There may be Blood, but it's looking more like there won't be Atonement or Sweeney Todd come Oscar time.
While the latter two films might be basking in the glow of their Golden Globe-topping wins Sunday, they failed to make the cut Monday for yet another key Oscar tuneup—the Producers Guild of America Awards.
So far, Atonement and Sweeney Todd have been passed by when it comes to the big guild awards, failing to merit key nods from the directors, writers and screen actors before coming up empty at the PGAs.
The films that did pass PGA muster had, in keeping with this awards season's vibe, a distinct art-house feel, led by the two flicks that have been splitting most of the critical kudos, the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men and Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood. Rounding out the field: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (fresh off Globe wins for Best Director for Julian Schnabel and Foreign-Language Film), Juno and the lone major studio film, Michael Clayton (which really has more of an indie than blockbuster feel).
Joining Atonement and Sweeney Todd on the PGA sidelines: Sean Penn's vaunted Into the Wild, which was bedecked by nominations by the other three top guilds.
Of course, while a solid Oscar crystal ball, the PGAs are not exactly infallible.
Last year, four of the five PGA film nominees went on to claim a Best Picture nomination from the Academy. To date, the guild has seen 11 of its 18 winners repeat as Academy Award champs. But the PGA is in the midst of a three-year "losing" streak. In 2005, it tapped The Aviator, while the Oscar sided with Million Dollar Baby. In 2006, it championed Brokeback Mountain, while Academy voters did a U-turn for Crash. And in 2007, PGA pick Little Miss Sunshine was done in by The Departed at the Oscars.
The Oscar nominations will be out Jan. 22.
Meanwhile, for its Best Animated Film accolade, the PGA passed on Shrek the Third and mirrored the Globes' ballot with prohibitive favorite Ratatouille jousting with Bee Move and The Simpsons Movie.
Winners of the so-called Golden Laurels, which also recognize documentaries and TV shows, will be announced Feb. 2.
Here's a complete list of nominees for the 19th Annual Producers Guild of America Awards:
Motion Picture
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
- Juno
- Michael Clayton
- No Country for Old Men
- There Will Be Blood
Animated Motion Picture
- Bee Movie
- Ratatouille
- The Simpsons Movie
Documentary
- Body of War
- Hear and Now
- Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
- Sicko
- White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Long-Form Television
- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
- The Bronx Is Burning
- High School Musical 2
- Jane Eyre
- The Starter Wife
Television, Comedy
- Entourage
- Extras
- The Office
- 30 Rock
- Ugly Betty
Television, Drama
- Dexter
- Grey's Anatomy
- Heroes
- House
- Lost
- The Sopranos
Nonfiction Television
- Deadliest Catch
- Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
- Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
- Planet Earth
- 60 Minutes
Live Entertainment/Competition Television
- The Amazing Race
- American Idol
- The Colbert Report
- Project Runway
- Real Time with Bill Maher
Honorary Awards
- Milestone Award: Alan Horn
- David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures: Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall
- Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television: Dick Wolf
- Visionary Award: Simon Fuller
- Vanguard Award: YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen
- The Stanley Kramer Award: The Great Debaters