“La La Land” is easily sweeping up all the awards this year, but Netflix‘s “Stranger Things” jumped in on the action along with “Atlanta” for the 28th annual Producers Guild Awards (PGA).
The musical comedy-drama went up against “Arrival,” “Deadpool,” “Fences,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Hell or High Water,” “Hidden Figures,” “Lion,” “Manchester by the Sea,” and “Moonlight,” but was able to come out the winner which was presented by Dustin Hoffman.
The guild recognized the candy-colored musical with its Darryl F. Zanuck Award for theatrical motion picture production Saturday, a prize that often precedes the best picture Academy Award. (Last year was an exception, when “The Big Short” won the guild award, while “Spotlight” got the Oscar.) The nominees for the guild’s top film prize echo Oscars‘ best picture nominees this year, with the exception of “Deadpool,” which made the cut with producers but not the film academy.
But the guild’s celebration at the Beverly Hilton Hotel of the year’s outstanding film and television productions had a decidedly political tone, as President Donald Trump‘s ban on refugees and visitors from several Muslim countries triggered protests in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle and other cities.
“Our America is big, it is free, and it is open to dreamers of all races, all countries, all religions,” singer John Legend said as he introduced “La La Land” at Saturday’s untelevised ceremony. “Our vision of America is directly antithetical to that of President Trump. I want to specifically, tonight, reject his vision and affirm America has to be better than that.”
Ezra Edelman, producer and director of “O.J.: Made in America,” which claimed the guild’s documentary prize, echoed Legend’s sentiments.
“Please keep telling stories that are about our humanity,” he said.
Other winners Saturday included “Zootopia” for animated feature, “Atlanta” for episodic television comedy and “Stranger Things” for episodic TV drama.
Presenters included Justin Timberlake, Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson, Nicole Kidman, Jeff Bridges, Kerry Washington, Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese. Veteran producers James L. Brooks, Tom Rothman and Irwin Winkler received special awards.
Dustin Hoffman presented the night’s top prize. As producer Marc Platt accepted for “La La Land,” he said, “The power of cinema cannot be denied and has no borders … We must believe love can change our lives, much as it can change the world.”
Full List of 2017 Producers Guild Awards Winners:
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:
• La La Land (WINNER)
Producers: Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, Marc Platt
• Arrival
Producers: Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, Aaron Ryder, David Linde
• Deadpool
Producers: Simon Kinberg, Ryan Reynolds, Lauren Shuler Donner
• Fences
Producers: Scott Rudin, Denzel Washington, Todd Black
• Hacksaw Ridge
Producers: Bill Mechanic, David Permut
• Hell or High Water
Producers: Carla Hacken, Julie Yorn
• Hidden Figures
Producers: Donna Gigliotti, Peter Chernin & Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams, Theodore Melfi
• Lion
Producers: Emile Sherman & Iain Canning, Angie Fielder
• Manchester By the Sea
Producers: Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck, Kevin Walsh
• Moonlight
Producers: Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner & Jeremy Kleiner
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
• Zootopia (WINNER)
Producer: Clark Spencer
• Finding Dory
Producer: Lindsey Collins
• Kubo and the Two Strings
Producers: Arianne Sutner, Travis Knight
• Moana
Producer: Osnat Shurer
• The Secret Life of Pets
Producers: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
• O.J.: Made in America (WINNER)
Producers: Ezra Edelman, Caroline Waterlow
• Dancer
Producer: Gabrielle Tana
• The Eagle Huntress
Producers: Stacey Reiss, Otto Bell
• Life, Animated
Producers: Julie Goldman, Roger Ross Williams
• Tower
Producers: Keith Maitland, Susan Thomson, Megan Gilbride
The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:
• The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (Season 1) (WINNER)
Producers: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, D.V. DeVincentis, Anthony Hemingway, Alexis Martin Woodall, John Travolta, Chip Vucelich
• Black Mirror (Season 3)
Producers: Annabel Jones, Charlie Brooker
• The Night Manager (Season 1)
Producers: Simon Cornwell, Stephen Garrett, Stephen Cornwell, Hugh Laurie, Tom Hiddleston, Susanne Bier, David Farr, John le Carré, William D. Johnson, Alexei Boltho, Rob Bullock
• The Night Of
Producers: Steven Zaillian, Richard Price, Jane Tranter, Garrett Basch, Scott Ferguson
• Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Producers: Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Sue Vertue, Beryl Vertue
The Award for Outstanding Sports Program:
• VICE World of Sports (Season 1) (WINNER — TIE)
• Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (Season 22) (WINNER — TIE)
• E:60 (2016)
• The Fight Game with Jim Lampley: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali
• Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Los Angeles Rams (Season 11)
The Award for Outstanding Digital Series:
• Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Season 7, Season 8) (WINNER)
• 30 for 30 Shorts (Season 5)
• Epic Rap Battles of History (Season 5)
• Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: ACADEMY (Season 1)
• National Endowment for the Arts: United States of Arts
The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:
• Stranger Things (Season 1) (WINNER)
Producers: Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Iain Paterson
• Better Call Saul (Season 2)
Producers: Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Melissa Bernstein, Mark Johnson, Thomas Schnauz, Gennifer Hutchison, Nina Jack, Robin Sweet, Diane Mercer, Bob Odenkirk
• Game of Thrones (Season 6)
Producers: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, Carolyn Strauss, Bryan Cogman, Lisa McAtackney, Chris Newman, Greg Spence
• House of Cards (Season 4)
Producers: Beau Willimon, Dana Brunetti, Michael Dobbs, Josh Donen, David Fincher, Eric Roth, Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, John Mankiewicz, Robert Zotnowski, Jay Carson, Frank Pugliese, Boris Malden, Hameed Shaukat
• Westworld (Season 1)
Producers: J.J. Abrams, Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, Bryan Burk, Athena Wickham, Kathy Lingg, Richard J. Lewis, Roberto Patino, Katherine Lingenfelter, Cherylanne Martin
The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:
• Atlanta (Season 1) (WINNER)
Producers: Donald Glover, Dianne McGunigle, Paul Simms, Hiro Murai, Alex Orr
• black-ish (Season 2)
Producers: Kenya Barris, Jonathan Groff, Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland, E. Brian Dobbins, Vijal Patel, Gail Lerner, Corey Nickerson, Courtney Lilly, Lindsey Shockley, Peter Saji, Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry, Hale Rothstein, Michael Petok, Yvette Lee Bowser
• Modern Family (Season 7)
Producers: Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Elaine Ko, Jeff Morton, Jeffrey Richman, Brad Walsh, Danny Zuker, Vali Chandrasekaran, Andy Gordon, Vanessa McCarthy, Jon Pollack, Chuck Tatham, Chris Smirnoff, Sally Young
• Silicon Valley (Season 3)
Producers: Mike Judge, Alec Berg, Jim Kleverweis, Clay Tarver, Dan O’Keefe, Michael Rotenberg, Tom Lassally, John Levenstein, Ron Weiner, Carrie Kemper, Adam Countee
• Veep (Season 5)
Producers: David Mandel, Frank Rich, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lew Morton, Morgan Sackett, Sean Gray, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, Jim Margolis, Georgia Pritchett, Will Smith, Chris Addison, Rachel Axler, David Hyman, Erik Kenward, Billy Kimball, Steve Koren
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
• Making a Murderer (Season 1) (WINNER)
Producers: Laura Ricciardi, Moira Demos
• 30 for 30 (Season 7)
Producers: Connor Schell, John Dahl, Libby Geist, Bill Simmons, Erin Leyden, Gentry Kirby, Andrew Billman, Marquis Daisy, Deirdre Fenton
• 60 Minutes (Season 48, Season 49)
Producers: Jeff Fager
• Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown (Season 5-8)
Producers: Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandra Zweig
• Hamilton’s America
Producers: Alex Horwitz, Nicole Pusateri, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeffrey Seller, Dave Sirulnick, Jon Kamen, Justin Wilkes
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:
• The Voice (Season 9-11) (WINNER)
Producers: Audrey Morrissey, Jay Bienstock, Mark Burnett, John de Mol, Chad Hines, Lee Metzger, Kyra Thompson, Mike Yurchuk, Amanda Zucker, Carson Daly
• The Amazing Race (Season 27, Season 28)
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Bertram van Munster, Jonathan Littman, Elise Doganieri, Mark Vertullo
• American Ninja Warrior (Season 7, Season 8)
Producers: Arthur Smith, Kent Weed, Anthony Storm, Brian Richardson, Kristen Stabile, David Markus, J.D. Pruess, D. Max Poris, Zayna Abi-Hashim, Royce Toni, John, Gunn, Matt Silverberg, Briana Vowels, Mason Funk, Jonathan Provost
• Lip Sync Battle (Season 1, Season 2)
Producers: Casey Patterson, Jay Peterson, John Krasinski, Stephen Merchant, Leah Gonzalez, Genna Gintzig, LL Cool J
• Top Chef (Season 13)
Producers: Daniel Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, Doneen Arquines, Tom Colicchio, Casey Kriley, Padma Lakshmi, Tara Siener, Erica Ross, Patrick Schmedeman, Wade Sheeler, Ellie Carbajal
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Season 3) (WINNER)
Producers: Tim Carvell, John Oliver, Liz Stanton
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (Season 1)
Producers: Samantha Bee, Jo Miller, Jason Jones, Tony Hernandez, Miles Kahn, Pat King, Alison Camillo, Kristen Everman
• The Late Late Show with James Corden (Season 2)
Producers: Ben Winston, Rob Crabbe, Mike Gibbons, Amy Ozols, Sheila Rogers, Michael Kaplan, Jeff Kopp, James Longman, Josie Cliff, James Corden
• Real Time with Bill Maher (Season 14)
Producers: Bill Maher, Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Billy Martin, Dean E. Johnsen, Chris Kelly, Matt Wood
• Saturday Night Live (Season 42)
Producers: Lorne Michaels, Steve Higgins, Erik Kenward, Lindsay Shookus, Erin Doyle, Ken Aymong
The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program:
• Sesame Street (Season 46) (WINNER)
• Girl Meets World (Season 2, Season 3)
• Octonauts (Season 4)
• School of Rock (Season 1)
• SpongeBob SquarePants (Season 9)