Nominees for ADG Awards Announced, “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses” Production Design Acknowledged
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone last year, Warner Bros. pitted Harry Potter fans against one another in a four-part quiz show called Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses. In an interview to promote the televised trivia tournament, executive producers Robin Ashbrook and Yasmin Shackleton discussed the development of the miniseries and made mention of the beautiful set created for the show. Regarding the Hogwarts Tournament of Houses set, Ashbrook declared its design “the most incredible set design of a show [they’ve] ever worked on.” It seems that others are taking notice because the Art Directors Guild (ADG) acknowledged the set design with a nomination for an ADG Award.
Last Monday, the ADG announced the nominations for its annual ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards (ADG Awards), and the set design for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses is getting the love it deserves. Production designer John Janavs was nominated in the Variety, Reality or Competition Series category for the premiere episode, “Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff.”
Rather than re-create any memorable locations from the Potter movies, the production designer opted for an original set that was meant to capture the tone and feel of Hogwarts. In fact, the team was inspired by a library in Porto, Portugal, that is rumored to have been the direct inspiration for Hogwarts. Overall, a lot of care and thought was put into the set, including, for example, replicating green tile that was originally used on the Ministry of Magic set from the flicks. And lastly, the finishing magical touch was sprinkling props from the Potter films like Dumbledore’s hat, Tom Riddle’s diary, the Golden Snitch, and Harry’s broom on the stage.
Aside from Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses, the ADG has also nominated other productions featuring Wizarding World alumni such as The Tragedy of Macbeth, starring Harry Melling (Dudley Dursley) and Brendan Gleeson (Mad-Eye Moody); Cruella, starring Dame Emma Thompson (Professor Trelawney); The Green Knight, starring Ralph Ineson (Amycus Carrow); and Raya and the Last Dragon, featuring Gemma Chan (Madam Ya Zhou in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them).
The Art Directors Guild is a labor union that represents artisans and craftspersons working in the entertainment industry such as production designers, set designers, illustrators, matte artists, previs artists, and model makers. The 26th annual ADG Awards will take place on March 5.
Congratulations are in order for the nominees. Check out the relevant list of nominations below:
PERIOD FEATURE FILM
— The French Dispatch
— Licorice Pizza
— Nightmare Alley
— The Tragedy of Macbeth
— West Side Story
FANTASY FEATURE FILM
— Cruella
— Dune
— Ghostbusters: Afterlife
— The Green Knight
— Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
— Encanto
— Luca
— The Mitchells vs. the Machines
— Raya and the Last Dragon
— Sing 2
VARIETY, REALITY OR COMPETITION SERIES
— A Black Lady Sketch Show: “If I’m Paying These Chili’s Prices, You Cannot Taste My Steak!”
— Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses: “Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff”
— RuPaul’s Drag Race: “Condragulations,” “Bossy Rossy Ruboot,” “Gettin’ Lucky”
— Saturday Night Live: “Host: Dan Levy & Music: Phoebe Bridgers,” “Host: Maya Rudolph & Music: Jack Harlow,” “Host: Kim Kardashian West & Music: Halsey”
— Waffles & Mochi: “Tomato”
Be sure to check out the full list of ADG Awards nominations to see if any of your favorite TV shows or movies from last year managed a nod.
Do you think that the production designer for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses deserves an award? What did you like most about the set? Let us know in the comments.
