Game of Thrones, The Big Short Triumph at PGA Awards

Though the Golden Globes had everyone wondering if the Oscars might be getting ready to anoint Alejandro González Iñárritu, and his portentous wilderness-revenge film The Revenant, with the big statues, the announcement of the Producers Guild of America winners has thrown a bit of a wrench in that prognostication. PGA awards are notorious indicators, along with the DGA, of where the Academy Awards will head with the big award, which should be expected with the amount of overlap between the make-up of the PGA and the beleaguered Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

the-revenant-leonardo-dicaprio — Image via 20th Century Fox

So, the fact that the PGA put their crown on Adam McKay's The Big Short, the entertaining financial-crisis dramedy, shows that there might be a bit of a scramble with who will end up winning the Best Picture race. I must say that, on a personal note, I'm much more in favor of McKay's film, as The Revenant struck me as a film that leans hard on its style and, especially, the work of DP Emmanuel Lubezki for what is, ultimately, a silly yet strikingly self-serious B-movie premise. In contrast, McKay's film has some genuinely daring decisions for a relatively straightforward story, including the derided asides by the likes of Selena Gomez and Margot Robbie, but it doesn't look as good on the big screen as The Revenant does.

Other winners on the list include Inside Out for best animated film and Amy, which uses audio interviews and pre-recorded footage to tell the tragic story of the late Amy Winehouse, for best documentary; both films are up for Oscars as well. On the TV side, Game of Thrones, Transparent, and Fargo's exemplary second season came out on top, as well as Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, arguably the most daring show on television right now. The TV awards don't shake the tree too much, but a win for The Big Short over The Revenant and other favorites like Spotlight and Mad Max: Fury Road surely complicates the bigger race, which has shared its big winner with the PGA for eight years running, if one counts the 2013 draw between 12 Years a Slave and Gravity.

Here's the full list of winners from the PGA awards:

The theatrical motion picture winners are:

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

The Big Short

Producers: Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

Inside Out

Producer: Jonas Rivera

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:

Amy

Producer: James Gay-Rees

amy-movie-cannes-film-festival — Image via Magnolia

The television winners are:

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:

The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and mini-series.

Fargo (Season 2)

Producers: Noah Hawley, John Cameron, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Warren Littlefield, Kim Todd

The Norman Felton Award for 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

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:

Transparent (Season 1)

Producers: Jill Soloway, Andrea Sperling, Victor Hsu, Nisha Ganatra, Rick Rosenthal, Bridget Bedard

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:

The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (Season 1)

Producers: Marc Smerling, Andrew Jarecki, Jason Blum

The Award for 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

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television: