Last night at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles, California history was made as the Producers Guild awarded its top prize in film, the Darryl F. Zanuck award for outstanding producer of a motion picture, to two films. A tie! Since the award was created in 1990 this has never before happened. What is particularly exciting about this occurrence is that the PGA is often the clearest indicator as to which film will win best picture. The PGA and the Oscar Best Picture have lined up every year since 2007. (In 2006 Little Miss Sunshine took the PGA while The Departed ended up winning the Oscar.) With two films now sharing this award (the two most noted front runners leading up to this award) this is officially the closest Oscar best picture race in my lifetime. The only guild left to announce their winners, the Directors Guild, may make things more clear or we could be looking at a rare but not impossible Best Picture/Best Director Oscar split.
Awards in animation, documentary, and television categories were handed out and the choices certainly tickled this author.
Here are the winners…
Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures (TIE!)
Gravity (Producers Alfonso Cuaron and David Heyman)
AND
12 Years a Slave (Producers Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt & DedeGardner)
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Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks
Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
Frozen (Producer Peter Del Vecho)
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David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Longform Television (TV Movies and Miniseries)
Behind the Candelabra (Producers Susan Ekins, Gregory Jacobs, Michael Polaire, Jerry Weintraub)
Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
Breaking Bad (Producers Melissa Bernstein, Sam Catlin, Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Mark Johnson, Stewart Lyons, Michelle MacLaren, George Mastras, Diane Mercer, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett)
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Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy
Modern Family (Producers Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Elaine Ko, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeffrey Morton, Dan O’Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Chris Smirnoff, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker)
Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (Producers Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandra Zweig)
Outstanding Producer of Competition Television
The Voice (Producers Stijn Bakkers, Mark Burnett, John de Mol, Chad Hines, Lee Metzger, Audrey Morrissey, Jim Roush, Kyra Thompson, Nicolle Yaron, Mike Yurchuk, Amanda Zucker)
Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television
The Colbert Report (Producers Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello, Barry Julien, Matt Lappin, Emily Lazar, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart)
Outstanding Sports Program
SportsCenter
Outstanding Children’s Program
Sesame Street
Outstanding Digital Series
Wired: What’s Inside
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