Elysia is joined by Lisa (aka RedZippy) to put her theater and costume expertise to work evaluating this year's line-up in the 2026 Oscars' three art-direction categories: Production Design, Costume Design, and Makeup & Hairstyling – the last of which especially is secretly one of the most exciting list of nominees in the race.

Note: All film discussion in this episode is spoiler-free.

Nominees Discussed:

Production Design (00:04:35)

• Marty Supreme – Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis – trailer – to rent, later HBO Max 
• Sinners – Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Monique Champagne – trailer – HBO Max 
• Frankenstein – Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau – trailer – Netflix 
• Hamnet – Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton – trailer – to rent, later Peacock  
• One Battle After Another – Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino – trailer – HBO Max 

Other films discussed: The Fantastic 4: First Steps (our coverage), Tron: Ares, Wicked: For Good (our coverage), Hedda, The Testament of Ann Lee, Kiss of the Spider Woman  

Costume Design (00:50:13)

• Avatar: Fire and Ash – Deborah L. Scott – trailer – in theaters, eventually Disney+ 
• Sinners – Ruth E. Carter – trailer – HBO Max  
• Frankenstein – Kate Hawley – trailer – Netflix 
• Marty Supreme – Miyako Bellizzi – trailer – to rent, later HBO Max 
• Hamnet – Malgosia Turzanska – trailer – to rent, later Peacock 

Makeup & Hairstyling (01:12:19)

• Sinners – Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, and Shunika Terry – trailer – HBO Max
• Frankenstein – Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, and Cliona Furey – trailer – Netflix 
• The Smashing Machine – Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin, and Bjoern Rehbein – trailer – HBO Max 
• Kokuho – Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino, and Tadashi Nishimatsu – trailer – in theaters 
• The Ugly Stepsister – Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg –  trailer – Hulu, Shudder, Mubi, AMC+  

The 98th Academy Awards will air Sunday, March 15, 2025 at 7 pm ET (on ABC/Hulu in the US) – where it's aired around the world (last year's link)

Check how many Oscar nominees you've seen at OscarsDeathRace.com – or with extended stats and access to the animated shorts via DeathRaceTracking.com

Oscars 2026 coverage

Nominations + Best Picture preview

Live-Action, Animated, & Documentary Shorts 

Production Design, Costumes, Makeup & Hair (this episode)

International Features

Documentary Features

Score & Original Song

Animated Features

Cinematography, VFX, Editing, Sound

Adapted & Original Screenplay, Director

Lead & Supporting Actor & Actress, Casting

Ceremony reactions + Best Picture rankings

Deep dives into 2026 Oscar nominees

Sinners

One Battle After Another – pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3

Frankenstein

Weapons

Shorts: “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” “Jane Austen’s Period Drama,” “The Singers,” “Retirement Plan,” and “The Girl Who Cried Pearls”

For subscribers: Leiden IFF – WhachaWachin (Sentimental Value, If I Had Legs I Would Kick You, and Arco)

Additional awards coverage

BAFTAs shorts

BAFTAs features

Independent Spirit Awards

Revisit Oscars 2024 & 2025: links in these show notes

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