The Best Makeup and Hairstyling Predictions for the 2023 Oscars
Are you excited for the upcoming 95th Academy Awards? One of the most exciting categories to watch is the makeup and hairstyling category. This year’s shortlist is packed with amazing and diverse talent, making it difficult to predict the final nominees. As the awards season approaches, we at IndieWire have been keeping a close eye on the frontrunners and possible winners. In this post, we’ll be sharing our preliminary Best Makeup and Hairstyling predictions for the 2023 Oscars.
State of the Race
The makeup/hairstyling shortlist this year is perhaps one of the most diverse we’ve seen in years. However, it’s clear that the branch continues to adore amazing transformations. The last five MUAHS Oscars have gone to transforming historical figures. This year’s standouts are “The Whale,” “The Batman,” and “Elvis.” They are joined by “Babylon,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Blonde,” and the surprising “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Amsterdam,” “Emancipation,” and “Crimes of the Future.”
Innovative Work
The most innovative work of the season can be found in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” where Brendan Fraser is transformed into a 600-pound English teacher through the first-time use of all-digital prosthetic makeup for a major feature. Prosthetic makeup designer Adrien Morot pioneered this technique, pushing Fraser’s weight to the severest extreme without covering his face and obfuscating his emotional range of expression.
Unrecognizable Prosthetic Work
However, the most unrecognizable prosthetic work can be found in Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” where Colin Farrell is transformed into Oz/Penguin, the low-level gangster, without being inhibited at all in delivering his funny, volatile performance. Prosthetic makeup artist Michael Marino provided a total transformation: scarred, swollen face, bald forehead, fat suit to add more girth.
Dreamy Eyelashes and Eye Makeup
For Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis,” Best Actor Oscar frontrunner Austin Butler was transformed into Elvis Presley in a progression from the ’50s through the ’70s. This unbelievable transformation was led by Shane Thomas (hair and makeup designer), two-time Oscar winner Mark Coulier (prosthetics designer), and Jason Baird (prosthetics supervisor). They colored the actor’s hair for the early ’50s, but wigs were employed for the later years of Presley’s life. Facial prosthetics were applied and became more chiseled as Presley got older and his jawline hardened. And his dreamy eyelashes and eye makeup completed the look.
Craft Recognition
David O. Russell’s screwball mystery, “Amsterdam,” finally got some craft recognition, with makeup head Nana Fischer and co-hair heads Lori McCoy-Bell and Adruitha Lee keeping to the ’30s era without idealizing it for post-war buddies Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington. In addition to referencing period mugshots, they were influenced by Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, Clara Bow, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, and William Powell.
Prosthetic Highlights
David Cronenberg’s body horror thriller “Crimes of the Future” provided one of the season’s prosthetic highlights with the creepy underground performance artist known as the Ear Man (Tassos Karahalios). Prosthetics co-designers Alexandra Anger and Monica Pavez stitched him together with nearly 40 ears and other assorted body parts.
Tour de Force
In Antoine Fuqua’s historical actioner, “Emancipation,” Will Smith’s scarred body as runaway slave Peter (loosely based on real-life Gordon) was a tour de force for the team of makeup head Ken Diaz, prosthetic makeup artist Christien Tinsley, and hair head Andrea Mona Bowman. They applied all of the fake wounds and other dirty and nasty touches to authenticate the legendary transformation.
Fine Details
Working on Edward Berger’s harrowing World War I drama, “All Quiet on the Western Front,” makeup and hair designer Heike Merker immersed herself in the fine details of applying mud to protagonist Paul (Felix Kammerer) and his fellow soldiers on the battlefield since they spend most of their time crawling around in a rain-soaked dirty mess.
Frontrunners:
Here are our preliminary predictions for the Best Makeup and Hairstyling category:
“The Whale” (A24)
“Elvis” (Warner Bros.)
“The Batman” (Warner Bros.)
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Marvel/Disney)
“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Netflix)
Contenders:
Here are some of the other movies that we think have a chance of getting nominated:
“Amsterdam” (20th Century)
“Babylon” (Paramount)
“Crimes of the Future” (Neon)
“Blonde” (Neflix)
“Emancipation” (Apple)
Conclusion
The makeup and hairstyling category is one of the most exciting categories to watch at the Oscars. With so much diverse talent and amazing transformations, it’s always a treat to see who takes home the award. Whether you’re rooting for “The Whale,” “Elvis,” or “The Batman,” we can’t wait to see who will be nominated and who will ultimately win the award. Remember to keep checking back with IndieWire for all our 2023 Oscar picks.
