The Daryl F. Zanuck Award is given to the PGA's favourite film of the year (and usually the film that sweeps up at the Oscars)
The members of The Producer's Guild of America have cast their vote and the list of nominee's for their annual Daryl F. Zanuck Awards - their Best Picture category - have been cast. Formerly known as the Golden Laurel Awards, the PGA's are usually pretty accurate at predicting which films will go on to be nominated in the Best Picture category at the Oscars, and their winners rarely differ too.
Chiwetel Ejiofor's powerful performance in Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave has made it a favourite for the top honour
American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Her, Nebraska, Saving Mr. Banks, 12 Years a Slave, and The Wolf of Wall Street make up the full list of nominees up for awards this year, so don't be surprised to see these films still being discussed vigorously until the beginning of March.
The Producer's Guild don't only give out one award per year however, as the list of potential honourees from the animated world and 'long-form television' are also recognised. The Croods, Despicable Me 2, Epic, Frozen and Monsters University are all nominated for the year's Best Animated Motion Picture, with American Horror Story: Asylum, Behind the Candelabra, Killing Kennedy, Phil Spector and Top of the Lake are all up for the 'Best Longform Television Programme.'
The PGA's also honour films that "illuminate provocative social issues," with this year's winner already decided as Ryan Coogler's Fruitvale Station.
The Joaquin Phoenix starrer Her has also gotten film buffs talking
The PGA's don't always determine the eventual winner of the Oscars, although the last time they failed to do so was when the PGA went to Little Miss Sunshine and the Academy Award was given to The Departed in 2006. The success of Little Miss Sunshine ended a three year streak of differentiation between the two top honours, with the PGA going to Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and The Aviator in 2004, whereas the Oscar was presented to Crash and Million Dollar Baby in those years. In the PGA's 25 year history, they have correctly chosen the eventual Academy Award winner just 16 times, so maybe don't bet all your money on one horse.
Cate Blanchett's performance in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine has been regularly singled out, but it minght not be enough to secure glory for the film
Much more than a film about 19th century slavery in America, this sharply well-told true...
Director Steve McQueen joins the stars of '12 Years A Slave' to praise the immense...
Solomon Northup was a well-educated man from a successful family living in upstate New York...
This unflinching, thoughtful drama about sex addiction is made with such skill and honesty that...
By day, Brandon is a successful business man in New York City. By night, he...
Coming on the heels of John Sturges' The Magnificent Seven three years earlier, 1963's The...