Hollywood producers salute blockbuster sequels as Oscar vote begins

Pallade Veneta - Hollywood producers salute blockbuster sequels as Oscar vote begins

CULTURE 13.01.2023

Hollywood producers salute blockbuster sequels as Oscar vote begins / Photo: JUNG YEON-JE - AFP/File

Hollywood's big-shot producers named blockbuster sequels "Avatar: The Way of Water" and "Top Gun: Maverick" among last year's best films Thursday -- the same day that voting for Oscars nominations got under way.

Change text size:

The Producers Guild of America host their own prestigious annual awards each year, and unveiled a 10-film nomination shortlist, which also included Marvel superhero sequel "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."

The "Avatar" and "Top Gun" sequels have each grossed well over $1 billion -- and the "Black Panther" follow-up some $800 million -- at the global box office, as movie theaters mounted a partial recovery in 2022 from devastating pandemic closures.

While producers may have a reputation for chasing box office cash over critical acclaim, the PGA's 8,000-odd moguls and indie financiers have a very strong record of predicting success at the Academy Awards, which conclude Tinseltown's expansive award season.

Twelve of the last 15 winners of the best picture Oscar first lifted the PGA's equivalent award, including the past two victors, "CODA" and "Nomadland."

The PGA happened to release its shortlist this year on the very same day that the voting window opened for Oscars nominations.

Also in the running for the PGA's top prize were critical darlings "The Banshees of Inisherin," "Everything Everywhere All at Once" and Steven Spielberg's "The Fabelmans," which all won Golden Globes this week.

The other four films contending for the producers' accolade this year were "Elvis," "Tar," "The Whale" and "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" -- yet another sequel.

The PGA Awards gala will be held on February 25, before the Oscars conclude the Los Angeles award show marathon on March 12.

N.Tartaglione--PV

Jersey Boys Anniversary Tour Opens in Birmingham With Gritty Account of Crime and Fame

The 20th-anniversary tour of Jersey Boys has opened at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre, offering a gritty and unvarnished look at the Four Seasons’ journey. The production details the band's turbulent rise from New Jersey petty criminals to international rock stars, highlighting the complex personal costs behind their musical success.

UBC professor describes police call after Galloway remark as act of care

VANCOUVER — A University of British Columbia professor has testified about a colleague’s decision to call police to visit Steven Galloway after he was accused of sexual assault, describing it as an “act of care” toward the author, who had spoken of killing himself. Galloway, who is suing his accuser and others in a defamation trial centred on the unproven allegations, has described his subsequent committal to a hospital in the United States as “terrifying.

Pallade Veneta - Hollywood producers salute blockbuster sequels as Oscar vote begins