'Birdman' Upsets 'Boyhood' At PGA Awards

Christopher Rosen
Updated
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 24: Producer/director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu accepts the Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures award for 'Birdman' onstage during the 26th Annual Producers Guild Of America Awards at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on January 24, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images) (Photo: )

Maybe this is an Oscar race after all: At Saturday night's Producers Guild of America Awards, "Birdman" producers Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole won the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for best movie, topping Best Picture favorite "Boyhood," among other Oscar nominees, for the honor.

Why is this significant? Recent history, for one: Since 2007, when "No Country for Old Men" won at the Producers Guild Awards, the guild's top award winner has matched the Oscars' Best Picture choice every time. (Last year, "12 Years a Slave" and "Gravity" tied at the PGA Awards, giving the group a somewhat unfair statistical advantage.) In its history, the PGA Awards has successfully predicted the eventual Best Picture winner 18 of 25 times.

The PGA Awards are also 2015's first major guild awards, making it the first time people in the industry (many of whom are also Academy members) have voted on this year's awards contenders. (Previous awards shows -- such as the Critics' Choice Awards and Golden Globes, both spots where "Boyhood" triumphed -- were voted on by media members.) That "Birdman" was chosen perhaps shows voters' hand a bit: It's a movie about the industry itself, and recent PGA Award and Best Picture winners "The Artist" and "Argo" were also about the power of Hollywood. As Grantland and Entertainment Weekly writer Mark Harris tweeted:

"Birdman" and "Boyhood" will battle again on Sunday night, when the Screen Actors Guild Awards are handed out. Both films are nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (the SAG Awards' equivalent of Best Picture). The 87th annual Academy Awards are set for Feb. 22.

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Bradley Cooper

Nominated for Best Actor in "American Sniper."
Nominated for Best Actor in "American Sniper."

Wes Anderson

Nominated for Best Director for "The Grand Budapest Hotel."
Nominated for Best Director for "The Grand Budapest Hotel."

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Nominated for best Director for "Birdman"
Nominated for best Director for "Birdman"

Richard Linklater

Nominated for best Director for "Boyhood"
Nominated for best Director for "Boyhood"

Bennett Miller

Nominated for best Director for "Foxcatcher"
Nominated for best Director for "Foxcatcher"

Morten Tyldum

Nominated for best Director for "The Imitation Game"
Nominated for best Director for "The Imitation Game"

Marion Cotillard

Nominated for Best Actress in “Two Days, One Night.”
Nominated for Best Actress in “Two Days, One Night.”

Felicity Jones

Nominated for Best Actress in "The Theory of Everything."
Nominated for Best Actress in "The Theory of Everything."

Julianne Moore

Nominated for Best Actress in "Still Alice."
Nominated for Best Actress in "Still Alice."

Rosamund Pike

Nominated for Best Actress in "Gone Girl."
Nominated for Best Actress in "Gone Girl."

Reese Witherspoon

Nominated for Best Actress in "Wild."
Nominated for Best Actress in "Wild."

Steve Carrell

Nominated for Best Actor in "Foxcatcher."
Nominated for Best Actor in "Foxcatcher."

Benedict Cumberbatch

Nominated for Best Actor in "The Imitation Game."
Nominated for Best Actor in "The Imitation Game."

Michael Keaton

Nominated for Best Actor in "Birdman."
Nominated for Best Actor in "Birdman."

Robert Duvall

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "The Judge."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "The Judge."

Ethan Hawke

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Boyhood."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Boyhood."

Edward Norton

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Birdman."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Birdman."

Mark Ruffalo

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Foxcatcher."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Foxcatcher."

JK Simmons Portrait Session

American actor in the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize-winning film "Whiplash" J.K. Simmons poses for a portrait, on Monday, Sept. 29, 2014 in New York. (Photo by Dan Hallman/Invision/AP)
American actor in the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize-winning film "Whiplash" J.K. Simmons poses for a portrait, on Monday, Sept. 29, 2014 in New York. (Photo by Dan Hallman/Invision/AP)

Patricia Arquette

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "Boyhood."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "Boyhood."

Laura Dern

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "Wild."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "Wild."

Keira Knightley

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "The Imitation Game."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "The Imitation Game."

Emma Stone

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress In "Birdman."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress In "Birdman."

Meryl Streep

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "Into The Woods."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "Into The Woods."

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.