Producers Guild picks the usual suspects for best picture…plus Deadpool
The Producers Guild of America named its picks for best movie of the year on Tuesday, choosing awards season’s favourites such as La La Land, Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea but also snarky underdog Deadpool.
The comic-book superhero comedy starring Ryan Reynolds is carving an unusual path through awards territory with nominations by the Writers Guild for best screenplay and two nominations for Golden Globes.
Canadian-born Reynolds is one of the producers of the foul-mouthed hit, which was his pet project for more than a decade. He penned an awards season campaign letter to Hollywood, in character as Deadpool, to advance the movie’s chances.
An unlikely R-rated box office hit, Deadpool was shot in Vancouver.
Canadian director Denis Villeneuve’s alien contact movie Arrival also made the PGA list.
The PGA nominations are considered solid indicators of Oscar potential, because of strong influence of producers in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as a similar voting system.
Its full list of nominees:
Arrival
Deadpool
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester By the Sea
Moonlight
While the PGA and the Academy often agree on the best movie, last year the producers picked The Big Short, while the Oscar went to Spotlight.
In the animated category, the PGA’s nominations are:
Finding Dory
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
The Secret Life of Pets
Zootopia.
The PGA winners will be announced Jan. 28.