Avatar, Star Trek Make Big Oscar Move

Producers Guild of America shortlists 10 disparate movies for its Best Picture prize, which could predict Academy Awards

By Josh Grossberg Jan 05, 2010 2:52 PMTags
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The Producers Guild of America is out with its nominations for top flick of the year, a list that typically matches up with a certain Motion Picture Academy.

And, yes, the usual suspects are in play for the PGA.

The Hurt Locker. Check. Up in the Air. Ditto. Invictus. No surprise. Precious, Inglourious Basterds and An Education. All quality films that have figured in critics awards up to now.

Then things get interesting. Perhaps foreshadowing a wide-open, wide-ranging Oscar race (or so we hope), the PGA also tapped some surprises in its expanded 10-film race. Avatar, District 9, Star Trek and Up all made the cut, making it likely that at least one, if not all, of those hit genre films could be contending for the Best Picture Academy Award. And that's bad news for the Oscar-aspiring likes of Nine and The Blind Side.

The PGA's winner, which has gone on to win the Academy Award 13 of 20 years (most recently with Slumdog Millionaire in 2009), will be announced Jan. 24.

Oscar nominations will be announced Feb. 2.

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Speaking of awards, the Golden Globes are coming soon. Check out our Notable Nominees gallery.