The Costume Designers Guild have handed out their annual awards.
The Guild is one of the most important precursor awards as a number of Oscar voters also vote for these awards. The guild also has three different film categories. Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine" took home the Best Contemporary award beating out "Her," "Nebraska," "Philomena," and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." The award was Suzy Benzinger's first CDG award.
Trish Summerville won the Best Fantasy Film for her work on "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." The costume designer defeated "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" and "Oz: The Great and Powerful.
The big surprise of the night was the Best Period category. Pundits predicted that Catherine Martin would win for her work on "The Great Gatsby." However, Patricia Norris won for her costumes in "12 Years a Slave." The category is the most important category of the three because it contains three of the Oscar nominees.
The CDG almost always predict the eventual Oscar winner and this year's result may change what most pundits predicted. Recent CDG winners that also went home with the Oscar include Jacqueline Durran for "Anna Karenina," Colleen Atwood for "Alice in Wonderland," Sandy Powell for "The Young Victoria," Michael O'Connor for "The Duchess," and Colleen Atwood for "Memoirs of a Geisha."
The last time the Oscars and CDG diverged was in 2011 when "W.E." won the CDG but "The Artist" ended up winning the Oscar.
As a result, "12 Years a Slave" will have to wait until the final envelope is unveiled. With "The Great Gatsby" winning every precursor, Martin's costumes are still a major threat.
The awards ceremony also saw many stars honored. Amy Adams was honored with the Lacoste Spotlight award. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the award "honors an actor whose talent and career personifies an enduring commitment to excellence, including a special awareness of the role and importance of costume design." The actress is well known for acting in period pieces including "Catch Me If You Can," "Enchanted," "The Master," and her latest Oscar nominated film "American Hustle." The award was presented by her "Hustle" co-star Jeremy Renner.
Meanwhile, Judd Apatow received the Distinguished Collaborator Award, which was presented by Bill Hader and Jonah Hill, who frequently work with Apatow.
The honorary Career Achievement award was given to April Ferry for her work on television and film. The costume designer is best known for her work on "Donnie Darko," "Elysium," "The Edge of Love," and the most recent "RoboCop." The designer was nominated for the Academy Awards for her work on Richard Donner's "Maverick."
On the TV side, Ellen Mirojnick took home the Best Costume Design Awaward in a Miniseries or TV Movie for her work on "Behind the Candelabra." Meanwhile, Caroline McCall won for work on "Downton Abbey" in Period Fantasy TV series. The contemporary category in TV was given to Tom Broecker's work for "House of Cards.
The CDG represents costume Designer, Assistant Costume Designers and Costume Illustrators work at the highest levels of skill and expertise in motion pictures, television and commercials. The CDG promotes and protects the economic status of its members while improving working conditions and raising standards for their craft.