House beautiful: "A Serious Man's" suburban wasteland wins Art Directors nomination
By Colin Covert
Who knew you could get awards for finding props at Arc Value Village?
"A Serious Man" art director Jess Gonchor's flawlessly tacky 1960s suburban Twin Cities ramblers, cluttered law offices and nondescript family restaurants earned a nod from the Art Directors Guild for Excellence in Production Design Award for a period film. Other contenders include Nathan Crowley for "Public Enemies," Sarah Greenwood for "Sherlock Holmes," Mark Ricker for "Julie & Julia" and David Wasco for "Inglourious Basterds," Nominees in the contemporary category were Karl Juliusson for "The Hurt Locker," Allan Cameron for "Angels & Demons," Bill Brzeski for "The Hangover," Naomi Shohan for "The Lovely Bones" and Steve Saklad for "Up in the Air." "Avatar's" Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg are in competition among fantasy films, along with Philip Ivey for "District 9," Stuart Craig for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," Scott Chambliss for "Star Trek" and K.K. Barrett for "Where the Wild Things Are." Gonchor worked with the Coen Brothers on "No Counrty for Old Men" and "Burn After Reading." He also designed the sleek Manhattan sets for "The Devil Wears Prada," "Capote's" 1950s Kansas and New York City, and square and hipster homes for "Away We Go." ADG award winners will be announced Feb. 13.
