Lincoln, Les Mis, Life of Pi vie for producer honours

Musical adaptation Les Misrables, presidential portrait Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty, about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, are among the feature films vying for the top prize from the Producers Guild of America.

The Los Angeles-basedindustry group revealed late on Wednesday the latest film and television nominees for its annual prize gala.

The PGA represents feature film and television producers. Along with their peer guilds representing actors, directors, writers and production staff, the producer group's annual prize galahelps isolate the key contenders for the upcoming Academy Awards.

Along with Les Misrables, Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty, a wide range of contenders will compete for the PGA's equivalent of abest picture trophy, including:

• Iran hostage-crisis thriller Argo,
• contemporary romance Silver Linings Playbook,
• slavery-era bounty hunter tale Django Unchained,
• shipwreck story Life of Pi,
• indie fantasy Beasts of the Southern Wild,
• James Bond instalment Skyfall,
• teen runaway romance Moonrise Kingdom.

Five family-friendly productions are nominated in the animated film category:

• Brave,
• Frankenweenie,
• Wreck-It Ralph,
• ParaNorman,
• Rise of the Guardians.

The PGA previously revealed its nominees for best documentary film (contenders are A People Uncounted, The Gatekeepers, The Island President, The Other Dream Team and Searching for Sugar Man) and several television categories, with many fan favourites vying for awards. Nominees include:

• Drama series: Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland, Mad Men.
• Comedy series: 30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Louie, Modern Family.
• Long-form TV: American Horror Story, The Dust Bowl, Game Change, Hatfields & McCoys, Sherlock.
• Non-fiction TV: American Masters, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Deadliest Catch, Inside the Actors Studio, Shark Tank.
• Live entertainment and talk: The Colbert Report, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night with JimmyFallon, RealTime with Bill Maher, Saturday Night Live.
• Competition TV: The Amazing Race, Dancing with the Stars, Project Runway, Top Chef, The Voice.

The group also plans several special honours, including awards for Bob and Harvey Weinstein, J.J. Abrams and the film Bully.

The 24th annual Producers Guild Awards will be presented at a gala in Los Angeles on Jan. 26, nearly a month before the Oscars, which take place Feb. 24.

When The Artist took the PGA's main film prize (the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for outstanding producer of a theatrical motion picture) in 2012, it marked the fifth consecutive year the group predicted the subsequent best-picture winner at the Academy Awards.