Producers Guild Awards — a best picture Oscar gauge — set for Saturday

The 33rd annual Producers Guild of America Awards will be handed out Saturday evening — offering Academy Award prognosticators a historically reliable barometer of what movie will take home the best picture Oscar.

Ten films are up for the PGA’s top prize for theatrical motion picture — “Being the Ricardos,” “Belfast,” “CODA,” “Don’t Look Up,” “Dune,” “King Richard,” “Licorice Pizza,” “The Power of the Dog,” “tick, tick…BOOM!” and “West Side Story.”

Since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expanded from five to 10 nominees in 2010, only three films have won the best picture Oscar without first winning the PGA Award.

The three exceptions occurred in 2016, when the PGA Award went to “The Big Short,” but the Oscar went to “Spotlight”; in 2017, when “La La Land” won the PGA honor while the Academy honored “Moonlight”; and in 2020, when the PGA Award went to “1917” but the Oscar went to “Parasite.”

According to the PGA, since the guild’s inception, the guild has predicted 22 of the 32 winners of the best picture Oscar. That includes last year’s winner of both prizes, “Nomadland.”

Of the Producers Award nominees for theatrical motion picture this year, all but “Being the Ricardos” and “tick, tick…BOOM!” are also Oscar-nominated for best picture.

And of the 10 Oscar nominees for best picture, only “Drive My Car” and “Nightmare Alley,” failed to also score a Producers Award nom for the top prize.

For animated films, PGA nominations this year went to “Encanto,” “Luca,” “The Mitchells vs. The Machines,” “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Sing 2.”

On the small screen, drama-series nominees are “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Morning Show,” “Squid Game,” “Succession” and “Yellowstone.” Nominees in the comedy series category are “Cobra Kai,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Hacks,” “Only Murders in the Building” and “Ted Lasso.”

Saturday’s show will also include four special awards:

— George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy will receive the Milestone Award, “the PGA’s most prestigious honor … recognizing historic contributions to the entertainment industry”;

— “Insecure” creator and star Issa Rae will receive the 2022 Visionary Award, honoring producers from television, film or new media “who share inspiring, uplifting stories that add unique value to society and culture”;

— Rita Moreno will receive the 2022 Stanley Kramer Award for “a production, producer or other individuals whose achievement or contribution illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues.” Moreno, 90, most recently appeared in and served as an executive producer on Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story,” and;

— Producer-writer-director Greg Berlanti, known for such series as “Dawson’s Creek” and “The Flight Attendant,” will receive the Norman Lear Achievement Award, which honors producers “who have made a remarkable impact on the art and craft of television.”

The PGA Awards will be presented at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City. No public live-stream is available.

For a list of additional Producers Guild of America Award nominees, click here.

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