Producers Guild Awards

Every year America’s leading film and television industry organizations give out awards to honor outstanding accomplishments. The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is not an exception. The Producers Guild Awards were established in 1990 in order to honor the visionaries who have produced the best motion picture and television product of the year.

The Producers Guild of America was officially established in 1962 following the merger of the Screen Producers Guild and the Television Producers Guild. It represents over 7,000 film producers, television producers and new media producers in the US. The Producers Guild Awards (originally named the Golden Laurel Awards) were created in 1990 by Joel Freeman and Leonard Stern.

The PGA Awards are awarded in several categories including Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures, Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures, Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television, Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television Drama, Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television Comedy, Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television, Outstanding Producer of Competition Television, Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television, and Outstanding Sports Program.

There are special awards given out to honor special accomplishments. For example, the Stanley Kramer Awards is given for works dedicated to provocative social issues. The Achievement Awards are given for lifetime achievements in film and television. Among the recipients of the PGA Achievement Awards are famous producers such as Steven Spielberg, Jerry Bruckheimer, Brian Grazer, J. J. Abrams, Steven Bochco, Clint Eastwood, Sherry Lansing, etc.

The PGA Award ceremony is held every January, in the midst of the annual awards season which starts in late November and ends with the Academy Awards in February. The PGA Awards are considered one of the bellwethers for the Oscars. Most winners of the PGA’s Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures have also won a corresponding Academy Award.

The annual ceremony is typically held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the most important events of the awards season. The ceremony is host by a celebrity host, past hosts include Michael Douglas, Shirley MacLaine, Ronald Reagan, and Garry Marshall, among others.