help Production Designer: Mark Ricker Anonymous Production Designer: Sebastian Krawinkel Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy Production Designer: Maria Djurkovic Fantasy Film Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Production Designer: Stuart Craig Captain America: The First Avenger Production Designer: Rick Heinrichs The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Unicorn Production Designer: Tbd Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Production Designer: John Myhre Cowboys & Aliens Production Designer: Scott Chambliss Contemporary Film The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt The Descendants Production Designer: Jane Anne Stewart Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close Production Designer: K. K. Barrett Drive Production Designer: Beth Mickle Bridesmaids Production Designer:...

Obvious picks were Sherlock Holmes, Star Trek, And Avatar. Once again, no love for Nine, but I was pleased to see an embrace from this guild for The Lovely Bones. Now that Art Directors, Producers, Directors, and Screen Actors guilds have announced their nominees, the only other “countries” to be heard from are the Writers Guild and American Cinema Editors. We’ll hear from the WGA on Monday and the Ace on Tuesday.

From THR by way of Awards Daily, here are the nominations announced earlier on Friday by the Art Directors Guild. The Adg will hold its 14th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on Feb. 13 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Feature Film Nominees

Period film:

“A Serious Man,” production, designer, Jess Gonchor “Inglourious Basterds,” David Wasco “Julie & Julia,” Mark Ricker “Public Enemies,” Nathan Crowley “Sherlock Holmes,” Sarah Greenwood

Fantasy film:

“Avatar,” Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg “District 9,” Philip Ivey...

The lush and iridescent forests of "Avatar," the sooty Victorian London of "Sherlock Holmes" and even the trashed, morning-after Vegas suites of "The Hangover" all caught the collective eye of the Art Directors Guild, which announced its nominations Friday.

The Adg, which will hold its 14th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on Feb. 13 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, unveiled noms in nine categories, covering movies, TV, commercials and music videos.

In the category of fantasy film, "Avatar" will do battle with two other sci-fi titles -- "District 9" and "Star Trek" -- as well as the book adaptations "Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince" and "Where the Wild Things Are."

The nominees for period film range from "Sherlock Holmes," set in the 19th century, to the Depression-era America of "Public Enemies" to the World War II France of "Inglourious Basterds" as well as the post-war France of "Julie & Julia" and...

It's a good day for funny people, especially if your name is Tina Fey or Seth MacFarlane.

Fey's series, 30 Rock, was handed 22 Emmy nominations this morning, which stands as a record for a comedy series. She and Alec Baldwin were also nominated for acting awards. Plus, for the first time some of the other actors on NBC's laffer were recognized. Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer and Tracy Morgan all picked up supporting nominations.

MacFarlane's Family Guy was also nominated for best comedy series, the first time an animated show has cracked that category since The Flintstones in 1961. Two years ago MacFarlane decided to pull his show from contention in the animated series category to have it considered for best comedy.

Mad Men, the drama about the advertising world in the sixties, picked up 16 nominations in the drama categories, including a best actor nod for Jon Hamm. Hamm is also nominated as...

The Art Directors Guild announced its nominees for the 2008 Excellence in Production Design Awards. The much beloved "The Dark Knight" is one of the nominees in the Fantasy film category.

Adg members will vote for the winners by Feb. 12th, and the awards gala will be a Valentine for the top dogs for it will be held Feb. 14th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Click Read More to see the complete list of nominees for the best Production Design in 2008.

13th Annual Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design Awards

Nominations

Period Films

Changeling

Production Designer: James J. Murakami

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt

Doubt

Production Designer: David Gropman

Frost/Nixon

Production Designer: Michael Corenblith

Milk

Production Designer: Bill Groom

Fantasy Films

The Dark Knight

Production Designer: Nathan Crowley

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

Production Designer: Guy Hendrix Dyas

Iron Man...