There’s no more reliable Oscar precursor for Best Picture than the Producers Guild of America, known as the Darryl F. Zanuck Award. .
The PGA, which is around the same size as the Academy — both have around 10,000 members — and which shares the preferential voting system, has matched with the Oscar Best Picture winner 12 out of the last 15 years.
This morning, the 10 nominees for the 36th annual Producers Guild of America were announced, and given past history, these could very well be our best picture nominees.
ANORA
THE BRUTALIST
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
CONCLAVE
DUNE: PART TWO
EMILIA PEREZ
A REAL PAIN
SEPTEMBER 5
THE SUBSTANCE
WICKED
Snubbed, and with now a much narrower path to Oscar acceptance, were “Nickel Boys,” “Sing Sing,” “Challengers,” and “Gladiator II.”
How about “September 5’? Surprising absolutely everyone (except Scott Feinberg) and with zero awards season momentum to its name, somehow managing to sneak in a PGA nomination. It now looks as though that final #10 slot for Best Picture will come down to “September 5,” “Nickel Boys” or “Sing Sing.”
The PGA mention of “September 5,” which is apparently “Zionist propaganda,” will surely rile up some, and have others pose rather useless questions. It won’t help that the PGA also decided to snub acclaimed Palestinian doc “No Other Land” in favor of— wait for it — Israeli-financed documentary “We Will Dance Again” which tackled the aftermath of the October 7 terrorist attacks.