MOTION PICTURE (tie): 12 Years a Slave; Gravity
DOCUMENTARY: We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wiki-Leaks
ANIMATED FEATURE: Frozen
STANLEY KRAMER AWARD: Fruitvale Station
For the first time in its history, the Producers Guild Association came to a tie. Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave and Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity shared the top prize in a move that will not only surely make this years Oscar race sled into hyper-drive but also drive the pundits and obsessives into an utter state of panic. In recent history, the PGA (which began handing out prizes in 1990) has been an accurate bellwether for the eventual Best Picture victor; the last time the group disagreed with the Academy was in 2007 when the Producers went for Little Miss Sunshine, while the Academy selected The Departed. Since the Academy adjusted the rules and squeezed in more titles, the voting procedures for the Oscar and the PGA are nearly identical and thus a consensus merged between the two groups. This tie thing is the kind of bat-shit wrench that will likely thrust this into being one of the most competitive and eagerly (but hopefully not bitterly) fought races in recent memory.
What does it all mean?
Well the DGA may serve as tiebreaker and Cuarón and his technical wizardry may prevail in the end tipping the scale to Gravity, which co-lead the Oscar nominations tally shared with American Hustle. Or perhaps McQueen, with a nod to history on its side will take the DGA and 12 Years a Slave will hold true to the all frontrunner fuss since premiering at Telluride last September. Or, an even crazier notion, is that two will split themselves and the SAG victor American Hustle will win on consensus because all its hairstyling and actorly bravado is just so pleasant to watch. Or, I and perhaps a few of you out there will have a incessant headache until March 2nd, over-thinking this damn thing to death. At the very least, the 2013 awards season is legitimately interesting and there's no Argo-train effect of any kind. And for that, we should be happy, even if its torture.
