The Shape of Water isn’t in the running for Best Makeup Oscar

Last Updated on July 21, 2021

The fact that Guillermo del Toro's new film THE SHAPE OF WATER might be up for some major Academy Awards would seem like a long shot simply because it's a genre movie with roots in CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, and the big awards rarely go to genre movies. Still, those who have seen it, like our own Chris Bumbray, have said that it's so well crafted that it could receive some Oscar nominations.

Collider's Adam Chitwood called the film "a major Oscar contender across the board" and yesterday he pointed out some disappointing news on that front. Given that one of the lead characters in THE SHAPE OF WATER is an aquatic creature played by Doug Jones, you'd think its best chance for a nomination would be in the Best Makeup category. Unfortunately, the film didn't make it into the list of ten contenders chosen by the Makeup & Hairstyling branch of the Academy. The films that did: 

– Bright

– Darkest Hour

– Ghost in the Shell

– Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2

– I, Tonya

– Victoria & Abdul

– Wonder

As of right now, I've only seen one of the movies on that list (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2), but I'm fairly certain that at least a couple of them don't feature any makeup effects that would even come close to the creature in THE SHAPE OF WATER.

This is an odd turn of events, but there is still hope that THE SHAPE OF WATER could earn some nominations in other categories. (It is on the top 10 list for Outstanding Visual Effects, and it scored 7 Golden Globes nominations.) If it does, the fact that it missed out on a Makeup nomination will be even more baffling.

Starring Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins, and Michael Stuhlbarg, THE SHAPE OF WATER centers on 

Elisa (Hawkins), a lonely mute woman who is trapped in a life of silence and isolation within the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works. Her life is changed forever when she and her co-worker Zelda (Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.

Currenly playing in select theatres, THE SHAPE OF WATER goes wide tomorrow, December 22nd.