Gold Rush: Producer’s Guild Award Nominees 2012

The Producer’s Guild Awards are one of the biggest prognosticators of what the actual Best Picture nominations (and winners) will be.

Yeah. Leave it the producers to decide everything.

This year’s PGA nominations are as follows:

Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in 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 Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in 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

*

I must say, now that I’ve seen all the above nominees, I’m more confused about this year’s gold rush than ever. There’s no true critical darling like The Social Network, and no “safe, nice” choice like The King’s Speech that stands above the rest. (They’re all pretty safe and nice.) At this point, The Artist, The Descendants, The Help, Hugo, and War Horse seem to be the front-runners, a pretty underwhelming roster if you ask me.

It’s not that I didn’t enjoy most of the movies on the Producer’s Guild list, but I’m not that passionate about them, and don’t have a lot of stake in this year’s Academy Awards yet. (Maybe that’s a healthy choice for me… as last year rose my blood pressure so considerably.) Mostly, this is shaping up a bit like the 2009 awards season, which The Hurt Locker eventually ruled mainly due to lack of serious competition. Yes, The Artist may be this year’s The Hurt Locker. (The first and last time those films will ever be compared.)