Though the Golden Globes had everyone wondering if the Oscars might be getting ready to anointAlejandro González Iñárritu, and his portentous wilderness-revenge filmThe Revenant, with the big statues, the announcement of the Producers Guild of America winners has thrown a bit of a wrench in that prognostication. PGA awards are notorious indicators, along with the DGA, of where the Academy Awards will head with the big award, which should be expected with the amount of overlap between the make-up of the PGA and the beleaguered Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
So, the fact that the PGA put their crown onAdam McKay’sThe Big Short, the entertaining financial-crisis dramedy, shows that there might be a bit of a scramble with who will end up winning the Best Picture race. I must say that, on a personal note, I’m much more in favor of McKay’s film, asThe Revenantstruck me as a film that leans hard on its style and, especially, the work of DPEmmanuel Lubezkifor what is, ultimately, a silly yet strikingly self-serious B-movie premise. In contrast, McKay’s film has some genuinely daring decisions for a relatively straightforward story, including the derided asides by the likes ofSelena GomezandMargot Robbie, but it doesn’t look as good on the big screen asThe Revenantdoes.
Other winners on the list includeInside Outfor best animated film andAmy, which uses audio interviews and pre-recorded footage to tell the tragic story of the lateAmy Winehouse, for best documentary; both films are up for Oscars as well. On the TV side,Game of Thrones,Transparent, andFargo’s exemplary second season came out on top, as well asLast Week Tonight with John Oliver, arguably the most daring show on television right now. The TV awards don’t shake the tree too much, but a win forThe Big ShortoverThe Revenantand other favorites likeSpotlightandMad Max: Fury Roadsurely complicates the bigger race, which has shared its big winner with the PGA for eight years running, if one counts the 2013 draw between12 Years a SlaveandGravity.
Here’s the full list of winners from the PGA awards:
The theatrical motion picture winners are:
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:
Producers: Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
Producer:Jonas Rivera
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
Producer:James Gay-Rees
The television winners are:
The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:
The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and mini-series.
Producers:Noah Hawley, John Cameron, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Warren Littlefield, Kim Todd
The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:
Producers: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, Carolyn Strauss, Bryan Cogman, Lisa McAtackney, Chris Newman, Greg Spence
The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:
Producers: Jill Soloway, Andrea Sperling, Victor Hsu, Nisha Ganatra, Rick Rosenthal, Bridget Bedard
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
Producers: Marc Smerling, Andrew Jarecki, Jason Blum
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:
Producers: Audrey Morrissey, Mark Burnett, John de Mol, Marc Jansen, Lee Metzger, Chad Hines, Jim Roush, Kyra Thompson, Mike Yurchuk, Amanda Zucker, Carson Daly
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:
