The cavalcade of free booze and single-use dresses known as the American film and TV awards season is upon us, and beyond the somewhat more “prominent” ceremonies – such as the Golden Globes – some of the industry sector award nominees are starting to be revealed, and thus the proverbial measuring stick for the Oscars is being laid down.
The Producers Guild of America awards in particular have served as a solid indicator of the eventual Best Picture winner, having correctly picked out the year’s top flick in the past seven consecutive years.
The PGA nominees are in for this year, and aside from the familiar names which seem to be cropping up at a bunch of different nominee lists, it’s the names that haven’t made the list that raise a few eyebrows. Or at least, it does until you learn the reason why.
The nomination process these days involves studios sending out screener copies of films to voting members of respective guilds or academies. No screeners, no nominations. And that’s exactly what appears to have happened with films like Selma, the Oprah Winfrey-starring Martin Luther King drama, which is a premise ripe for awards mining ordinarily.
Other films notable in their absence from the list of nominated films include Interstellar, Unbroken and Into the Woods. Whilst on the other hand, the Jake Gyllenhaal weight loss tape Nightcrawler makes a surprise appearance.
The full list of nominees for the PGAs is as follows.
2015 PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA AWARDS
Best Feature
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Nightcrawler
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Best Animated Film
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How To Train Your Dragon 2
The LEGO Movie
Best TV Drama
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
House of Cards
True Detective
Best TV Comedy
The Big Bang Theory
Louie
Modern Family
Orange is the New Black
Veep
The PGAs will be handed out in Los Angeles on January 24th.
