'The Big Short' Wins Producers Guild Award, Grabs Lead in Oscar Race

"The Big Short" producers Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner (Getty Images)

“The Big Short” has been named the best-produced film of 2015 by the Producers Guild of America, making the financial crisis dramedy the presumptive favorite in a tightly contested race for the Best Picture Oscar.

Since the Academy and the PGA expanded from five to 10 nominees, no film has won the Oscar without first winning the Producers Guild Award. (The closest thing to an exception came when “Gravity” tied with “12 Years a Slave” at the PGA, but lost to “12 Years” at the Oscars.)

The Producers Guild counts its final ballots using the preferential system, making it the only major guild to use the same system as the Oscars for its top award. In recent years, it has been by far the most reliable of the guilds in predicting Oscar success, which means that Adam McKay‘s adaptation of Michael Lewis‘ book about the housing collapse of 2008 now has a surprising leg up in its battle with “Spotlight,” “The Revenant” and “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

While the Paramount film won raves and garnered guild nominations after it began screening very late in the year, it lost the best-comedy Golden Globe to “The Martian,” and questions remained about whether the comedy-laced ensemble film from the director of “Anchorman” and “Talladega Nights” had the heft to win the big awards. The PGA win answers that question in a convincing fashion.

And for “Spotlight,” which had won the lion’s share of critics’ awards, including the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Movie Award, the night had to be disquietingly similar to what “The Social Network” and “Boyhood” went through when they won most of the critics’ honors before the PGA turned the momentum in favor of eventual Oscar winners “Birdman” and “The King’s Speech.”

In her acceptance speech, “Big Short” producer Dede Gardner said she wanted to deal with “the elephant in the room,” and addressed the diversity issue by saying, “We have privilege in our hands as storytellers. We need to tell stories that reflect our world.”

With the Motion Picture Academy changing rules on Friday to encourage diversity, the topic was frequently addressed during the show, starting when Producers Guild Awards co-chair Michael De Luca mentioned AMPAS president Cheryl Boone Isaacs and said, “We’re lucky to have her as a leader, and no one is working harder to make the world a fairer and better place.”

The award for animated feature went to Pixar’s “Inside Out,” while the documentary honor went to “Amy.”

In the television categories, “Transparent” and “Game of Thrones” won for episodic comedy and drama, respectively, while “Fargo” was honored as the year’s best long-form TV program.

Other awards went to “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” “The Voice,” “The Jinx,” “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel,” “Sesame Street” and “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.”

The PGA also gave out a number of honorary awards. Fox’s Jim Gianopulos received the Milestone Award, “Harry Potter” producer David Heyman the David O. Selznick Achivement Award, Shonda Rhimes the Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television, Industrial Light & Magic the Visionary Vanguard Award and “The Hunting Ground” the Stanley Kramer Award.

As part of that last presentation, Lady Gaga performed the Oscar nominated song “Til It Happens to You,” which she sings in “The Hunting Ground,” at the PGA ceremony.

The ceremony took place at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, and was hosted by Jane Lynch.

The winners:

Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures: “The Big Short”
Producers: Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures: “Inside Out”
Producer: Jonas Rivera

Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures: “Amy”
Producer: James Gay-Rees m

Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television: “Fargo” (Season 2)
Producers: Noah Hawley, John Cameron, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Warren Littlefield, Kim Todd

Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama: “Game of Thrones” (Season 5)
Producers: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, Carolyn Strauss, Bryan Cogman, Lisa McAtackney, Chris Newman, Greg Spence

Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy: “Transparent” (Season 1)
Producers: Jill Soloway, Andrea Sperling, Victor Hsu, Nisha Ganatra, Rick Rosenthal, Bridget Bedard

Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television: “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” (Season 1)
Producers: Marc Smerling, Andrew Jarecki, Jason Blum

Outstanding Producer of Competition Television: “The Voice” (Seasons 7 and 8)
Producers: Audrey Morrissey, Mark Burnett, John de Mol, Marc Jansen, Lee Metzger, Chad Hines, Jim Roush, Kyra Thompson, Mike Yurchuk, Amanda Zucker, Carson Daly

Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television: “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (Season 2)
Producers: Tim Carvell, John Oliver, Liz Stanton

Outstanding Sports Program: “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel”

Outstanding Digital Series: “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”

Outstanding Children’s Program: “Sesame Street”

Oscar Nominee Snubs and Surprises: Ridley Scott, Sylvester Stallone and 17 More (Photos)

SURPRISE: Tom Hardy, nominated Best Actor, “The Revenant”
Leonardo DiCaprio has dominated conversations surrounding the grueling shoot and high art of "The Revenant," but Hardy suffered right alongside him -- and was rewarded with a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
Fox
SNUB: "Carol," not nominated Best Picture
Todd Haynes' dreamy period piece fetched acting, score and cinematography nominations but was shut out of the Best Picture race.
TWC
SURPRISE: "Ex Machina," nominated, Best Visual Effects
Alex Garland’s dystopian love story drew a nomination for Best Visual Effects over Colin Trevorrow’s record-setting “Jurassic World,” which is literally filled with screaming, stomping, fighting dinosaurs.
Universal
SNUB: Ridley Scott, not nominated Best Director, "The Martian"
The exclusion of Ridley Scott from the Best Director category is enough to make you want to move to Mars. While the longtime movie maestro claimed a Golden Globe award, he was left off of the 2016 list entirely, presumably bumped by surprise nominee Lenny Abrahamson.
Fox
SURPRISE: Sylvester Stallone, nominated Best Actor in a Supporting Role, "Creed"
Conversations on Ryan Coogler’s “Creed” never roared like an audience at a Las Vegas bout, but here we are — Rocky Balboa himself is headed to the Dolby Theater as Sylvester Stallone joins a Best Supporting Actor category that includes Mark Ruffalo and Christian Bale.
Warner Bros.
SNUB: Idris Elba, not nominated Best Actor, “Beasts of No Nation”
The excessively likable and highly pedigreed Elba could not earn a spot among the Best Actor crowd for “Beasts of No Nation” despite his edgy positioning with hot director Cary Fukunaga and streaming release platform Netflix.
Netflix
SURPRISE: Lenny Abrahamson, nominated Best Director, "Room"
Sure, the director’s “Room” is an emotional marathon and, frankly, a technical feat for creating a universe within those tiny walls -- but it was surely a surprise to hear his name called for Best Director over Ridley Scott’s.
TheWrap
SNUB: “See You Again,” not nominated Best Original Song, "Furious 7"
Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “Furious 7” anthem served not only as a radio hit but also a tribute to the late Paul Walker. It was all but guaranteed that the creative eyebrows of Puth and NBA-level tattoos of Khalifa would suit up to claim a Best Original Song Oscar come February. Sorry boys, maybe we’ll see you again.
Universal
SNUB: Amy Schumer, not nominated Best Original Screenplay, "Trainwreck"
America’s acidic sweetheart Schumer was a fledgling leading lady in Universal’s “Trainwreck,” but had a serious shot at Best Original Screenplay for her comedy with Bill Hader and Brie Larson.
Universal
SURPRISE: “Inside Out,” nominated Best Original Screenplay
Any Pixar film is a presumed nominee if not winner, but it was unexpected to see the Amy Poehler-fronted film nominated for Best Original Screenplay. We imagine all the writers attached are feeling only Joy.
Disney
SNUB: Johnny Depp, not nominated Best Actor, “Black Mass"
Forget the Ed Harris makeup — Johnny Depp did an extraordinary job playing Whitey Bulger in Warner Bros. “Black Mass.” Many thought the A-lister would be among peers like Leonardo DiCaprio in the Best Actor category.
Warner Bros.
SURPRISE: Charlotte Rampling, nominated Best Actress, "45 Years"
Charlotte Rampling was nominated for her role in "45 years" in the Best Actress category along with Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Brie Larson and Saoirse Ronan. Rampling was a strong contender in October, but no one really talked about the film throughout the rest of award season. For example, she didn't receive a Golden Globe or SAG nomination.
Artificial Eye
SNUB: Will Smith, not nominated Best Actor, "Concussion"
He delivered a spectacular performance as Dr. Bennet Omalu in "Concussion," but Will Smith didn't receive a nomination in the Best Actor category despite making everyone's radar following his Golden Globes nom.
Sony/Columbia
SURPRISE:
"The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared," nominated Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling
For the Danish film to be nominated at all came as a complete surprise because most hadn't even heard of this film. Released in May in only 76 theaters, it grossed $944,000 dollars. It took the place within the Makeup and Hairstyling category of films like "Cinderella," "The Danish Girl," "Ex Machina," "Black Mass" and "Star Wars," which all received Makeup Guild Awards nominations.
Music Box Films
SNUBS: "Peanuts"/"Minions"/"Good Dinosaur," not nominated Best Animated Feature
Those three films were left out of the nominations for Best Animated Feature, replaced by surprises "Boy and the World" and "When Marnie Was There." "Minions" is an especially surprising omission because it made $336 million domestically and broke several box office records for Universal at the time.
Universal/Fox/Pixar
SNUB: Aaron Sorkin, not nominated Best Screenplay, "Steve Jobs"
Sorkin is known as one of the best living screenwriters, and his adaptation of Walter Isaacson's "Steve Jobs" was one of this year's most anticipated scripts. Sorkin also received praise for the unique structure he established for the film, receiving a Golden Globe award for Best Screenplay on Jan. 10.
Getty Images
SNUB: Todd Haynes, not nominated Best Director, "Carol"
Many who saw the film "Carol," starring lead and supporting actress nominees Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, praised it for how artfully it was put together. That makes Haynes' absence in the Best Director field perplexing.
Getty Images
SNUB: Steven Spielberg, not nominated Best Director, "Bridge of Spies"
Spielberg directed "Bridge of Spies," one of the most well-received films of the year, yet, the two-time Oscar winner was left out of the Best Director category by the Academy this year.
Getty Images
SNUB: Tom Hanks, not nominated Best Actor, "Bridge of Spies"
The two-time Academy Award winner delivered another stellar performance in "Bridge of Spies," but didn't receive a Best Actor nomination for the film, despite its six total noms. The film's supporting actor, Mark Rylance, was nominated for an Oscar this year.
Disney