The Producers Guild of America is giving the 2010 David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Motion Pictures to Pixar’s John Lasseter, making him the first producer of animated films to receive the guild’s top honor.
Lasseter is currently chief creative officer at Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios and the principal creative adviser at Walt Disney Imagineering. He’s best known for his work at Pixar, where he directed “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2” and “Cars,” and executive produced many more of the company’s classic films.
The award will no doubt give Pixar’s latest film, “Up,” a little more visibility in the awards race … not that the acclaimed Pete Docter film needs much help.
The film is a lock for a nomination in Oscar's animated feature category and a likely nominee in the expanded best picture category. After this announcement, it’s hard to imagine "Up" won’t also be nominated for the top film award by the PGA, which recently expanded its own best-pic category to 10 nominees.
The full text of the press release:
PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA TO HONOR JOHN LASSETER WITH 2010 DAVID O. SELZNICK ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN MOTION PICTURES
LOS ANGELES (October 21, 2009) - The Producers Guild of America (PGA), a national non-profit trade group committed to protecting the rights and credits of producers in film, television and new media, announced today that John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios and Principal Creative Advisor, Walt Disney Imagineering will receive the 2010 David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Motion Pictures. The award will be presented to Lasseter at the 21st Annual PGA Awards ceremony on Sunday, January 24, 2010 at the Hollywood Palladium. Lasseter is the first producer of animated films to be awarded the Selznick Award by the PGA and was the co-recipient of the PGA’s first-ever Vanguard Award in 2002.
The PGA’s Selznick Award is given in recognition of an outstanding body of work in motion pictures. The honor has a rich and distinguished history, with past recipients including such legendary producers as Stanley Kramer, Saul Zaentz, Clint Eastwood, Billy Wilder, Robert Evans, Brian Grazer, Jerry Bruckheimer, Roger Corman, Laura Ziskin and last year, the team of Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall.
“John Lasseter is a uniquely talented producer with the rare combination of technical ingenuity and creative vision. He’s a wonderful storyteller, consistently displaying extraordinary skill, humanity and grace,” said David Friendly and Laurence Mark, co-chairs of the PGA Awards. “John”s work with both Pixar and Disney has raised the bar for producers in live-action films as well as in animation, and we're excited to be honoring him with the Selznick Award this year.”
Lasseter added, “David O. Selznick was one of Hollywood ’s legendary producers and master showmen, and it’s a privilege to be in the company of so many other fantastic filmmakers who have received this award. Animation is a collaborative process, and I am grateful to the incredible artists, storytellers, and technical and production wizards who have made the success of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios possible.
