Producers Guild Awards Nominees Announced

Is their award a crystal ball with a little Oscar in it?

I know–more nominees? Producers? Who cares? But if you’re Oscar watching, you should care, as the PGAs have proved a pretty good barometer of the Best Picture Academy Award over the last few years. Remember, producers–and there are many of them–actually vote on the Oscars.

Over the last few years, the PGAs have also been the award that indicates a turning of the tide. Remember when hopes were high for “Avatar?” Those hopes became very low when “The Hurt Locker” took the PGA and then went on to win Best Picture. And remember when “The Social Network” was the leader of the awards/nominations pack last year? “The King’s Speech” won the PGA and never looked back as it sprinted to a Best Picture win.

Right now our leaders are “The Artist” and “The Descendants.” Who could break out of the crowded field of others? I know the producers all understand how hard Rachael Horovitz worked to keep “Moneyball” together, so maybe there’s some insider sentiment to give the award there. But if we’re picking something that could suddenly start to sneak up on everyone as a serious contender, then…I’ll guess “War Horse.”

The awards will be given out on January 21st. Here are the nominees for feature film and best animated feature.

Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures:

THE ARTIST
Producer: Thomas Langmann

BRIDESMAIDS
Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend

THE DESCENDANTS
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin

THE HELP
Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green

HUGO
Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese

THE IDES OF MARCH
Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

MONEYBALL
Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt

WAR HORSE
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg