Movies

Producers Guild Honors 'The Artist' As Best Film Of 2011; Best Picture Oscar To Follow?

By Russ Fischer

Last night the Producers Guild of America (PGA) gave out awards for achievement in films and television released in 2011. The big winner was The Artist, which took home the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures. As the winner of this award takes the Best Picture Oscar three times out of four, any betting on the top Oscar honor is pretty much over at this point.

Read on for the full list of winners.

The PGA website provides the list. In each case I've left the full slate of nominees, and winners are bolded. I'm happy to see the excellent A Tribe Calle Quest doc, Beats, Rhymes and Life, picking up the award for best documentary.

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of 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

    The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

  • THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

    • Producers: Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg

  • CARS 2

    • Producer: Denise Ream

  • KUNG FU PANDA 2

    • Producer: Melissa Cobb

  • PUSS IN BOOTS

    • Producers: Joe M. Aguilar, Latifa Ouaou

  • RANGO

    • Producers: John B. Carls, Gore Verbinski

    The television nominees and winners are:

    The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:

  • "Cinema Verite" (HBO)

    • Producers: Zanne Devine, Karyn McCarthy

  • "Downton Abbey" (Masterpiece) (PBS)

    • Producers: Julian Fellowes, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame

  • "The Kennedys" (ReelzChannel)

    • Producers: Jon Cassar, Jonathan Koch, Stephen Kronish, Steve Michaels, Michael Prupas, Jamie Paul Rock, Joel Surnow

  • "Mildred Pierce" (HBO)

    • Producers: Todd Haynes, Pamela Koffler, Ilene S. Landress, Christine Vachon

  • "Too Big To Fail" (HBO)

    • Producers: Carol Fenelon, Jeffrey Levine, Paula Weinstein

    *The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and mini-series.

    The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:

  • BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST

    • Producers: Debra Koffler, Frank Mele, Edward Parks, Michael Rapaport

  • BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK

    • Producer: Philip Gefter

  • PROJECT NIM

    • Producer: Simon Chinn

  • SENNA

    • Producer: James Gay-Rees

  • THE UNION

    • Producers: Cameron Crowe, Michelle Panek

    The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:

  • "30 Rock" (NBC)

    • Producers: Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Marci Klein, Jerry Kupfer, Lorne Michaels, David Miner, Jeff Richmond, John Riggi, Don Scardino

  • "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS)

    • Producers:  Chuck Lorre, Steve Molaro, Faye Oshima, Bill Prady

  • "Glee" (FOX)

    • Producers: Ian Brennan, Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Kenneth Silverstein

  • "Modern Family" (ABC)

    • Producers: Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Morton, Jeffrey Richman, Dan O'Shannon, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker

  • "Parks and Recreation" (NBC)

    • Producers: Greg Daniels, Dan Goor, Howard Klein, Amy Poehler, Morgan Sackett, Michael Schur

    The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:

  • "Boardwalk Empire" (HBO)

    • Producers: Eugene Kelly, Howard Korder, Stephen Levinson, Martin Scorsese, Rudd Simmons, Tim Van Patten, Terence Winter

  • "Dexter" (Showtime)

    • Producers: Sara Colleton, John Goldwyn, Chip Johannessen, Robert Lloyd Lewis

  • "Game of Thrones" (HBO)

    • Producers: David Benioff, Frank Doelger, Mark Huffam, Carolyn Strauss, D.B. Weiss

  • "The Good Wife" (CBS)

    • Producers: Brooke Kennedy, Michelle King, Robert King, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, David W. Zucker

  • "Mad Men" (AMC)

    • Producers: Jonathan Abrahams, Scott Hornbacher, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Blake McCormick, Dwayne Shattuck, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner

    The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:

  • "The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central)

    • Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion)

  • "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" (Syndicated)

    • Producers: Mary Connelly, Ellen DeGeneres, Melissa Geiger Schrift, Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner, Kevin A. Leman II, Jonathan Norman, Derek Westervelt

  • "Real Time with Bill Maher" (HBO)

    • Producers: Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Dean Johnsen, Bill Maher, Billy Martin

  • "Saturday Night Live" (NBC)

    • Producers: Ken Aymong, Steve Higgins, Erik Kenward, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney

  • "The 64th Annual Tony Awards" (CBS)

    • Producers: Ricky Kirshner, Glenn Weiss

    The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:

  • "The Amazing Race" (CBS)

    • Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo

  • "American Idol" (FOX)

    • Producers: Charles Boyd, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Simon Fuller, Patrick Lynn, Nigel Lythgoe, Megan Michaels, Ken Warwick

  • "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC)

    • Producers: Ashley Edens Shaffer, Conrad Green, Joe Sungkur, Rob Wade

  • "Project Runway" (Lifetime)

    • Producers: Jane Cha Cutler, Desiree Gruber, Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Jonathan Murray, Sara Rea, Colleen Sands

  • "Top Chef" (Bravo)

    • Producers: Daniel Cutforth, Casey Kriley, Jane Lipsitz, Dan Murphy, Nan Strait

    The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:

  • "30 for 30" (ESPN)

    • Producers: John Dahl, Connor Schell, Bill Simmons

  • "American Masters" (PBS)

    • Producers: Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks

  • "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" (Travel Channel)

    • Producers: Christopher Collins, Julie Lei, Lydia Tenaglia, Tom Vitale

  • "Deadliest Catch" (Discovery Channel)

    • Producers: Thom Beers, Jeff Conroy, John Gray, Sheila McCormack, Ethan Prochnik, Bill Pruitt, Matt Renner

  • "Undercover Boss" (CBS)

    • Producers: Chris Carlson, Susan Hoenig, Eli Holzman, Sandi Johnson, Stephen Lambert, Allison Schermerhorn

    **Below are new categories for the 2012 Producers Guild Awards; three television categories and one web category. As such, these programs were not vetted for producer eligibility this year.

    News Programs:

  • "Anderson Cooper 360" (CNN)
  • "BBC World News America" (BBC)
  • "NBC News with Brian Williams" (NBC)
  • "The Rachel Maddow Show" (MSNBC)
  • "60 Minutes" (CBS)

    • Sports Programs: (*There was a tie, which is why there are six nominees.)

  • "Monday Night Football" (ESPN)
  • "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" (HBO)
  • "Sports Center" (ESPN)
  • "30 for 30" (ESPN)
  • "2010 FIFA World Cup" (ABC / ESPN / ESPN2)
  • "U.S. Open Tennis Championship" (CBS / ESPN2 / Tennis Channel)

    • Children's Programs:

  • "Dora the Explorer" (Nickelodeon)
  • "iCarly" (Nickelodeon)
  • "Phineas and Ferb" (Disney Channel)
  • "Sesame Street" (PBS)
  • "SpongeBob Squarepants" (Nickelodeon)

    • Web Series:

  • "Ask a Ninja" (blip.tv)
  • "The Guild" (WatchTheGuild.com)
  • "Parks and Recreation Presents: 'April & Andy's Road Trip'" (NBC.com)
  • "30 Rock Presents Jack Donaghy, Executive Superhero" (NBC.com)
  • "Web Therapy" (LStudio.com)
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