Art Directors Guild 2018 Winners: ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ Among the Winners

Art Directors Guild Awards 2018
Kathleen Kennedy at the 2018 Art Directors Guild’s 22nd Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards.

The 22nd Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards winners were announced on January 27, 2018, with members of the Art Directors Guild recognizing the best in film, television, commercials, music videos, and animation features of 2017. Among the winners in the film categories were Oscar frontrunners The Shape of Water and Coco. Coco earned the first-ever Excellence in Production Design in Animation award while The Shape of Water collected the Best Production Design for a Period Film award.

Standouts in television included The Handmaid’s Tale, Will & Grace, Black Mirror, and Game of Thrones.

Johnathan Fernandez hosted the awards show and Darkest Hour‘s Gary Oldman, Arrested Development‘s Will Arnett, Longmire‘s Lou Diamond Phillips, Scandal‘s Kate Burton, and Battlestar Gallactica‘s Katee Sackhoff presented awards. In addition to the awards recognizing the best of 2017, the Art Directors Guild honored Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Jurassic Park, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial) with the Cinematic Imagery Award. Oscar-nominated animation filmmakers Ron Clements and John Musker (Moana, Hercules, Aladdin) were the winners of this year’s William Cameron Menzies Award.


The Art Directors Guild members also gave Lifetime Achievement Awards to Production Designer Norm Newberry, Production Designer/Set Designer James Murakami, Scenic Artist John Moffitt, and Senior Illustrator/Art Director Martin Kline. In addition, the late Production Designer Sir Ken Adam (Dr. Strangelove, James Bond) and Senior Illustrator and Bambi‘s Concept Designer Tyrus Wong were inducted into the ADG Hall of Fame.

Art Directors 2018 Award Winners:

    1. PERIOD FILM
    THE SHAPE OF WATER
    Production Designer: PAUL DENHAM AUSTERBERRY

    2. FANTASY FILM
    BLADE RUNNER 2049
    Production Designer: DENNIS GASSNER

    3. CONTEMPORARY FILM
    LOGAN
    Production Designer: FRANÇOIS AUDOUY

    4. ANIMATED FILM
    COCO
    Production Designer: HARLEY JESSUP

    5. One-Hour Period or Fantasy Single-Camera Series
    GAME OF THRONES: “Dragonstone,” “The Queen`s Justice,” “Eastwatch”
    Production Designer: DEBORAH RILEY

    6. One-Hour Contemporary Single-Camera Series
    THE HANDMAID’S TALE: “Pilot, Offred,” “Birth Day,” “Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum”
    Production Designer: JULIE BERGHOFF

    7. Television Movie or LIMITED Series
    BLACK MIRROR: “USS Callister”
    Production Designers: JOEL COLLINS, PHIL SIMS

    8. Half Hour Single-Camera Series
    GLOW: “Pilot,” “The Wrath of Kuntar,” “The Dusty Spur”
    Production Designer: TODD FJELSTED

    9. MULTI-CAMERA Series
    WILL & GRACE: “Eleven Years Later,” “A Gay Olde Christmas”
    Production Designer: GLENDA ROVELLO

    10. Short Format: Web Series, Music Video or Commercial
    STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II: “Rivalry / PS4”
    Production Designer: JASON EDMONDS

    11. Variety or Competition Series/Awards or Event Special
    PORTLANDIA: “Portland Secedes,” “Ants,” “Fred`s Cell Phone Company”
    Production Designer: SCHUYLER TELLEEN