This year’s Producer’s Guild of America award is hotly anticipated as the Best Picture race is more tightly contested than in recent years. Past PGA winners include Oscar winners “American Beauty,” “Gladiator,” “Chicago,” and “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.” They also include non-winners “Moulin Rouge,” “The Aviator,” and “Brokeback Mountain.” While the DGA is normally a better indicator for Best Picture, this year might be different since most experts agree it’s Marty’s year for sentimental reasons. Or in other words, a DGA win for Scorsese doesn’t automatically put “The Departed” over the top. So who will the producers go for this year?

We’re going to stick with the musical trend of recent years and pick “Dreamgirls.” Often times the PGA will either pick the biggest film or the most innovative/creative. By process of elimination, “Dreamgirls” seems to be the safest bet. For a darkhorse, we’ll go with “Letters From Iwo Jima,” but it’s becoming painfully obvious that very few guild members have popped in that DVD. After a strong showing at the Globes, a “Dreamgirls” win here would cement its status as the Oscar frontrunner. Or who knows. Maybe the race will get totally shaken up again this weekend. Stay tuned for the official announcement.

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