Oscar Winner Predictions: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

I’m offering winner predictions in all categories for the Oscars as Awards Editor for FilmFactual. Here’s my assessment of Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Oscar Predictions: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

I’m offering predictions in all categories for the Oscar nominations as Awards Editor for FilmFactual. Here’s my assessment of Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Oscar Winner Predictions: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

The competition: Coming 2 America (Michael Marino, Stacey Morris, and Carla Farmer), Cruella (Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne, and Julia Vernon), Dune (Donald Mowat, Love Larson, and Eva Von Bahr), The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Stephanie Ingram, Linda Dowds, and Justin Raleigh), House of Gucci (Göran Lundström, AnnaCarin Lock, and Frederic Aspiras)

Previous winners: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Bombshell, Vice, Darkest Hour, Suicide Squad, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Grand Budapest Hotel
My winner: Coming soon!
The facts: Donne was nominated for “1917.” Larson and Von Bahr were nominated for “A Man Called Ove” and “The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.” Lundström was nominated for “Border.” “Coming 2 America” was the big winner at the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards, where “Cruella” also won a prize. Six winners in the last ten years in this category have been Best Picture nominees, with “Dune” being the only one with that distinction this year.
Who should win: “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” would probably be my choice, but this is a good list.
Who will win: I think The Eyes of Tammy Faye take this, but it could just as easily be any of them.

Oscar Nominees: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

My predictions: 3/5
My ballot: Coming soon!
The nominees: Coming 2 America, Cruella, Dune, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, House of Gucci

Here’s where I have one of the three total Oscar-nominated films that I haven’t seen: Coming 2 America. I’ll have to watch that soon to offer thoughts. This is the only mention for one other film, House of Gucci, which was expected to do much better overall. Cruella and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, both terrific choices, did manage to get one other nomination each, while Dune is the only film with wide representation, counting this among its ten total bids.

My current bet to win: I think this can still go to House of Gucci.

Oscar Predictions: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

This year, Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 8th. I’ll be offering detailed predictions in all categories.

Last year’s nominees: Emma, Hillbilly Elegy, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Mank, Pinocchio

My choices: Coming soon!

This year’s finalists: Cruella, House of Gucci, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Dune, Nightmare Alley, West Side Story, The Suicide Squad, Cyrano, Coming 2 America, No Time to Die

The rundown: Having only ten finalists means that it’s somewhat easier to predict this list, but it’s hard to know which films are at the head of the pack. I think Cruella, House of Gucci, and The Eyes of Tammy Faye will all get in, but they may not show up in other categories, which might hurt their chances. Dune and West Side Story are the only surefire Best Picture contenders, and then there are other films that are very makeup-heavy, like Nightmare Alley and The Suicide Squad, whose series starter won this category before last year’s spin-off missed out despite making the shortlist. Cyrano is also a possibility, as is Coming 2 America, whose original film was nominated thirty-three years ago in this category. I have No Time to Die in last place, but it showed up on so many shortlists that it could easily end up here too, though that would mark the first-ever Bond nomination in this race.

Forecasted winner: I’ll bet on House of Gucci.

AFT Awards: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

This is the fourteenth category of the 14th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. I’m drawing only from films that were either released or playing at a film festival in the 2020 calendar year. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
The Prom, The Glorias, The Personal History of David Copperfield, Ammonite

The winner:
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom matched its time period and carefully made each of its characters look and feel exactly as they should. Read my interview with the Oscar-winning team!

Other nominees:
Pinocchio (read my interview)
Mank
Promising Young Woman
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Oscar Winner Predictions: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

The competition: Emma (Marese Langan, Laura Allen, and Claudia Stolze), Hillbilly Elegy (Eryn Krueger Mekash, Matthew W. Mungle, and Patricia Dehaney), Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal, and Jamika Wilson), Mank (Gigi Williams, Kimberley Spiteri, and Colleen LaBaff), and Pinocchio (Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli, and Francesco Pegoretti).

Previous winners: Bombshell, Vice, Darkest Hour, Suicide Squad, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Dallas Buyers Club
My winner: Coming soon!
The facts: Mungle was previously nominated for “Albert Nobbs,” “Ghosts of Mississippi,” “Schindler’s List,” and “Dracula,” which scored him a win. Dehaney was nominated for “Vice.” Coulier has a perfect track record, with wins for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “The Iron Lady.” I had the opportunity to interview the nominated teams from both “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Pinocchio” – follow these links to read them! Those two films happened to be the big winners at the Make-Up and Hair Stylists Guild, scoring trophies for period makeup and period hairstyling, and special make-up effects, respectively. It’s worth noting that “Emma” wasn’t nominated in any of those races. Six winners in the last ten years in this category have been Best Picture nominees, with “Mank” being the only one with that distinction this year.

 
Who should win: I’d give this to “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” but “Pinocchio” is also very impressive. Talking to the artisans helps to show just how impressive their work is.
Who will win: I think this is probably going to Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Oscar Nominees: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

My predictions: 3/5
My ballot: Coming soon!
The nominees: Emma, Hillbilly Elegy, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Mank, Pinocchio

I underestimated both Emma and Hillbilly Elegy, each of which earned just one other nomination but do deserve to be here for some colorful and impressive work. I’m excited that Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Pinocchio made the cut since I have an infinitely greater appreciation for that work after speaking with the artists involved (read those pieces here and here). Mank is another great choice.

My current bet to win: I think Pinocchio might win this.

Oscar Predictions: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

This year, Oscar nominations will be announced on Monday, March 15th. I’ll be offering detailed predictions in all categories.

Last year’s nominees: Bombshell, Joker, Judy, Maleficient: Mistress of Evil, 1917

My choices: Coming soon!

This year’s finalists: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Pinocchio, One Night in Miami, Birds of Prey, Mank, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Hillbilly Elegy, Emma, The Glorias, The Little Things

The rundown: This category should be easier to predict because fifty percent of the shortlisted films will end up as nominees, but it’s hard to decipher which ones will advance. The Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists Guild has a number of categories that include six of the films on this list as this year’s nominees. I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with the makeup and hair teams for three films - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Pinocchio, and One Night in Miami, which you can read here, here, and here – but that’s not why I put them first as the likeliest nominees. The first and last of those are well-regarded and expected to perform strongly in other categories, while the work in the middle may just impress voters given the audaciousness of the effort. Birds of Prey doesn’t feature the Joker, a three-time nominee in a film represented here last year and a big part of “Suicide Squad,” the original film that won this prize in 2016. I still think it can show, and I believe that Mank, a presumed contender in many other races, will take the last spot. Hillbilly Elegy, The Glorias, and The Little Things may suffer from negative reviews, though that rarely impacts this category (see “Norbit” and “The Lone Ranger). Emma might benefit from its likely costume design bid, while I’m not sure what to conclude about the only finalist in this category that I haven’t seen, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey.

Forecasted winner: I think Pinocchio wins, but let’s see the list of nominees first.

Oscar Winner Predictions: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

The competition: Bombshell (Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan, and Vivian Baker), Joker (Nicki Ledermann and Kay Georgiou), Judy (Jeremy Woodhead), Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Paul Gooch, Arjen Tuiten and David White), 1917 (Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis and Rebecca Cole)

Previous winners: Vice, Darkest Hour, Suicide Squad, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Dallas Buyers Club, Les Miserables
My winner: Bombshell
The facts: Tuiten was nominated in 2017 for “Wonder.” White was nominated in 2014 for “Guardians of the Galaxy.” This is the first nomination for everyone else in this race. This marks the first time that this category has five nominees. Six winners in the last ten years in this category have been Best Picture nominees, with “Joker” and “1917” being the only ones with that distinction this year. At the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards, “Bombshell” won all three of its nominated categories, and “Joker” took home one prize.

Who should win: “Bombshell” is my winner, though “Judy” and “Joker” are also good choices.
Who will win: When there’s a frontrunner in this category, that film tends to win. This year, that’s Bombshell, which could face competition from “Joker” but probably won’t.

AFT Awards: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

This is the thirteenth category of the 13th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
None

The winner:
Bombshell transformed the many actors in its ensemble into the real people they were meant to portray.

Other nominees:
Downton Abbey
Judy
Joker
The Irishman

Oscar Nominees: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

My predictions: 3/5
My ballot: Come back later this week!
The nominees: Bombshell, Joker, Judy, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, 1917

The one film on the finalist list that I haven’t seen, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, got in, earning just one bid like the first film, so that’s next on my list to watch. Nominations leader Joker and runner-up 1917 are both here, the latter being more of a surprise since it wasn’t a given at all. Bombshell earned a deserved bid here, joining its two acting bids, along with Judy, its lone mention aside from its lead actress. I would have enjoyed seeing “Dolemite Is My Name” or “Downton Abbey” here, but neither seemed all that likely.

My current bet to win: I think this goes to Bombshell.

Oscar Predictions: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

This year, Oscar nominations will be announced on Monday, January 13th. I’ll be offering detailed predictions in most of the major categories.

Last year’s nominees: Border, Mary Queen of Scots, Vice

My choices: Coming next week!

This year’s finalists: Bombshell, Rocketman, Little Women, Joker, Judy, Dolemite Is My Name, Downton Abbey, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, 1917, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

The rundown: This category expands to five nominees for the first time this year, and the list of ten finalists is pretty expected. This includes makeup and hairstyling, and so it’s a question of which appeal most strongly to voters. Bombshell seems like the surest thing, and Rocketman will likely follow. I’m picking Little Women, Joker, and Judy to round out the list, though it could just as easily be Dolemite Is My Name, Downton Abbey, or Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in place of any of them. I doubt that 1917, which is a technical powerhouse in other races, will score here, and while the first film earned a costume design bid, I think Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is least likely to earn a nomination. This category always provided a surprise whenever it was only three nominees, so maybe that will be the case again this time.

Forecasted winner: I say it goes to Bombshell.

AFT Awards: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

This is the fifteenth category of the 12th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
Mary Poppins Returns, A Star is Born, Mary, Queen of Scots

The winner:
The Favourite lavishly did up all of its characters, male and female, playing the part yet fully aware of exactly how they looked.

Other nominees:
Vice
Bohemian Rhapsody
Colette
Black Panther

Oscar Winner Predictions: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

The competition: Border (Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer), Mary Queen of Scots (Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher, and Jessica Brooks), Vice (Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe, and Patricia Dehaney)

Previous winners: Darkest Hour, Suicide Squad, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Dallas Buyers Club, Les Miserables, The Iron Lady
My winner: Announcing shortly after the Oscars!
The facts: Shircore won in 1998 for “Elizabeth” and was nominated in 2009 for “The Young Victoria.” Cannom has eight previous nominations, with wins in 1992 for “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” in 1993 for “Mrs. Doutbfire,” and in 2008 for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” The last foreign-language films to win this prize were “La Vie en Rose” in 2007 and “Pan’s Labyrinth” in 2006. Six winners in the last ten years in this category have been Best Picture nominees, with “Vice” being the only one with that distinction this year. Both “Mary Queen of Scots” and “Vice” contend for two awards from the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards.

Who should win: The two leads in both “Border” and “Mary Queen of Scots” truly looked like the characters they were supposed to play, living in the worlds they inhabited, though the latter had the added benefit of purposeful hairstyling. Seeing Christian Bale look just like Dick Cheney is something else, and though there’s plenty I didn’t like about that film, out of this group, it gets my vote easily in this contest.
Who will win: It’s hard to imagine anything but Vice taking this.

Oscar Nominees: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

My predictions: 1/3
My ballot: Come back in February!
The nominees: Border, Mary, Queen of Scots, Vice

I usually do terribly in this category even though it only has three nominees, picking just one right for the second year in a row after achieving a rare zero two years ago. One of just two feature films I haven’t seen from among all the nominees, Border, is nominated here, the latest foreign selection to score a mention, and I’ll have more to say once I see it. I suppose that these aspects were very strong in Mary, Queen of Scots, and I won’t argue with that in regards to Vice also. I am surprised that “Bohemian Rhapsody” didn’t make the cut, but I’m not overly upset by it.

My current bet to win: I don’t see how Vice loses this.

Oscar Predictions: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

This year, Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 22nd. I’ll be offering detailed predictions in most of the major categories.

Last year’s nominees: Darkest Hour, Victoria and Abdul, Wodner

My choices: Coming in February!

This year’s finalists: Vice, Bohemian Rhapsody, Black Panther, Border, Mary, Queen of Scots, Stan and Ollie, Suspiria

The rundown: The seven remaining contenders in this category were announced back in December. Odds aren’t so bad for any of them given that three will end up being nominated. The Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild has make-up, hair styling, and special make-up effects races, and all but “Border” and “Suspiria” earned two nominations, while those earned zero. Here, Vice seems like the surest thing in terms of makeup for transforming Christian Bale into Dick Cheney, while Bohemian Rhapsody is all about the hairstyling that made the actors look exactly like the real members of Queen. Beyond that, I’m betting on the scope and popularity of Black Panther to help it overtake the other four, though it doesn’t usually happen that way. Border missed the shortlist for Best Foreign Film, but there have been some random inclusions in the past that would make it being nominated unsurprising. Mary, Queen of Scots may or may not do well in other categories, while Stan and Ollie and Suspiria, two very different films, aren’t looking at likely nods in any other categories. This could go any number of ways, but I and everyone else in the world would be shocked if somehow “Vice” missed.

Forecasted winner: I say it goes to Vice.

AFT Awards: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

This is the fifteenth category of the 11th Annual AFT Film Awards to be announced. The AFT Awards are my own personal choices for the best in film of each year and the best in television of each season. The AFT Film Awards include the traditional Oscar categories and a number of additional specific honors. Nominees are pictured in the order I’ve ranked them. Click here to see previous years of this category.

Honorable mentions:
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Greatest Showman, The Shape of Water, Victoria and Abdul

The winner:
Darkest Hour (Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, and Lucy Sibbick) transformed Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill in a way that completely hid the actor under the character, who was surrounded by other authentic-looking contemporaries.

Other nominees:
I, Tonya (Deborah La Mia Denaver, Adruitha Lee, Vincent Van Dyke)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (John Blake, Camille Friend, Brian Sipe)
Wonder (Arjen Tuiten)
Battle of the Sexes (Fríða Aradóttir, Haruyo Sawada, Rita Troy, and Torsten Witte)

Oscar Winner Predictions: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

The competition: Darkest Hour (Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick), Victoria and Abdul (Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard), Wonder (Arjen Tuiten)

Previous winners: Suicide Squad, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Dallas Buyers Club, Les Miserables, The Iron Lady, The Wolfman
My winner: Announcing shortly after the Oscars!

The facts: Only Tsuji has been nominated before, for “Click” and “Norbit.” Both “Darkest Hour” and “Wonder” contended for all three Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards – hair styling, makeup, and special makeup effects. “Darkest Hour” won two prizes, and “Victoria and Abdul” wasn't nominated there at all. All three of these films were nominated along with two others at BAFTA, where “Darkest Hour” prevailed. The last film to win for primarily one central character’s makeup was “The Iron Lady” in 2011, with “Hitchcock,” “Foxcatcher,” “The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared,” and “A Man Called Ove” losing to bigger-scale operations “Les Miserables,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and “Suicide Squad.”

Who should win: I’m still puzzled by the omission of “I, Tonya” here in favor of “Victoria and Abdul,” which didn’t seem all that impressive. “Wonder,” a delightful film, was surely a daily endeavor, and a productive one at that. I don’t think anything can compare to “Darkest Hour,” however, for completely transforming Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill and making the rest of its cast look right too.

Who will win: I suppose “Wonder” could take it, but I would be pretty shocked if Darkest Hour wasn’t rewarded here.

Oscar Nominees: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

My predictions: 1/3, picking only “Darkest Hour” correctly
My ballot: Come back in February!
The nominees: Darkest Hour, Victoria and Abdul, Wonder

I really thought that “I, Tonya” would be here and I think I’d put it well ahead of “Victoria and Abdul.” I haven’t seen “Wonder” but now I know that my wife will have a good excuse for getting me to see it. “Darkest Hour” is the obvious choice here, and it ended up with a much bigger nomination haul than just this and its lead actor bid for Gary Oldman.

My current bet to win: I think this goes to Darkest Hour without much competition.