by Nathaniel R
The Producers Guild of America has announced their nominations for 2022 entertainment. Their 34th annual awards will be held on Febuary 25th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Nominations and comments and some things to consider while making Oscar predictions are after the jump...
Theatrical Motion Pictures
- “Avatar: The Way of Water” (20th Century Studios)
- “The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight Pictures)
- “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Marvel Studios)
- “Elvis” (Warner Bros.)
- “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)
- “The Fabelmans” (Universal Pictures)
- “Glass Onion” (Netflix)
- “TÁR” (Focus Features)
- “Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount Pictures)
- “The Whale” (A24)
The PGA has long leaned a bit more mainstream success focused than other awards bodies (hint: Producing involves lots of financial considerations) though sometimes they break character. So, even though they'll nominate critically acclaimed underperformers like The Fabelmans and TÁR they also care about financial success stories. They made room for blockbuster Black Panther Wakanda Forever but note that they also honored The Whale which has been overperforming thus far in theaters, unlike its platform 'indie' peers with awards dreams.
In short we'll have to move both of those titles up when we update the Best Picture chart this week.
Some things to consider for your Oscar predictions...
Generally speaking one, two or three (max) of the PGA nominees fail to secure an Oscar nomination for Best Picture at the Oscars. The trick is guessing which ones are most vulnerable and what they'll be replaced with.
In regards to Glass Onion, the PGA also nominated its predecessor Knives Out but it did not land an Oscar nod. Will the second Knives Out film change its Oscar story?
In regards to Black Panther Wakanda Forever, the PGA is a lot more franchise friendly than Oscar is. Oscar voters have historically turned their nose up at sequels (unless the previous one won Best Picture) apart from the craft categories. But given that a much larger percentage of movies are now franchise-driven or franchise-adjacent or franchise-launching, Oscar voters will likely start making more room for them (it's a numbers game after all in terms of what's eligible vs what gets nominated).
Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
- “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (Netflix)
- “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” (A24)
- “Minions: The Rise of Gru” (Illumination)
- “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” (DreamWorks Animation)
- “Turning Red” (Pixar)
We're not entirely convinced that Marcel is going to score with Oscar's animation branch (despite internet fervor for the film) but the least likely to repeat at the Oscars from this batch does feel like Minions: The Rise of Gru. It's also worth noting that the PGA always ignores international animated feature but Oscar generally includes one.
Episodic Television – Drama
- “Andor” (Disney+)
- “Better Call Saul” (AMC)
- “Ozark” (Netflix)
- “Severance” (Apple TV+)
- “The White Lotus” (HBO)
- Episodic Television – Comedy
- “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
- “Barry” (HBO)
- “The Bear” (FX)
- “Hacks” (HBO Max)
- “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
Limited or Anthology Series Television
- “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (Netflix)
- “The Dropout” (Hulu)
- “Inventing Anna” (Netflix)
- “Obi-Wan Kenobi” (Disney+)
- “Pam & Tommy” (Hulu)
White Lotus is an anthology to some awards shows -- but not here! They placed it in drama.
Televised or Streamed Motion Pictures
- “Fire Island” (Hulu)
- “Hocus Pocus 2” (Disney+)
- “Pinocchio” (Disney+)
- “Prey” (Hulu)
- “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (The Roku Channel)
Isn't it interesting that Netflix titles always get slotted in theatrical (usually due to four-walling theaters for a qualifying run) but other streaming pictures are relegated to being considered "for television". The lines are so blurred now that it feels completely arbitrary! Fire Island and Good Luck To You Leo Grande had the same exact path (Searchlight but only streaming via Hulu but one is considered TV and the other Oscar eligible).
Non-Fiction Television
- “30 for 30” (ESPN)
- “60 Minutes” (CBS)
- “George Carlin’s American Dream” (HBO)
- “Lucy and Desi” (Amazon Prime Video)
- “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” (CNN)
Live Entertainment, Variety, Sketch, Standup & Talk Television
- “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
- “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
- “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
- “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
- “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Game & Competition Television
- “The Amazing Race” (CBS)
- “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” (Amazon Prime Video)
- “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” (VH1)
- “Top Chef” (Bravo)
- “The Voice” (NBC)