"Hugo" bested one of its Oscar rivals for Best Art Direction, "The Artist," when it won the Period Film prize at the 16th annual Art Directors Guild Awards on Saturday. Another Oscar nominee, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," claimed the Fantasy Film award while "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" won the Contemporary kudo.

The other two Oscar nominees — "Midnight in Paris" and "War Horse" — failed to contend at these kudos which signals almost certain disappointment for them at the Academy Awards. In the first 15 years of these kudos, the eventual Oscar champ has always been found among the nominees in the various categories. 

With his work on "Hugo," Dante Ferretti finally won over the ADG after five losing bids. For two of those, he picked up nice consolation prizes as he won Oscars for both "The Aviator" (2004) and "Sweeney Todd" (2007).

The "Harry P…