Producers Guild Awards say 'You can't sit with us!' to the blockbusters

by Nathaniel R

The Producers Guild of America has spoken and even though in past years they've shown a fondness for superheros and blockbusters nominating films like Star Trek, Wonder Woman, and Deadpool, this year they've dashed the Oscar dreams of the 8th Spider-Man movie and the 25th official James Bond movie and selected only Dune to represent big franchise filmmaking. The "surprise" nomination, though it really shouldn't be considered a surprise given that they even nominated Molly's Game, was Aaron Sorkin's Being the Ricardos. Their nominees are as follows...

OUTSTANDING PRODUCER OF A THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURE

• BEING THE RICARDOS - Todd Black
• BELFAST - Laura Berwick, Kenneth Branagh, Becca Kovacik, Tamar Thomas
• CODA - Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi, Patrick Wachsberger
• DON'T LOOK UP - Adam McKay, Kevin Messick
• DUNE - Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Denis Villeneuve
• KING RICHARD - Tim White, Trevor White, Will Smith
• LICORICE PIZZA - Sara Murphy, Paul Thomas Anderson, Adam Sommer
• THE POWER OF THE DOG - Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Roger Frappier
• TICK TICK BOOM! - Julie Oh, Lin-Manuel Miranda
• WEST SIDE STORY - Steven Spielberg, Kristie Mackosko Krieger

This is a big get for Being the Ricardos which we've been predicting for the 10th spot in Best Picture for some time (though it's felt very vulnerable). Things could still change though. The PGA lineup never transfers fully intact. Here is how it's differed since 2009 when the PGA moved to 10 nominees. In that same time frame Oscar had anywhere between 8-10 nominees so sometimes everything that was nominated for Oscar did in fact get a PGA nomination but the lists have never been an exact duplicate. 

Generally speaking --- very broadly "generally" -- Oscar will choose something that's closer to a smaller production and critical darling when they replace something from the PGA which leans (again very generally speaking) towards bigger spectacles and more mainstream choices.

2020: (PGA only): Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and One Night in Miami
          Oscar replaced with: The Father

2019: (PGA only): Knives Out
           Oscar replaced with: All other nominations matched

Difference of opinion: PGA chose 1917 for its top prize and Oscar went with Parasite.

2018: (PGA only) Crazy Rich Asians and A Quiet Place
          Oscar replaced with: All other nominations matched

2017: (PGA only) The Big Sick, I Tonya, Molly's Game, and Wonder Woman
          Oscar replaced with: Darkest Hour and Phantom Thread

2016: (PGA only) Deadpool
          Oscar replaced with: All other nominations matched.

 Difference of opinion: PGA chose La La Land for its top prize and Oscar went with Moonlight

2015: (PGA only) Ex Machina, Sicario and Straight Outta Compton
          Oscar replaced with: Room 

Difference of opinion: PGA chose The Big Short for its top prize and Oscar went with Spotlight

2014: (PGA only) Foxcatcher, Gone Girl and Nightcrawler
          Oscar replaced with: Selma

2013: (PGA only) Blue Jasmine and Saving Mr Banks
          Oscar replaced with: Philomena

Difference of opinion: NOT REALLY given Oscar outcomes but there was a tie and the PGA chose both Gravity (which won the most Oscars) for its top prize AND 12 Years a Slave which won Best Picture at the Oscars.

2012: (PGA only) Moonrise Kingdom and Skyfall
          Oscar replaced with: Amour

2011: (PGA only) Bridesmaids, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and The Ides of March
          Oscar replaced with: The Tree of Life and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

2010: (PGA only) The Town
          Oscar replaced with: Winter's Bone

2009: (PGA only) Invictus and Star Trek
          Oscar replaced with: The Blind Side and A Serious Man

You have to go back to the early 90s to find a time when the PGA and Oscar were carbon copies of each other. The most recent such year was 1994 when Forrest Gump, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, and Shawshank Redemption competed at both ceremonies. 

OUTSTANDING PRODUCER OF AN ANIMATED MOTION PICTURE

• Encanto, Yvett Merino, Clark Spencer
• Luca, Andrea Warren
• Mitchells vs the Machines, Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Kurt Albrecht
• Raya and the Last Dragon, Osnat Shurer, Peter Del Vecho
• Sing 2, Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy

Guilds are notoriously American-mainstream centric when it comes to animation so it always feels like the foreign films won't get Oscar nods in this category until they do. Flee and Belle are still possible in the Oscar lineup.

OUTSTANDING PRODUCER OF EPISODIC TELEVISION DRAMA

• Handmaids Tale (Season 4)
• The Morning Show (Season 2)
• Squid Game (Season 1)
• Succession (Season 3)
• Yellowstone (Season 4)

OUTSTANDING PRODUCER OF EPISODIC TELEVISION COMEDY 

• Cobra Kai (Seasons 3 & 4)
• Curb your Enthusiasm (Season 11)
• Hacks (Season 1)
• Only Murders in the Building (Season 1)
• Ted Lasso (Season 2)

OUTSTANDING PRODUCER OF LIMITED ANTHOLOGY TELEVISION SERIES 

• Dopesick
• Mare of Easttown
• Underground Railroad
• WandaVision
• The White Lotus

OUTSTANDING PRODUCER OF TELEVISED MOTION PICTURES

• 8 Bit Christmas
• Come From Away
• Oslo
• Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia
• Single All the Way
• Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: Making of Wildflowers

OUTSTANDING PRODUCER OF NON-FICTION TELEVISION 

• 60 Minutes (Season 54)
• Allen V Farrow 
• Beatles Get Back 
• Queer Eye (Season 6)
• Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (Season 1)

OUTSTANDING PRODUCER OF LIVE ENTERTAINMENT, VARIETY, SKETCH, STANDUP, TALK TELEVISION

• Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Season 27)
• Dave Chappelle: The Closer 
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Season 8)
• Late Show with Stephen Colbert (Season 7)
• Saturday Night Live (Season 47)

Producers Guild voters must be upset about "cancel culture" if they're sticking up for Dave Chappelle in the culture wars of 2021 when he kept verbally attacking trans people.  

OUTSTANDING PRODUCER OF GAME & COMPETITION TELEVISION

• America's Got Talent (Season 16)
• Nailed It! (Seasons 5 & 6)
• RuPaul's Drag Race (Season 13)
• Top Chef (Season 18)
• The Voice (season 20)

Comments

[Joe G.]

Very happy to see tick, tick...Boom here. It's an excellent film and, though Netflix has been neglecting it, I hope it makes it into BP. I do think translating that play to film was quite a feat, and they did it all while making it compelling, alive, and a love letter to theater.

On the TV, I don't get how the Morning Show gets a nomination when their getting a new showrunner for season 3. Season 2 was disastrous, and reviled by critics. I do wonder if we're getting to the point that awards bodies just name check streaming shows, without considering network shows.

I'm really surprised that Chapelle's the Closer is here. It's only a PGA award, but really sends a message as to where the industry stands on Trans people.

[Mr Ripley79]

Did they only see the Oscar frontrunners?

[Paranoid Android]

Tick Tick Boom seems a bigger surprise than Ricardos to me since the latter also got the SAG nom. But this would be a very "expected" lineup nonetheless since it's all, more or less, films in the conversation. Apart from Tick and Ricardos, I'd say those last two slots might still be in play for Macbeth, Drive My Car, and Gucci. The other 8 all seemed locked and loaded.

[Raul]

West Side Story surprisingly missed at the ACE and it also missed out with ASC yesterday. Is that worrisome or a symptom of not being widely available to the guilds?

[Dan H]

Sad to see that NIGHTMARE ALLEY looks like it will be a "below the line" (and Blanchett, maybe) contender.

[Frank Zappa]

tick, tick

I like the island Manhattan

BOOOOOOOOOOOM

Smoke on your pipe and put that in

[Rob]

So, is this the general core of the BP lineup then, mostly? It would appear so. I dunno, not the worst lineup ever (not by a loooong shot) but still not that inspiring. My faves are Power of the Dog and Licorice Pizza. While I enjoyed Dune, King Richard, Tick and WSS, I don't think any of them will prove to be for the ages. Still need to see Coda and Belfast.

[Edwin]

Dan H - I still think Guillermo del Toro could be cited by DGA given how popular he seems to be with his fellow directors.

I definitely don’t think this lineup will match 10/10 with Oscars. At a time when movie theaters are threatened, I just can’t see a full half of the Best Picture nominees being produced by streamers (3 Netflix, 1 Amazon, 1 Apple+).

[Peggy Sue]

Wow. The really went with the most mediocre choices available. Good job.

[Jésus Alonso]

While I feel Being the Ricardos shouldn't be nominated for Best Picture, I think that, on paper, it will ring more bells with AMPAS than people assume.