It’s Oscar Time in Tinseltown
The most desirable man in Hollywood is not George Clooney, Brad Pitt, or Daniel Craig, but actually a knight called Oscar, and he is now the talk of the town. He is polished and buffed and, surprisingly, not dressed in any of the currently fashionable shades of grey. Although he appears unabashedly in the nude, […]
The most desirable man in Hollywood is not George Clooney, Brad Pitt, or Daniel Craig, but actually a knight called Oscar, and he is now the talk of the town. He is polished and buffed and, surprisingly, not dressed in any of the currently fashionable shades of grey. Although he appears unabashedly in the nude, he appeals to the hundreds of people dressed to a tee who, while a bit under the champagne spell, jumped out of their seats at the Dolby Theater, ran up the treacherous stairs (as you recall made infamous by many stumbling movie stars, producers, directors, writers, as well as the minds behind the stunning and mind-boggling special effects) to hug, kiss and hold him tight as they whisk him away in their quest to find a very prominent place for him in their palatial homes.
By now you guessed his identity: it is the Oscar, the most recognized trophy in the world since 1929. It was presented on February 22nd, during the 87th Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center. Known as the most glamorous night of the year, the Academy honored the outstanding moviemaking achievements at its annual awards show, better known as the Oscars.
In my research on the Oscar statuette’s facts, I learned that the 24-karat gold plated statuette, designed in 1928 by an MGM Studio art director named Cedric Gibbons, and sculpted by George Stanley, is thirteen and a half inches in height and weighs eight and a half pounds.
Interestingly enough, I noticed that the Oscar statuette of the knight holding a crusader’s sword is standing on a reel of the film with an inscription which signifies only five original branches of the Academy: actors, directors, producers, technicians, and writers, but does not mention the costume designers.
Since this is one of my favorite awards of the evening and in my view no Oscar ceremony would be complete without the most coveted award for the best in costumes, let’s review the five Oscar-nominated costume designers who reflect the culture and the historic era depicted in each of the movies they worked on.
And the 2015 Oscar goes to Milena Canonero!
The costume designer graciously accepted her 2015 Oscar for ‘’The Grand Budapest Hotel.’’ In her acceptance speech, Canonero thanked director Wes Anderson, whose brilliant work inspired her to create the movie’s award-winning costumes. This is Canonero’s fourth Oscar.
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Directed by Wes Anderson
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray, and Adrian Brody
Costumes by Milena Canonero
Milena Canonero is one of the most honored costume designers in the history of the Academy Awards. Her long career includes collaborations with numerous celebrated directors and movies stars. This is her ninth Academy Award nomination and she has won Oscars for four films, ‘’Barry Lyndon’’ (1975), ‘’Chariots of Fire’’ (1981), ‘’Marie Antoinette’’ (2006), and ‘’The Grand Budapest Hotel’’ (2015).
INHERENT VICE
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, and Josh Brolin
Costumes by Mark Bridges
This is Mark Bridges’ second Academy Award nomination. Bridges won his first Academy Award in 2012 for the award-winning movie ‘’The Artist.’’ Challenged by dressing very realistic characters in ‘’Inherent Vice’’ prompted Bridges to create detailed research of what the early ‘’70s really looked like and to try to capture the authentic apparel of this particular era.
MR. TURNER
Directed by Mike Leigh
Starring Timothy Spall, Marion Bailey, and Dorothy Atkinson
Costumes by Jacqueline Durran
This is the fourth Academy Award nomination for Ms. Durran. She has previously won an Oscar for ‘’Anna Karenina’’ (2012). The designs of her costumes for Mr. Turner are completely based on the characters and the actor. She prefers not designing costumes for a story; she designs costumes for a character. The image of the design is often a result of reading the script and deciding what this character will wear.
INTO THE WOODS
Directed by Rob Marshall
Starring Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, and Emily Blunt
Costumes by Colleen Atwood
This is the eleventh Academy Award nomination for Colleen Atwood. The native of Yakima, Washington, Atwood has won three Oscars for ‘’Alice in Wonderland’’ (2010), ‘’Memoirs of a Geisha’’ (2005), and ‘’Chicago’’ (2002).
MALEFICENT
Directed by Robert Stromberg
Starring Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, and Miranda Richardson
Costumes by Anna B. Sheppard
This is the third Academy Award nomination for Ms. Sheppard. She is known for her work on the award winning movies ‘’The Pianist’’ (2002), ‘’Schindler’s List’’ (1993), and ‘’Inglorious Basterds’’ (2009). Anna B. Sheppard was born in Warsaw, Poland and now lives in London.
I am happy to confess that my personal choice for this year’s Oscar award for excellence in costumes design was Milena Canonero for ‘’The Grand Budapest Hotel.’’
Just in case you missed ABC’s live broadcast of the Oscars on February 22, or you had to skip your glamorous walk on the red carpet, you can get very close to over 100 outstanding costume designs from 23 award winning films which are featured in the annual ‘’Art of Motion Picture Costume Design’’ exhibition at Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising museum in downtown Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.fidmmuseum.org.
Cheers, and see you at the movies!
Lina Broydo immigrated from Russia, then the Soviet Union, to Israel where she was educated and got married. After working at the University in Birmingham, England she and her husband immigrated to the United States. She lives in Los Altos Hills, CA and writes about travel, art, style, entertainment, and sports. She hardly cooks or bakes, not the best of ‘‘balabostas’’ her beloved beautiful Mom, Dina, was hoping for. Therefore, she makes reservations and enjoys dining out.
By Lina Broydo
