Nomadland and Netflix’s The Crown topped the 2021 Producers Guild of America Awards in a virtual ceremony Wednesday.
Nomadland, a frontrunner for the best picture Oscar, took home the outstanding theatrical motion pictures award, with its theme of people finding a community under challenging circumstances feeling particularly resonate given the events of the past year.
“In a year in we have all been leading such isolated live and movies have felt so vital, we are proud to have produced a film about community and what connects us,” said producer Peter Spears of the film.
The theme of film and television connecting people during the pandemic was echoed throughout the night. Accepting the outstanding drama series award for The Crown, producer Suzanne Mackie noted, “television drama has saved my soul. The power of great stories night after night has sustained me.”
Soul nabbed the animated feature award, with producer Dana Murray giving credit to the team for finishing the Pixar project at home during the pandemic. Meanwhile, Hamilton, Disney+’s stage recording of the Broadway smash, won in the televised or streamed motion pictures category.
“Making theater is often like writing messages in the melting snow,” said producer Thomas Kail. “This was a chance for us to make something lasting and indelible that could be shared.”
Schitt’s Creek won the first award of the night for outstanding comedy TV series, nabbing the honor for its sixth and final season. Star and producer Eugene Levy said that calling Schitt’s Creek the highlight of his fifty years in the business would be an understatement. “This show has been a joy to work on,” said Levy.
Netflix’s chess drama The Queen’s Gambit won for limited series, and producer William Horberg noted he considered preparing a speech that would include a chess metaphor. Then he thought better of it.
“Producing is nothing like chess. Producing is more like trying to build a house of cards in a wind tunnel,” said Horberg.
Last Week Tonight‘s John Oliver accepted the award for live entertainment or talk by poking fun of the fact that nominees pre-taped their speeches. Said Oliver: “I’m pre-taping this anticipating we might win. If we haven’t won, please destroy this and pass my congratulations to the real winner, which I’m guessing is Dr. (Mehmet) Oz. He’s had quite a year!”
Also on the TV front, RuPaul’s Drag Race nabbed the game and competition television honor, and Michael Jordan’s The Last Dance won in the non-fiction TV cateogry.
Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross opened the show by noting the all-Zoom affair was an awards ceremony unlike anyone could have imagined.
“It has been a year like no other in modern history. But through all the political, scientific and social cries for justice, one thing has remained unchanged, the need to be entertained,” said Ross. “That’s what we as producers and artists do. We entertain.”
The ceremony comes a few days after the PGA revealed the winners in a few categories during a daylong series of nominee panels hosted by the guild:
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter