Let's get the other stuff out of the way first. Yes, the Best Picture frontrunners you've expected all during the awards season — "The Artist," "The Descendants," "The Help," "Midnight In Paris" — have all earned PGA Award nominations for the top movie prize, the Darry F. Zanuck Producer Of The Year Award. But as always, it's the surprises that are the most fun, and this year, the PGA has a quite a few up their sleeve.
Let's start with "The Ides Of March." Initially touted as a possible awards contender, that picture has pretty much been completely ignored by critics since it unspooled in Venice, overshadowed by Clooney's other movie, "The Descendants." But this nomination, along with a nod from the Golden Globes, seems to indicate it has played very well among industry types, and suggets it could be a total dark horse come February. Also surprising is "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo," which has received nowhere near the same amount of critical and guild love that "The Social Network" did, but its inclusion here affirms David Fincher as a major awards season player. Meanwhile, pundits figured that the heat behind "Bridesmaids" would only go as far as the populist-skewing Golden Globes, but its appearance among the PGA's nominations suggests that the Kodak Theater may get Apatow-ed next month.
In the documentary category, a very strong group of well reviewed films compete, though Cameron Crowe's "The Union" seems totally random, especially given that, once again, "The Interrupters" has been completely shut down. What is wrong with the documentary branches this year?
Finally, the long form TV category continues the praise of Todd Haynes' fantastic "Mildred Pierce," though it also gives recognition to the critically savaged "The Kennedys" for some reason. We kind of forgot about "Cinema Verite," and nice to see Curtis Hanson's overlooked "Too Big To Fail" get some love.
So why do we even care about the PGA Awards? Well, as far as augurs for the Best Picture go, it's one of the best. The last four winners at the PGAs also took home the Oscar. Just saying. That said, with the new Academy rules in place — which no longer guarantee 10 nominees — some of the outside movies listed here may not make it past the ballot stage. Nominees are listed below, and awards will be handed out on January 21st. [IndieWire]
Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures:
THE ARTIST
Producer: Thomas Langmann
BRIDESMAIDS
Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend
THE DESCENDANTS
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin
THE HELP
Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green
HUGO
Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese
THE IDES OF MARCH
Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum
MONEYBALL
Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt
WAR HORSE
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
The Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
Producers: Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
CARS 2
Producer: Denise Ream
KUNG FU PANDA 2
Producer: Melissa Cobb
PUSS IN BOOTS
Producers: Joe M. Aguilar, Latifa Ouaou
RANGO
Producers: John B. Carls, Gore Verbinski
The David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television:
“Cinema Verite” (HBO)
Producers: Zanne Devine, Karyn McCarthy
“Downton Abbey” (Masterpiece) (PBS)
Producers: Julian Fellowes, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame
“The Kennedys” (ReelzChannel)
Producers: Jon Cassar, Jonathan Koch, Stephen Kronish, Steve Michaels, Michael Prupas, Jamie Paul Rock, Joel Surnow
“Mildred Pierce” (HBO)
Producers: Todd Haynes, Pamela Koffler, Ilene S. Landress, Christine Vachon
“Too Big To Fail” (HBO)
Producers: Carol Fenelon, Jeffrey Levine, Paula Weinstein
*The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and mini-series.
The Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
Producers: Michael Rapaport, Edward Parks (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion)
BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK
Producer: Philip Gefter
PROJECT NIM
Producer: Simon Chinn
SENNA
Producer: James Gay-Rees
THE UNION
Producers: Cameron Crowe, Michelle Panek