The Producers Guild of America (PGA)—which recently announced they were expanding the number of nominations in their Producer of the Year award from five to ten—has announced the nominees for their annual awards. The 21st Annual PGA Awards ceremony will be held on 24 January at the Hollywood Palladium. Speculative fiction films did fairly well in the nominations this year. The nominees are:
[Updated to note the winners:]
Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures:
Avatar: produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau
District 9: produced by Carolynne Cunningham and Peter Jackson
An Education: produced by Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey
Winner: The Hurt Locker: produced by Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, and Greg Shapiro
Inglourious Basterds: produced by Lawrence Bender
Invictus: produced by Clint Eastwood, Rob Lorenz, Lori McCreary, and Mace Neufeld
Precious: produced by Lee Daniels, Gary Magness, and Sarah Siegel-Magness
Star Trek: produced by J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof
Up: produced by Jonas Rivera
Up in the Air: producers awaiting final credit determination
PGA Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
9: producers awaiting final credit determination
Coraline: producers awaiting final credit determination
Fantastic Mr. Fox: producers awaiting final credit determination
The Princess and the Frog: produced by Peter Del Vecho
Winner: Up: produced by Jonas Rivera
PGA Producer of the Year Award in Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
nominees listed on this page.
David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television:
nominees listed on this page.
Danny Thomas Producer of the Year Award in Episodic Television—Comedy:
Winner: 30 Rock
Californication
Entourage
The Office
Weeds
Norman Felton Producer of the Year Award in Episodic Television—Drama:
Breaking Bad
Dexter
Lost
Winner: Mad Men
True Blood
PGA Producer of the Year Award in Non-Fiction Television:
nominees listed on this page.
PGA Producer of the Year Award in Live Entertainment and Competition Television:
nominees listed on this page.
In addition to those awards to be voted on, Joss Whedon will receive a special award at the ceremony. The 2010 Vanguard Award “recognizes achievements in new media and technology.” Whedon is “a producer, writer, director, and creator for such hit television programs as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse. He has written several feature film scripts including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Toy Story, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Alien Resurrection, and Titan A.E., and is author of the cultish Dark Horse comic book series Fray. Whedon also created and produced an Internet sensation with the musical superhero spoof Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog, which stars Neil Patrick Harris.” PGA Awards co-chairs David Friendly and Laurence Mark said of the award: “Joss Whedon has mastered the art of melding the newest technology with inspired storytelling, truly exemplifying the spirit of the Vanguard Award.” The full text of the press release announcing the award is on this page.
And John Lasseter will receive the 2010 David O. Selznick Achievement Award, which “is given in recognition of an outstanding body of work in motion pictures.” Lasseter is “a two-time Academy Award-winning director and oversees all films and associated projects from Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. He directed the groundbreaking and award-winning films Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, and Cars. Additionally, his executive producing credits include Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Bolt, and this year’s critically acclaimed Up. He has also written, directe,d and animated a number of highly renowned short films and television commercials for Pixar, including ‘Luxo Jr.” (1986 Academy Award nominee); ‘Red’s Dream’ (1987); ‘Tin Toy’ (1988 Academy Award winner); and ‘Knick Knack’ (1989), which was produced as a 3D stereoscopic film. Pixar’s ‘Tin Toy’ was the first computer animated film to win an Oscar.” Announcing the award, Friendly and Mark said “John Lasseter is a uniquely talented producer with the rare combination of technical ingenuity and creative vision. He’s a wonderful storyteller, consistently displaying extraordinary skill, humanity and grace. John’s work with both Pixar and Disney has raised the bar for producers in live-action films as well as in animation, and we’re excited to be honoring him with the Selznick Award this year.” The full text of his press release is on this page.