2016 Producers Guild (PGA) Nominees – Ex Machina Surprises; Carol, Room Snubbed

The Producers Guild of America have spoken and their Best Pictures of 2015 are a bevy of boys clubs picks. In what supposed to a ‘Year of the Woman,’ only two female-led films, including Brooklyn, survived the PGA cut today. Sicario also proved that its guild strength is very strong, securing a nomination today after its mentions with the American Cinema Editors and Art Directors Guild yesterday and today, respectively. It’s now a serious contender. Carol and Room, early Oscar favorites, found themselves underneath the glass ceiling once again.

Another serious contender, and props to Scott Feinberg for calling this early, is Straight Outta Compton. With nominations/mentions from AFI, the Screen Actors Guild and now the Producers Guild, the F. Gary Gray-directed biopic of the rap group N.W.A. is now in a very comfortable place for a Best Picture Oscar nomination. But really, what else could it get? Best Original Screenplay? Feinberg has pegged Gray as a top 5 directing contender so that could change things up immensely. It certainly would help curtail the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag and Chris Rock jokes on Oscar night.

But what about Carol and Room? Maybe that hashtag should now read #OscarsSoMale because outside of Brooklyn and Sicario this is a bleak year for women-led films. It wasn’t that long ago that Suffragette was looking like an Oscar contender and a potential female Best Director nominee (you can still count all of them on two hands) but that disappeared quickly. The Weinstein Company, once it decides on its main horses in the race, rarely fails to get their #1 in but this year both Carol and The Hateful Eight were snubbed. Now, in 2013 Philomena also didn’t make the cut at PGA but still wound up as a Best Pic nominee. Can Harvey make it happen once again? What happened to Room? By all accounts A24 has run a pitch-perfect campaign for the film and it should have made it in. But, the PGA can lean to be pretty blockbuster and/or studio heavy as this group proves. Looking at the crossover (below) of PGA to Oscar it’s often a small but successful indie that is snubbed here that shows up at the Oscars (Winter’s Bone, Amour, A Serious Man, The Tree of Life, Philomena) so there is hope yet. But it wasn’t all bad news for A24; their other big film, Ex Machina, was the surprise inclusion of the day. Could it play out like District 9 did in 2009?

Interesting snubs came in the form of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Trumbo. The former being (almost) the biggest movie of all time and the latter coming in with huge guild support, including three SAG nominations.

In all, the PGA went 3/5 with SAG. Spotlight, The Big Short and Straight Outta Compton now have major precursors going into next week’s Oscar nominations. Spotlight and The Big Short have Golden Globe Best Picture nominations. The BAFTAs will be announced on Friday.

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

The Big Short
Producers: Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner

Bridge of Spies
Producers: Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt, Kristie Macosko Krieger

Brooklyn
Producers: Finola Dwyer & Amanda Posey

Ex Machina
This film is in the process of being vetted for producer eligibility

Mad Max: Fury Road
Producers: Doug Mitchell & George Miller

The Martian
Producers: Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer, Mark Huffam

The Revenant
Producers: Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent, Keith Redmon

Sicario
Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Edward L. McDonnell, Molly Smith

Spotlight
Producers: Michael Sugar & Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Blye Pagon Faust

Straight Outta Compton
Producers: Ice Cube & Matt Alvarez, F. Gary Gray, Dr. Dre, Scott Bernstein

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

Anomalisa
Producers: Rosa Tran, Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman

The Good Dinosaur
Producer: Denise Ream

Inside Out
Producer: Jonas Rivera

Minions
Producers: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy

The Peanuts Movie
Producers: Craig Schulz, Michael J. Travers

The 27th Annual Producers Guild Awards will be held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel on January 23rd, 2016.

Once again, here is the correlation between AFI, PGA and the Oscar…

Previously announced Producers Guild of America honorees:

The Milestone Award: Jim Gianopulos

The Milestone Award is the PGA’s highest honor, recognizing an individual or team who has made historic contributions to the entertainment industry. In the past, the Guild has paid tribute to such industry leaders as Clint Eastwood, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Ron Meyer, Bob & Harvey Weinstein, Bob Iger, and the 2015 recipient Jon Feltheimer, among others.

Jim Gianopulos: “One of the great benefits of this job is to work with incredibly talented filmmakers and executives. I am truly thrilled to be honored and to celebrate their achievements with this prestigious award.”

The David O. Selznick Achievement Award: David Heyman

The David O. Selznick Achievement Award recognizes a producer’s outstanding body of work in motion pictures.  The 2015 recipient of the David O. Selznick Award was Gale Anne Hurd. Previous recipients include Stanley Kramer, Billy Wilder, Clint Eastwood, Jerry Bruckheimer, Brian Grazer, Laura Ziskin, Kathleen Kennedy & Frank Marshall, Scott Rudin and Steven Spielberg.

David Heyman:  “I am honored to receive this award, named after such a giant of the industry, from my peers at the PGA. And as I look at the list of past recipients I am deeply humbled to join an illustrious group of filmmakers who have been such an inspiration to me over the years.”

The Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television: Shonda Rhimes

The Norman Lear Achievement Award recognizes a producer’s outstanding body of work in television.  The 2015 recipient of the Norman Lear Award was Mark Gordon. Previous recipients include Chuck Lorre, J.J. Abrams, Dick Wolf, Jerry Bruckheimer, Lorne Michaels, David L. Wolper, Aaron Spelling, Carsey/Werner/Mandabach, Steven Bochco, David E. Kelley, Mark Burnett and Norman Lear, himself.

Shonda Rhimes:  “To be the recipient of an award bestowed upon me by my peers in the PGA is truly an honor. The fact that the award is named after a legendary producer whose work has had such an inspiring effect on my growth as a writer is genuinely gratifying. I couldn’t be more grateful for this special recognition.”

The Stanley Kramer Award: The Hunting Ground

The Stanley Kramer Award was established in 2002 to honor a production, producer or other individual whose achievement or contribution illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues. Producer/director Stanley Kramer created some of the most powerful work in the history of American motion pictures, including such classics as InheritThe Wind, On The Beach, The Defiant Ones, and Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. The Stanley Kramer Award is determined by a seven-person committee appointed by the PGA’s Board of Directors, and operates independently of the Producers Guild Awards committee and the PGA staff.

Previous recipients of the Stanley Kramer Award include: An Inconvenient Truth, Hotel Rwanda, In America, Antwone Fisher, Precious, In The Land of Blood and Honey, Bully, Fruitvale Station and the 2015 honoree, The Normal Heart.

Producers Guild Awards Co-Chairs Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd: “This powerful documentary gives a voice to the victims of student sexual assault – a national problem too long clouded in secrecy and shielded from public attention. The visceral reaction this film evokes has mobilized audiences worldwide to take action, and has served as a focal point in campus discussions and in revising institutional policies. The Producers Guild is honored to recognizeThe Hunting Ground and its contribution towards greater awareness of this national problem.”

The Visionary Vanguard Award: Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)

In prior years, the Guild presented its Visionary Award and Vanguard Award to separate recipients. This year, in light of the unique nature of ILM’s contributions to technology and entertainment, the Guild has combined the two awards into a single and distinctive honor. The Producers Guild 2016 Visionary Vanguard Award is sponsored by Delta Air Lines.

Lynwen Brennan:  “On behalf of all of us at Industrial Light & Magic I’d like to thank the Producers Guild for recognizing the company’s contribution to the film industry throughout the past 40 years. It’s been an incredible adventure since the day George Lucas first assembled his team of dreamers to create the special effects forStar Wars. Now, some 300 films later we’ve had the privilege of helping some of the mostvisionary filmmakers inthe industry create iconic moments that are forever part of our collective memory. I have been with ILM since 1986 and have been fortunate to have worked with some of the finest producers in the business,” added John Knoll. “The collaboration between filmmakers and the visual effects industry has never been closer, and it is great to be honored by our allies and friends that help us create the images that were dared to dream.”