Producers Guild of America

Producers Guild of America
Established 1962
Merger of Screen Producers Guild,
Television Producers Guild
Type Film organization
Location
  • Los Angeles, California
President
 Gary Lucchesi and Lori McCreary
Main organ
 National Board of Directors
Website www.producersguild.org

Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a trade organization representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States.[1] The PGA's membership includes over 7,000 members of the producing establishment worldwide. Its co-presidents are Gary Lucchesi and Lori McCreary.[2] The PGA is overseen by a National Board of Directors. Vance Van Petten has served as the organization's National Executive Director since 2000.

The PGA offers several benefits to its members, including health insurance and pension benefits; seminars and mentoring programs; entrance to special screenings of movies during Academy Award season; and assistance with working conditions and screen credits.[3] As of 2015, the gender ratio of the PGA’s membership is 57% male and 43% female.

History

The PGA began as two separate organizations, with the Screen Producers Guild being formed in 1950. Its first president was William Perlberg. In 1957, television producers followed suit, forming the Television Producers Guild, with Ben Brady as its first president. These merged in 1962 to form the PGA under legendary producer Walter Mirisch. Subsequent Presidents of the PGA have included Stanley Rubin, Leonard Stern, Kathleen Kennedy, Marshall Herskovitz, and the team of Hawk Koch and Mark Gordon.

The Golden Laurel Awards (subsequently renamed the Producers Guild Awards (aka the PGA Awards) were first held in 1990, establishing the Guild awards as one of the bellwethers for the Academy Awards. 11 of the 16 winners of the PGA's Darryl F. Zanuck Award have gone on to win the Oscar for best feature.

The PGA's awards show was originally established in 1990 as the Golden Laurel Awards, created by PGA Treasurer Joel Freeman, Diane Robison, Terrie Frankel,[4] Bernard Wiesen and Charles FitzSimons with the support of Guild President Leonard Stern, in order to honor the visionaries who produce and execute motion picture and television product. The ceremony has been hosted each year by celebrity host/presenters, including Ronald Reagan, Ted Turner, Garry Marshall, Jack Lemmon, James Earl Jones, Grant Tinker, Michael Douglas, Walter Matthau, Shirley MacLaine, Marlo Thomas, Kevin Spacey, Mark Wahlberg, Kerry Washington, Anne Hathaway, Steve Carell, Neil Patrick Harris and Jennifer Lawrence, among others.

This photo is of the Committee who formed the 1st Producers Guild of America Golden Laurel Awards (now called the Producers Guild of America Awards) in 1990 - taken at the ceremony that was held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel: From Left to Right: Betty Freeman, PGA Members: Terrie Frankel (white jacket), Joel Freeman, Charles B. FitzSimons, Diane Robison, Leonard Stern (President) and Bernard Wiesen.

In 2001, the PGA merged with the American Association of Producers (AAP), enabling the Guild to represent all members of the producing team. Since that time, the Guild has been composed of three Councils: The Producers Council (representing producers, executive producers and co-producers), the AP Council (representing associate producers, production managers, production supervisors, segment and field producers, production coordinators, visual effects producers and post-production staff) and the New Media Council.

In 2001 producers John Schwally and Nelle Nugent established the PGA East Regional Chapter of the Guild, located in New York and servicing Guild members based on the East Coast. Since 2012 Peter Saraf has served as Chair of the region.

The Producers Mark (p.g.a.)

In 2012, the Producers Guild introduced the Producers Mark to feature film credits, allowing approved producers to add the lowercase initials p.g.a. following their “Produced By” credit.

During 2012 and 2013, PGA Presidents Hawk Koch and Mark Gordon conducted negotiations and secured separate agreements with every major Hollywood studio requiring the studios to submit any films they developed and produced internally for Producers Mark certification.[5] The first film to be released with the Producers Mark was The Magic of Belle Isle (which certified producers Lori McCreary, Alan Greisman and Rob Reiner with the Mark), followed almost immediately thereafter by Lawless (which certified producers Lucy Fisher and Douglas Wick). Since that time, hundreds of motion pictures have had their credits certified via the Producers Mark.

The Producers Mark indicates that the credited producer performed a major portion of the producing duties on a motion picture. The Mark is licensed for use in motion picture credits on a film-by-film basis. A producer’s having received the Mark on a prior film has no impact on the decision to certify a current or future credit with the Producers Mark.

Unlike other initialisms that appear in motion picture credits (e.g., A.C.E., C.S.A.) the Producers Mark does not indicate membership in the Producers Guild; rather, it certifies that a producer performed a major portion of the producing duties on a given motion picture.

The Producers Guild determines which credited producers are eligible for certification via a thorough vetting process, requiring initial application from the film’s owner/distributor and candid input from its producers, as well as numerous third party sources, which may include the film’s director(s), writer(s), editor, director of photography or other department heads. The Guild uses the same process to recommend which producers are eligible for producing honors and awards, including the Guild’s Darryl F. Zanuck Award and the Oscar™ for Best Picture given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Any copyright owner of a film that has an established U.S. distributor may apply for the Producers Mark, but application for and use of the Producers Mark by individual producers is purely voluntary.

New Media Council

The New Media Council was formed by the PGA in 2002 in order to recognize, represent, and protect producers working in emerging media such as DVDs, broadband and mobile entertainment, interactive television and video games.

In January 2001, following a series of summits that brought together members of the new media and traditional producing communities, producer Marc Levey spearheaded an initiative to revise the PGA constitution to provide for the representation of New Media producers. This led to the formation of the New Media Council. Since its formation, the Council has sought to identify and address issues relevant to new media and the PGA. These include how "new media" should be defined, and how the role of a new media producer differs from or is similar to its counterpart in traditional media, recognizing that medium must serve the story and not the other way around.

On April 5, 2010 the Producers Guild of America Board of Directors officially approved its New Media Code of Credits, adding twenty-six major new credits to cover new media producers. The code is significant in that it marks the first time the Producers Guild of America recognized new media producer industry credits and responsibilities in Broadband, DVD/Blu-ray, Animation, Games (console and online), Mobile, Digital Visual Effects, iTV (interactive/enhanced Television), Special Venues, and Transmedia.

Produced By Conference

Since 2009, the Producers Guild has presented the Produced By Conference,[6] held annually in June on a studio lot in the Los Angeles area. In 2011, the Conference was held at Disney/ABC Studios. Each Conference offers a variety of educational sessions designed to promote the newest information about the state of the entertainment industry marketplace and allow experienced producers to share the benefit of their experience with emerging professionals. The Produced By Conference also offers a variety of other programs, including extensive vendor displays and technology demonstrations, numerous representatives of local, state and international film commissions, small-group Mentoring Roundtable discussions, and a variety of networking events, including the traditional Friday night Kick-Off Party.

Speakers at past conferences have included James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, Mark Cuban, Ted Turner, Gale Anne Hurd, Marshall Herskovitz, Mark Gordon, Hawk Koch, Alan Ball, Kathleen Kennedy, Matthew Weiner, Richard Zanuck, James L. Brooks, Doug Wick, Lucy Fisher, Roger Corman, Norman Lear, Lawrence Gordon, Francis Ford Coppola, Seth Rogen, Kevin Smith and Lauren Shuler Donner.

In 2011, the Produced By Conference was presented in association with AFCI Locations.

Since 2014, the PGA has presented Produced By: New York, a single-day conference event held annually in New York City. Speakers and guests at Produced By: New York have included Michael Moore, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Jake Gyllenhaal, Donna Gigliotti, James Schamus, Jenni Konner, Darren Aronofsky, Barbara Hall and Cathy Schulman, among others.

Producers Guild Awards

In 1990, the Producers Guild held the first-ever Golden Laurel Awards, which were renamed the Producers Guild Awards in 2002. Richard Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck received the award for Driving Miss Daisy, which also won an Academy Award.

Film winners

2015 Winners

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole
Dan Lin
Alexis Bloom, Alex Gibney, and Marc Shmuger

Television winners

2015 Winners

Mark A. Burley, Sara Hess, Jenji Kohan, Gary Lennon, Neri Kyle Tannenbaum, Michael Trim, Lisa Vinnecour
Melissa Bernstein, Sam Catlin, Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Mark Johnson, Stewart Lyons, Michelle MacLaren, George Mastras, Diane Mercer, Thomas Schnauz, and Moira Walley-Beckett
Adam Bernstein, John Cameron, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen,Michael Frislev, Noah Hawley, Warren Littlefield, Chad Oakes, Kim Todd

Stanley Kramer Award

Since 2002, this award has been given for films that "illuminate provocative social issues". The latest honoree is Kirby Dick's documentary The Hunting Ground, produced by Amy Ziering.

The Charles B. FitzSimons Honorary Lifetime Membership Award

For Outstanding contribution and enduring dedication to the Producers Guild of America

The Charles B. FitzSimons Honorary Lifetime Membership Award originated in 1991 during the planning of the Guild's 2nd Golden Laurel Awards at the Smoke House in Burbank, across from the Warner Brothers Studios. Terrie Frankel suggested a new award, the Charles B. FitzSimons Honorary Lifetime Membership Award would be given to a member who gave outstanding contributions to the Guild. The first recipient was a surprised Charles B. FitzSimons at the Award Ceremonies at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Pictured are members of the Golden Laurel Awards Committee, Left to Right, Producers: Rita Dillon, Joel Freeman, Terrie Frankel, Diane Robison, Bob Finkel and Charles Floyd Johnson.

The AP Council Commitment Award

The “AP Council Commitment Award” is given to a PGA member who, in the opinion of the AP Council Board of Delegates, has made extraordinary and long-standing contributions to the Guild. The award is presented to recipients at the Guild's annual general membership meeting.

Marc A. Levey Distinguished Service Award

This Service Award was originally established in 2006 by the Producers Guild of America and its New Media Council in order to recognize and honor any member who has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious service to the Producers Guild and its New Media Council. The award is presented to recipients at the Guild's annual general membership meeting.

Past recipients of the Marc A. Levey Distinguished Service Award include:

History

The award's namesake, Marc A. Levey, a member of the Producers Guild since 1995, recognized that game productions maintained budgets, timelines and revenues that rivaled many of the television and feature films of the time. In 1999, Levey began to spearhead a three-year process within the Producers Guild to recognize, represent and protect the interests of producers working outside the "traditional" formats of television and film. Levey's efforts lead to the official amendment of the PGA's Constitution and the establishment of the Guild's New Media Council. In recognition of Levey's vision and leadership, the PGA officially established this annual service award in his name.

See also

References

  1. ↑ London Academy of Media Film & TV "The Producers Guild of America"
  2. ↑ http://www.producersguild.org/?page=officers
  3. ↑ Producers Guild of America, Mission Statement. Retrieved September 25, 2007.
  4. ↑ http://www.sedonasevenarcheslive.com/the-hollywood-years.html
  5. ↑ http://www.thewrap.com/the-producers-guilds-long-rocky-road-to-reforming-the-producers-credit-exclusive/
  6. ↑ http://www.producedbyconference.com/2011/index.php

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