The Producers Guild of America announced the nominees for their year-end awards this morning and for the top film category you could argue it was a very commercial list of nominees.
Outside of the cinephile favorite “Call Me By Your Name” the nominees included indie hits such as “The Big Sick,” “Lady Bird,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “The Shape of Water” as well as broad players that are less indie than they seem, “I, Tonya” and “Molly’s Game.” Trow in traditional studio releases such as “The Post,” “Dunkirk” and, surprise, “Wonder Woman” and you have your ten.
The PGA revelations have to be heartbreaking for “The Florida Project,” “Mudbound” “Darkest Hour” and “Phantom Thread” whose chances for a Best Picture nomination are now on thin ice. Since the advent of the expanded category PGA has a pretty good record when it comes to Best Picture nominees. Last year, 9 out of their 10 nominees made the cut (“Deadpool” was the only film not to get nominated). In 2016 and 2015 only seven of the eight nominees were also recognized by PGA. In 2014 and 2013 it was eight of nine. If you assume there will once again be nine nominees that means three of this year’s likely won’t make the cut and one other film not listed, will. Or, your nine nominees are listed below somehow in that mix. At the worst, it certainly makes for an intriguing last week of voting.
As for the television nominations there were few surprises. “The Handmaid’s Tale” joined “The Crown,” “Game of Thrones,” “Stranger Things” and “Big Little Lies” in the episodic drama category (the producers determining HBO’s limited series is no longer such). Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” continued it’s Emmy ascension joining “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Master of None,” “Silicon Valley” and “Veep” in the episodic comedy category. Because of “Big Little Lies'” new designation “Feud: Bette and Joan” has a shot to actually win a limited series or TV movie category if it can overcome “Black Mirror,” “Fargo,” “Sherlock: The Lying Detective” and “Wizard of Lies.”
The PGA Awards will be handed out on Jan. 20 in a ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. Other honors handed out that night include Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley with the Milestone Award, Ryan Murphy with the Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television, Charles Roven with the David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures, the feature film “Get Out” with the Stanley Kramer Award, and Ava DuVernay with the Visionary Award.
A full list of all of this year’s nominees are as follows:
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:
“The Big Sick”
Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel
“Call Me By Your Name”
Producers: Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges, Marco Morabito
“Dunkirk”
Producers: Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
“Get Out”
Producers: Sean McKittrick & Edward H. Hamm, Jr., Jason Blum, Jordan Peele
“I, Tonya”
Producers: Bryan Unkeless, Steven Rogers, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley
“Lady Bird”
Producers: Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Evelyn O’Neill
“Molly’s Game”
Producers: Mark Gordon, Amy Pascal, Matt Jackson
“The Post”
Producers: Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger
“The Shape Of Water”
Producers: Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Producers: Graham Broadbent & Pete Czernin, Martin McDonagh
“Wonder Woman”
Producers: Charles Roven & Richard Suckle, Zack Snyder & Deborah Snyder
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
“The Boss Baby”
Producer: Ramsey Naito
“Coco”
Producer: Darla K. Anderson
“Despicable Me 3”
Producers: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy
“Ferdinand”
Producers: Lori Forte, Bruce Anderson
“The Lego Batman Movie”
Producers: Dan Lin, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures:
The PGA previously announced the nominations in this category on November 20, 2017. Producers who have already been vetted for awards eligibility are listed below and the winner will be announced at the official ceremony on January 20th.
“Chasing Coral”
Producers: Jeff Orlowski, Larissa Rhodes
“City of Ghosts”
Producer: Matthew Heineman
“Cries from Syria”
Producers: Evgeny Afineevsky, Den Tolmor, Aaron I. Butler
“Earth: One Amazing Day”
Producer: Stephen McDonogh
“Jane”
*This film is still in the process of being vetted for producer eligibility this year.
“Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower”
*This film is still in the process of being vetted for producer eligibility this year.
“The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee”
Producers: Teddy Kunhardt, George Kunhardt
The television nominees are listed below in alphabetical order.
The producers of the programs in the following six categories are in the process of being vetted for awards eligibility this year, and the winners will be recognized at the official ceremony on January 20th.
The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:
“Big Little Lies” (Season 1)
“The Crown” (Season 2)
“Game of Thrones” (Season 7)
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Season 1)
“Stranger Things” (Season 2)
The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (Season 9)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Season 1)
“Master of None” (Season 2)
“Silicon Valley” (Season 4)
“Veep” (Season 6)
The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:
The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and limited series.
“Black Mirror” (Season 4)
“Fargo” (Season 3)
“FEUD: Bette and Joan” (Season 1)
“Sherlock: The Lying Detective”
“The Wizard of Lies”
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
“30 for 30” (Season 8)
“60 Minutes” (Season 50)
“Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” (Season 9, Season 10)
“Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath” (Season 1, Season 2)
“Spielberg”
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:
“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” (Season 2)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (Season 15)
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (Season 4)
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (Season 3)
“Saturday Night Live” (Season 43)
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:
“The Amazing Race” (Season 29)
“American Ninja Warrior” (Season 9)
“Lip Sync Battle” (Season 3)
“Top Chef” (Season 14)
“The Voice” (Season 12, Season 13)
The PGA does not vet the individual producers of short-form programs, sports programs, or children’s programs and the winning production will be recognized at the official ceremony on January 20th.
The Award for Outstanding Short-Form Program:
“Better Call Saul’s Los Pollos Hermanos Employee Training” (Season 1)
“Carpool Karaoke” (Season 1)
“Humans of New York: The Series” (Season 1)
“National Endowment for the Arts: United States of Arts” (Season 3)
“Viceland at the Women’s March” (Season 1)
The Award for Outstanding Sports Program:
“All or Nothing: A Season with the Los Angeles Rams” (Season 2)
“Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers” (Season 12)
“Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” (Season 23)
“SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt” (Season 3)
“VICE World of Sports” (Season 2)
The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program:
“Doc McStuffins” (Season 4)
“Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2017”
“School of Rock” (Season 3)
“Sesame Street” (Season 47)
“SpongeBob SquarePants” (Season 10, Season 11)