The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the seven finalists for the Makeup and Hairstyling Oscar and there were some surprising omissions. Left off the list were “It,” “Logan,” Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” “The Post,” “Blade Runner: 2049” and “Beauty and the Beast,” among others. The biggest snub of all, however, has to be Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water.”
The Best Picture contender is expected to compete with “Dunkirk” for the most nominations for a single picture and to many this category was a given. In fact, del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” won this Makeup and Hairstyling Oscar in 2007 and “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” was a nominee in 2009. This is simply beyond head scratching considering the work done by Jordan Samuel and his team.
Here are your seven finalists:
“Bright”
“Darkest Hour”
“Ghost in the Shell”
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”
“I, Tonya”
“Victoria & Abdul”
“Wonder”
On Saturday, January 6, 2018, all members of the Academy’s Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.
Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2018.
The branch is very particular about any makeup that’s augmented by visual effects. PAN had none for the primary fantasy characters (it was all practical prosthetics), but if SHAPE’s Gill-man had some digital touch-ups, that could have easily disqualified it.