Producers Guild nominates 11 films, confirming, that, yes, it’s a wide-open Oscar year

The Producers Guild of America reaffirmed what we already know — it’s a wide-open race this year for best picture.

For the first time in its history, thanks to a tie, the PGA on Friday nominated 11 movies for its annual awards. Making the list: “The Big Sick,” “Call Me by Your Name,” “Dunkirk,” “Get Out,” “I, Tonya,” “Lady Bird,” “Molly’s Game,” “The Post,” “The Shape of Water,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” and, in good news for those who love well-crafted blockbusters, “Wonder Woman.”

Also significant: Two films directed by women — Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” and Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” — made the field. Coming the day after a USC Annenberg study showed that women made up only 4.3% of all directors of the top 1,100 films released from 2007 to 2017, that’s good news.

The PGA nominations for feature film provide a hint of what might happen when Oscar nominations are announced Jan. 23.

Because of the size of the PGA’s field, two or three of these films will likely be left off the academy’s list. In the six years since the academy last revised the category for best picture — putting the number of nominated films between five and 10, depending on the level of support — nine movies have been nominated four years, eight movies in the other two.

In all but one of those years, the academy has nominated at least one movie not cited by the PGA. Of course, last year was the exception. In the past the academy has bypassed PGA nominees like “Straight Outta Compton,” “Skyfall” and “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”

So for films left off the PGA’s roll — notably, “Mudbound,” “Phantom Thread,” “The Florida Project” and “Darkest Hour” — there is some hope. But with PGA voters adding that bonus movie this year, the prospects for these titles finding favor at the Oscars just dimmed a bit. To quote Bob Dylan, “It’s not dark yet … but it’s getting there.”

The PGA list included the seven movies deemed most likely to earn Oscar nominations for best picture — “Get Out,” “Lady Bird,” “Three Billboards,” “The Post,” “The Shape of Water,” “Dunkirk” and “Call Me by Your Name.”

The other four titles mixed commercial successes like “Wonder Woman” and the indie hit “The Big Sick” with two smaller movies still finding their way at the box office. The recognition for the unconventional Tonya Harding biopic, “I, Tonya,” and Aaron Sorkin’s crackling character study “Molly’s Game” provides a nice boost to those films just as academy members are filling out their Oscar ballots.

The PGA also announced nominees in two other film categories. For animated film, the group cited “The Boss Baby,” “Coco,” “Despicable Me 3,” “Ferdinand” and “The Lego Batman Movie.”

For documentary, the nominees are “Chasing Coral,” “City of Ghosts,” “Cries from Syria,” “Earth: One Amazing Day,” “Jane” and “Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower.”

Among the television categories also announced on Friday, “Big Little Lies,” “The Crown,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Stranger Things” will contend for drama series honors, while “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Master of None,” “Silicon Valley” and “Veep” are up for comedy series.

The long-form television category contains “Black Mirror,” “Fargo,” “Feud: Bette and Joan,” “Sherlock: The Lying Detective” and “The Wizard of Lies.”

The 2018 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced Jan. 20 at a ceremony held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

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