A worried nation releases one long breath, and fluttering hearts calm themselves as, at long last, the Producer’s Guild Of America—the guild that America really cares about, as opposed to, say, actors, directors, or writers—has released its nominations for 2014 awards. Barring a few surprises, all the usual candidates for best feature film are there: Boyhood, Birdman, Gone Girl, The Imitation Game, The Theory Of Everything, and Whiplash. Nightcrawler and The Grand Budapest Hotel also made the list, giving hope to fans everywhere of Jake Gyllenhaal looking creepy and movies that look like giant dioramas.
The PGA’s Daryl F. Zanuck award for best feature film is actually a fairly good Oscar prognosticator, with the Guild’s best film prize matching the Best Picture Academy Award in 18 of the past 25 years. Last year was notable for the PGA awarding the honor to two films—12 Years A Slave and Gravity—in a rare tie vote. The PGA has about 6,000 members, so that’s a surprisingly equal number of people who think that CGI outer space and a grueling depiction of slavery were the best thing they saw.
Variety has the full list of nominations, which probably isn’t required reading unless you’re really curious which reality television show the Guild thought had the best producer. But there are some other close races. For example, the top animated film is a contest between Big Hero 6, The Book Of Life, The Boxtrolls, How To Train Your Dragon 2, and The Lego Movie, and the best television movie or miniseries will be chosen from Fargo, American Horror Story: Freak Show, The Normal Heart, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, and Sherlock. Stay tuned on January 24 for the chance to win your office PGA awards betting pool.