Given its record-shattering 32 Emmy nominations on Tuesday, ‘Game of Thrones’ naturally dominated the craft categories as well for its Season 8 finish, grabbing 17 craft nods. However, HBO’s highly acclaimed limited series ‘Chernobyl’ came in second with 14 craft nods. Also faring well were Amazon’s ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ and FX’s ‘Fosse/Verdon’ with 10 nominations; Netflix’s ‘Russian Doll’ with nine; HBO’s ‘True Detective’ and ‘Barry’ with eight; HBO’s ‘Deadwood’ reunion movie, Netflix’s ‘Our Planet,’ and, surprisingly, last season’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ from Hulu with seven; ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ with six; and Showtime’s ‘Escape at Dannemora,’ Netflix’s ‘When They See Us,’ HBO’s ‘Sharp Objects,’ FX’s ‘Pose,’ Netflix’s ‘Glow,’ and Nat Geo’s ‘Free Solo’ with five.
Among the ‘Thrones’ craft nods: Casting For A Drama Series, Single-Camera Series Cinematography (One Hour), Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes, Hairstyling For A Single-Camera Series, Makeup For A Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic), Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score, Ramin Djawadi), Production Design For A Narrative Period Or Fantasy Program (One Hour Or More), Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Limited Series, Movie Or Special, Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series), Sound Editing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour), Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour), Special Visual Effects, and Stunt Coordination For A Drama Series, Limited Series Or Movie.
While ‘Thrones’ has pretty much ruled costume (Michele Clapton) and production design (Deborah Riley), it has positively owned the VFX category, winning the last six consecutive seasons after losing out its first season. And it’s a lock to take the category one last time. For Season 8, it was nominated for the VFX in Episode 5 (‘The Bells’), in which Dany (Emilia Clarke) unleashes her vengeful destruction of King’s Landing after the ambush of her fleet and the death of her beloved dragon Rhaegal in the previous episode. Weta Digital developed new tech for combining fire and water simulation. Weta was integral to Season 8, contributing more than 600 VFX shots for the epic battles propelled by dragonfire and the large-scale destruction.
The gripping ‘Chernobyl’ miniseries (created by Craig Mazin and directed by Johan Renck), distinguished itself in period/fantasy production design, period costumes, cinematography, editing, hairstyling and makeup, sound editing and mixing, supporting VFX, and original score (Hildur Guðnadóttir). Production designer Luke Hull, in particular, did masterful work in authentically recreating the Soviet nuclear plant in Pripyat, Ukraine. The monstrous-looking plant, with its creepy concrete corridors and piping, served as a major character.
—Indie Wire
