One Category at a Time: Documentary

Last year saw a tightly contested race for Best Documentary that ultimately left me guessing randomly as to which doc would win. I got it wrong, of course. It's always been tricky to anticipate which way the relatively small group of voters who attend the screenings will lean, but we don't have to worry about that this year.

A quietly announced by somewhat significant rule change occurred shortly after nominations landed: screeners will be sent out to Academy members containing the nominees for Animated Short, Live-Action Short, and Documentary Feature. Now the entire membership is allowed to vote on these categories.

This larger sample size seems like it should benefit populist fare, and that could all but seal the deal for the category's frontrunner.

Producers Guild nominees

The Producers Guild of America have named their ten best of the year. All the usual Best Picture contenders are there (unless you're still one of those who think The Master will be nominated), plus box office juggernaut Skyfall and independent gems Moonrise Kingdom and Beasts of the Southern Wild. I'm seriously hoping those last two can translate this eleventh-hour boost into some academy votes before the January 4th deadline. They are among the year's best in my book and I'd love to see either of them at the big dance -- preferably both!

Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

Argo
Producers: Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Grant Heslov
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Josh Penn
Django Unchained
Producers: Reginald Hudlin, Pilar Savone, Stacey Sher
Life of Pi
Producers: Ang Lee, Gil Netter, David Womark
Lincoln
Producers:  Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
Les Miserables
Producers: Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
Moonrise Kingdom
Producers: Wes Anderson & Scott Rudin, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales
Silver Linings Playbook
Producers: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon
Skyfall
Producers: Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson
Zero Dark Thirty
Producers: Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Megan Ellison

PGA Doc nominees

The Producers Guild has stumped for five documentaries, which are:

A People Uncounted
The Gatekeepers
The Island President
The Other Dream Team
Searching for Sugarman

With the Academy doc branch's new voting process, having a high profile is a huge advantage, directing the members' eyes to certain screeners over others. From this list, The Gatekeepers and Searching for Sugarman, having already been cited by other awards bodies this year, benefit the most from this announcement.