Let’s dive into the category of Makeup & Hairstyling for our series “IF THE OSCARS WERE TOMORROW.” Remember, this branch elects its nominees based on a bake-off where voters get a reel for each of the 10 films that advanced to the second round of voting. After watching the behind-the-scenes presentations from each makeup team, members of the branch vote for the final five nominees.
Ground rules to keep in mind. For the best possible accuracy, we’ll be considering not just every film that’s opened theatrically to date, but also every film SCREENED thus far that has both secured distribution and is already dated for release. These screenings may include any of the big festivals from the first half of the year or earlier. Films exclusively screened privately for the industry or press will not count. *
Makeup & Hairstyling
1 – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
2 – The Alto Knights (Warner Bros.)
3 – Wolf Man (Universal)
4 – 28 Years Later (Sony)
5 – Alpha (Neon)
Horror and genre-adjacent titles should figure heavily in this race if nominations were handed out tomorrow. Expect to see Ryan Coogler’s tech-juggernaut earn another below-the-line nod with this category. “Sinners” should finally see Ken Diaz return for a third career nomination following his outstanding “aging” makeup on both “Dad” in 1989 and “My Family” in 1995. He previously collaborated with Coogler on the Oscar-snubbed makeup design of “Black Panther.” On the prosthetics front, Coogler worked with Michael Fontaine who recently earned his first nomination as part of the prosthetics team on Warner Bros.’s “The Batman.” When “Black Panther” was snubbed in 2018, the nominee shortlist was restricted to only three titles. The following year the Academy would permanently expand the list to five. Had that been the case in 2018, the film may very well have garnered recognition for its makeup. Regardless, Warner Bros. should still run a healthy campaign with this branch, lest they wake up to a surprise snub on Oscar morning and realize too little too late that they didn’t perceive a larger bias at play.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Warner Bros.’s second title on this shortlist could very well be “The Alto Knights,” a clunker they may rather forget altogether. But, this branch almost always reserves a spot or two for makeup work that endeavored to resuscitate a real-life figure of the past. Add to that, “The Alto Knights” decided to bring back both Frank Costello AND Vito Genovese. And if that weren’t enough, Barry Levinson was committed to raising the bar (and doubling the work) of the makeup department by having Robert De Niro embody both characters. After having been famously digitally de-aged for “The Irishman,” De Niro went to the other extreme and asked for twice as much time on the makeup chair. Something tells me it may payoff on Oscar morning.
Meanwhile, “Wolf Man,” Universal’s newest reincarnation of the the legacy horror series, would likely find itself on the shortlist. Two-time nominee Arjen Tuiten heads up the property’s revered prosthetics department for the first time. Tuiten has carved out a stand-out reputation among the branch over the past decade and films depicting werewolf transformations have regularly been celebrated for being the pinnacle of special effects makeup innovation. Universal will have its work cut out for them nonetheless, as the film failed to meet even the previous iteration’s already diminishing impact – that film 2010’s “The Wolfman” was still able to pick up the statue that year. We could imagine that the branch’s admiration for the monster’s legacy may be starting to fade.
Despite their affinity for the horror genre, zombie films continue to be an unpopular choice among the makeup branch. Could Danny Boyle’s “28 Years Later” be the rare entry to overcome that bias? His original film couldn’t manage it, and neither could its sequel a few years afterward. However, this most recent chapter benefits from the creative decision to craft various sub-species of zombies, each with their own character and personality. The widening scope of the franchise invited the makeup department to really embrace their role as storytellers – applying prosthetics to express zombie hereditary traits and makeup to reinforce character background like Ralph Fiennes’s iodine-dipped doctor. It’ll be a tough spot to hold, but the work is certainly memorable.
There are a few outliers for the final slot. Audiences are currently jumping at the sight of Amy Madigan in “Weapons.” Troma is hoping for a big-screen comeback with the long-gestating reimagining of B-movie classic “The Toxic Avenger.” James Gunn’s superhero films for Marvel found some traction with the makeup branch, although the Superman series has never captured a nomination in the category.
But our feeling is if the Oscars announced tomorrow, the fifth slot would probably go to a makeup standout from Cannes – “Alpha.” Julia Ducournau’s third film didn’t get the reception Neon had hoped for when they decided on a Cannes premiere, but few can make a compelling argument against its heavily stylized and highly imaginative makeup design. It’s full of bold, singular choices wrought with emotional weight. The budding auteur has no doubt already left an impression on the branch as a filmmaker whose passion for makeup – like genre – is central to the experience of her films. “Alpha” sees her reuniting with the special makeup effects artist from “Titane” as well as collaborating for the first time with one of the Oscar-winning makeup artists from last year’s “The Substance.” If Neon gets behind it, the film could easily hold on to this nomination by year’s end.