Achievement in Makeup Oscar features three outstanding teams

By April MacIntyre Jan 25, 2012, 12:38 GMT

Special make-up effects designer Matthew Mungle (Oscar winner-Dracula); make-up department head Lynn Johnson and hairstylist Martial Corneville. This team transformed Glenn Close from a woman to a man.

The Oscar race in underway as yesterday we learned of the final three nominees for the category of makeup/hair.

The previous annual makeup/hair "bake-off" (Nominating Meeting of the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) was held Saturday, Jan. 21 in Hollywood.

Leonard Engelman, Governor of the Academy's Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch, contacted Monsters and Critics regarding this talented group of nominees: "This year was one of the strongest in the makeup category in a long time—all seven of the films."

Academy voting members winnowed the Achievement in Makeup Oscar from seven to three teams. The final nominated films are Albert Nobbs, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II and The Iron Lady.

For the upcoming makeup Symposium on February 25, each of the three teams will showcase an extended clip of their work and sit in panel to talk about their unique process with their professional peer group and a general audience. 

The final three nominated for Achievement in Makeup Oscar are:

Oscar Watch 2012: Top three contenders,

Albert Nobbs: Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnson, Matthew W. Mungle

Special make-up effects designer Matthew Mungle (Oscar winner-Dracula); make-up department head Lynn Johnson and hairstylist Martial Corneville. This team transformed Glenn Close from a woman to a man.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II: Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin

Creature effects/make-up effects designer Nick Dudman, make-up department head Amanda Knight and hair designer Lisa Tomblin, along with their teams, created the astounding makeup for this eighth and final film in the Harry Potter series. This is the first Oscar nomination for all three.

The Iron Lady: Mark Coulier, J. Roy Helland

Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland transformed actress Meryl Streep into former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Coulier is an Emmy Awards-winning artist for Arabian Nights and the 1998 mini-series Merlin, and Helland also won an Emmy Award for Angels in America. Thisis their first Oscar nomination.

The pre-Oscar make-up symposium will be held 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Tickets will be available at www.oscars.org on a first-come, first-served basis starting Feb. 1.

The awards will be presented Feb. 26 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, in a ceremony hosted by Billy Crystal.  The 84th Academy Awards presentation will be aired Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. EST / 4 p.m. PST on ABC.